As a young Mormon girl I was taught a powerful hymn, and the chorus became ingrained in my life: “Do what is right; let the consequence follow.” Paradoxically, speaking out against gender inequality in the Church and founding a group called Ordain Women is what led to my excommunication from the Mormon Church in June 2014. But it was my Mormon upbringing and sense of personal integrity that helped me stick to my principles even in the face of being forcibly ejected from my community. Mormons, after all, do what is right and we let the consequences follow.  Now, a dear friend is facing a church trial for supporting marginalized Mormons and the ordination of women. John Dehlin, a popular Mormon podcaster, LGBT ally and supporter of the fight to ordain women, is on the proverbial chopping block. His trial for “apostasy” is scheduled for Sunday in Utah . I can acutely relate to the excruciating path Dehlin is facing because of the painful road I’ve traveled this year. Expulsion from your faith community is agonizing, no matter how rooted in your convictions you are. Excommunication is particularly heartbreaking when the negative effects go beyond you and your immediate family, engulfing a worldwide community deeply tied to the movement for equality.  The disciplinary process in the Mormon church is simply a draconian form of bullying. Punishing people for questioning women’s rights in the church, or daring to think gay people should be treated as equals, is disgraceful. As Mormon author Joanna Brooks said, forcibly silencing dissent through coercive means is, “a 15th Century solution to a 21st Century problem.”  Related: Excommunication looms over Mormons grappling with some of church's tenets  Dehlin is speaking out on important issues that are a matter of life and death to many; the honorable response is not spiritually shooting the messenger. A healthy organization would grapple with these issues in a transparent way that would move the entire Mormon community forward. Mormon scripture explicitly condemns those in positions of power who “exercise control or dominion or compulsion” over others, and says, “Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that [person].” (Doctrine & Covenants 121:37)  A strong, sustainable Mormon community would weather these trials without burning its critics at the metaphorical stake.  Sadly, the Mormon faith has become a place that incentivizes the survival of the least fit. Since strict obedience is demanded and harshly enforced, only the least talented, least articulate, least nuanced thinkers, least likely to take a stand against abuse, and the least courageous people thrive in the Church today. Many disillusioned members are on their way out, most of their own volition. One of Mormonism’s top leaders recently admitted that there is an “exodus” of people leaving the faith “in droves.” Mormonism in the 21st Century needs a new, more productive way to deal with legitimate critiques. This cannot be overstated: the survival of the faith tradition as a whole hangs in the balance.  The church cannot continue to viciously suppress dissent in the modern age. Mormon congregants of conscience will continue to ask bold questions and seek change – and it’s up the the Church, like any good shepherd, to respond to the needs of its modern flock. We will continue to do what is right, just like we were taught as young Mormon children.  Jesus Christ taught tolerance and love, saying, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you…” (Matthew 5:44). People with questions are not the enemy. Ordain Women is not the enemy. Gay people are not the enemy. John Dehlin is not the enemy. The enemy is a world and paradigm too small-minded to accept the dissenters and outcasts that Christ himself would have ministered to and included. I urge the Mormon Church to do what is right, and let the consequence follow.
The Church of Latter-Day Saints needs a more productive ways to deal with adherents’ critiques than excommunicating us