Mormon Church threatens pro-gay critic with excommunication

Mormon leaders have threatened to excommunicate the founder of an online forum advocating for gay rights and the ordination of women.

John Dehlin, a Mormon himself, has been told that if he does not take down his Mormon Stories website and podcasts directed at skeptical Mormons and disavow his support for same-sex marriage and female ordination of bishops, he will be barred from the church, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Mr. Dehlin, 45, said that his regional church leader confirmed that a disciplinary hearing had been scheduled for Jan. 25.

“There’s no way I can agree to those terms,” he told The Times. “I would prefer for them to leave me alone, but if given the choice between denying my conscience and facing excommunication, I’d much rather be excommunicated.

Mr. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories podcast in 2005 to explore issues he had with “troubling and hard to find historical facts” about the church and its doctrine with scholars, historians and key figures in the church.

Several of the podcasts have been downloaded as many as 50,000 times, The Times reported.

The Mormon Church has been addressing difficult questions about its history and theology in recent years but has also cracked down on members who publicly challenge church doctrine.

The church warned Mr. Dehlin in June of charges shortly after excommunicating human rights lawyer Kate Kelly, who founded Ordain Women, a group that supports women joining the priesthood.

The church held off expelling Mr. Dehlin after Ms. Kelly’s excommunication sparked outrage.

The Mormon Church claims 15 million members worldwide, with six million in the U.S., according to The Times.