A Mormon blogger in the state of Florida is facing a disciplinary hearing for making comments critical of presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the beliefs of the Latter-Day Saints.
David Twede, a fifth generation Mormon who runs a website that allows visitors to discuss and scrutinize Mormonism and its beliefs, said that he was recently served a cease and desist order from LDS officials regarding his blog posts, and was additionally summoned to appear for questioning.
While the exact text that caused concern was not disclosed, Twede believes that the order came soon after he published a blog post regarding Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon. Twede had also been questioning the religion’s ritual ceremonies.
LDS officials refuse to comment on specifics.
“While some may want to make their version of an issue public, the church will not discuss the private lives of individuals,” stated spokesperson Michael Purdy. “It is patently false for someone to suggest they face church discipline for having questions or for expressing a political view. The church is an advocate of individual choice. It is a core tenet of our faith. Church discipline becomes necessary only in those rare occasions when an individual’s actions cannot be ignored while they claim to be in good standing with the church.”
Twede states that the letter he received from officials informed him that the disciplinary action he faces “includ[es] the possibility of disfellowshipment or excommunication, because you are reported to have been in apostasy.”
“I believe if the LDS church officials do discipline me for my speech, it will show that the leaders in Salt Lake City run a cultist organization that is unable to withstand the scrutiny of a website that advocates honest and open discussion of its troubling history and present actions,” he wrote to reporters in an email.
A meeting regarding the matter is set for September 30th.
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