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2006-08-09

Remembering the September Six

September Six - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Next month marks the 13th year since the "September Six" excommunications. I haven't read the works of all of these individuals, but I do recommend reading theh works of D. Michael Quinn and Avraham Gileadi. Gileadi was afterward rebaptized into the church. Quinn has not been, but remains a believing Latter-day Saint. (He possibly has not come back in because of his coming out about being gay, although I am not sure if that is the only reason.)

In celebration of their faith and scholarship, why not grab one of their books on a topic of interest to you at your local library or bookstore and give it a read?

Edit:

I found an interesting site and effort, Support Mike Quinn .net - check it out.

5 comments:

Prof. Wright said...

Quinn has not been, but remains a believing Latter-day Saint.

I'm not sure what you mean by "believing." Could you explain?

Jeff said...

I'm taking the wording "believing" from the Support Mike Quinn website. I also pondered momentarily on this wording. From all evidence I have seen, D. Michael Quinn still self-identifies as a Latter-day Saint, and has a testimony of the Church.

Although slightly dated now, Mormonism and the Magic World View 1998 edition says:

In 1993 LDS officials formally charged me with "apostasy" (heresy) for my historical writings, and I was excommunicated ... Nevertheless, as a seventh-generation member of the church I remain a DNA Mormon, and the 1987 introduction still accurately describes my personal faith.

You may take a look at:

http://www.supportmikequinn.net/biography/

Where the statement is made that...

He was still irretrievably Mormon after the demolition was over and the dust settled from the five excommunications and one disfellowshipping of intellectuals that month with another half dozen to follow.

And, perhaps he put it best in his own words, although these were given just prior to his excommunication:

Baptism cannot give you a relationship with God, and excommunication cannot take it away. Neither has eternal significance unless sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. I can only trust in God's love and in my relationship with Him.

Prof. Wright said...

Isn't he still gay? Or did I miss something?

Jeff said...

As far as I know he's still gay. And as far as I know, being gay has nothing to do with ability to have belief, faith, and a testimony. I don't know if he is pursuing or in a homosexual relationship, but even if he is, I also don't think being "a sinner" is mutually exclusive from having faith or a testimony, although arguably such behavior would weaken these aspects of one's life.

Prof. Wright said...

Obviously we're all sinners to some extent, but there's a difference between acknowledging your sins and trying to turn away from them, and simply claiming them as a part of your identity (and therefore not really sins at all). I may be jumping to conclusions, but calling himself gay/homosexual seems to indicate the latter attitude. If his spiritual outlook is so fundamentally flawed as to not acknowledge homosexual behavior as a serious sin, regardless of whether he practices it, then I'd hesitate to call him "believing," despite his acceptance of other more convenient truths. But I suppose that's semantics; technically he is a believer of some things, at least.