Mormon Facing Excommunication

Simon Southerton's book Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church, reviewed on this site, caused a lot of controversy in the Mormon Church. Himself a Mormon, Southerton is facing possible excommunication.

The Casper Star-Tribune explains:

Southerton, a researcher at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Canberra, faces charges of adultery, not heresy. Southerton acknowledges he had an affair five years ago after he separated from his wife, Jane, and contends church authorities are latching onto that instead of proving more difficult charges of apostasy.

‘‘(The letter) completely ignores what is obviously the major issue,’’ says Southerton, who was baptized as a Mormon at age 10 in 1970. ‘‘They’ve been snooping around. Clearly I should be excommunicated for the most serious offense and, in my view, apostasy is much more serious.’’

Southerton has already publicly renounced his Mormon faith, so an excommunication would be more of a formality than anything else. The fact that they are focusing on an old case of possible adultery, though, rather than apostasy makes this interesting. Are they concerned with not giving his views too much publicity? Are they looking for a way to discredit his arguments by attacking his character?

[Daniel C. Peterson, editor of the FARMS Review, the journal of Brigham Young University’s Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies] insisted the church doesn’t retaliate for DNA-related scholarly work, but another critic said he was taken to task for doing just that. Author and anthropologist Tom Murphy, a friend of Southerton’s who teaches at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Wash., said he was ordered to a disciplinary hearing in 2002 after publishing an essay comparing DNA evidence to Book of Mormon claims.

DNA research makes church leadership uncomfortable because it shows the Book of Mormon to be ‘‘racist and factually wrong,’’ said Murphy, a lifelong Mormon raised in southern Idaho. ‘‘The church has a long history of using disciplinary councils to intimidate scholars who shed light on uncomfortable truths.’’ Murphy said his threatened excommunication was set aside after news reports of his hearing brought public support.

Signature Books, publisher of Southerton’s work, has had six authors thus far excommunicated from the Mormon church and Southerton could end up being the seventh. Authors have been criticized for their writings on things like feminism and church history.

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