The Excommunication of John Dehlin

John Dehlin, founder of the website and podcast "Mormon Stories", was excommunicated yesterday.  Members of the LDS faith tend to get uncomfortable when the topic of excommunication comes up but that is not the right reaction.  The process of excommunication is a key aspect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and should not be swept under the rug.

I do not understand everything about John Dehlin's excommunication and I am not going to sort through the various material on his website or listen to his podcasts.  From what I can gather, Dehlin had no intention of attending church regardless of his membership status.  Supposedly, he has not been to church since last June.

Dehlin made a name for himself by publicly questioning various pillars of the Mormon faith and straight up denouncing core aspects of our religion.  The media has reported that he was excommunicated because he supports same sex marriage and gender equality but that is patently false.  Dehlin was no longer a Mormon in any sense of the word and he was using his membership status for his own personal gain.

Also noteworthy is the reminder given by church leaders as to what exactly excommunication is.  When someone is excommunicated, they are not banished from the church.  That's what the average person assumes happens but LDS officials have been consistent in their stance that excommunicated members only lose their membership status and are strongly encouraged, through support from their local congregation, to get re-baptized once they have taken the proper steps.

It is important to understand why Dehlin was excommunicated as there is a lot of misinformation.  It is perhaps even more important to remember what Dehlin's excommunication symbolizes.  The fact that his excommunication is so noteworthy, despite the justifiable grounds for doing so, serves to highlight the thousands of individuals who are NOT excommunicated each and every day.

The excommunication process is not some sort of heavy handed witch hunt used to punish enemies of the Mormon church.  Quite the contrary, excommunication is a drastic step to aid the repentance process in severe cases of sin as well as protect the body of the church from those who have turned against the faith and use their membership for their own purposes.  In the case of someone like John Dehlin, claiming membership in the Mormon church has to mean something more than "once upon a time I got baptized"