David Twede, a fifth-generation Mormon publishes MormonThink, a Web site which debates church teaching. The site has drawn increased traffic as Mormons turn to the Internet to find answers to controversial questions about Mormon history and traditions that the church does not address.
David Twede
The church has come under heightened scrutiny with the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney, a Mormon who once served as a bishop. The church went through a spate of public excommunications of prominent scholars and feminists in the early 1990s, but in recent years public excommunications of dissidents have been rare, church experts said.
Mr. Twede’s situation was first reported on Friday by the Web site The Daily Beast, which suggested that Mr. Twede was being disciplined because he had posted several articles on MormonThink critical of Mr. Romney.
After being interrogated in a church office for 45 minutes, Twede commented:
“They said that they felt I was a spy and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They said that they need to protect the flock from the Antichrist, from an apostate.”