To: President Brian King, Stake President of the North Logan Utah Stake et al. and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints
I stand with John Dehlin.
We stand with John Dehlin for openness, freedom of thought and expression in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We support John and recognize his diligence in following the pattern set by Christ in his love, kindness, respect, courage and honesty in his search for truth and right and in giving a voice to everyone in the Mormon community from the greatest to the least among us. We believe that the excommunication or disfellowship of individuals from their communities and threatening them with punishment both temporal and eternal for the earnest search for truth, for expressions, thoughts and ideas is contrary to the teachings of Christ and his restored church.
Why is this important?
"Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought and in that competition, truth emerges triumphant. [….] Only error fears freedom of expression. [….] The free exchange of ideas is not to be deplored as long as men and women remain humble and teachable. Neither fear of consequence or any kind of coercion should ever be used to secure uniformity of thought in the church. People should express their problems and opinions and be unafraid to think without fear of ill consequences […] We must preserve freedom of the mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it. We should all exercise our God- given right to think and be unafraid to express our opinions…”
— President Hugh B. Brown