The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints has excommunicated a vocal critic for supporting
gay marriage and the ordination of women.
John P. Dehlin operates Mormon Stories,
a website and podcast for disaffected Mormons.
Dehlin told the AP last month that the
church threatened to excommunicate him if he does not take down
podcasts critical of the Mormon Church and disavow his support for
marriage equality and the ordination of women.
On Tuesday, Dehlin told The New York
Times that a 15-member church disciplinary council had
unanimously decided to excommunicate him for apostasy.
Supporters held a candlelight vigil on
Sunday for Dehlin outside North Logan Stake Center as he was being
questioned inside.
“I still love the church,” Dehlin,
a 45-year-old married father of four, told
the Times.
“I still love its members. I still consider myself Mormon in the
same way that a Jew would consider himself Jewish even if he doesn't
believe or follow everything. I look back on my time with the church
with gratitude, and I look forward to many more days trying to
promote healing and growth with unorthodox Mormons.”
The Mormon Church was active in the
passage of Proposition 8, California's now-defunct constitutional
amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual unions.