Lavina Fielding Anderson (born 1944) is a Latter Day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

. Her editing credits include Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective (1987) and Tending the Garden: Essays on Mormon Literature

Mormon literature

Mormon literature is generally considered to begin a few years before the March 1830 publication of the Book of Mormon. Since this time Mormon literature has grown to include more scripture, histories, fiction, biographies, poetry, hymns, drama and other forms.-See also:* A Motley Vision*...

(1996), as well as the Ensign, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....

, Journal of Mormon History, Mormon Women's Forum Quarterly, and Case Reports of the Mormon Alliance. In 2001, Anderson published a critical edition of Lucy Mack Smith's memoir: Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's family memoir (Salt Lake City: Signature Books

Signature Books

Signature Books is a press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D...

, 2001).

Anderson is one of the original trustees of the Mormon Alliance

Mormon Alliance

The Mormon Alliance was founded on July 4, 1992 by Paul Toscano to counter spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to protect the Church against defamatory actions...

, founded in 1992 to document allegations of spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse in the LDS Church. In 1993, Anderson published a chronology documenting cases of what she regarded as spiritual abuse by LDS church leaders during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. This article became grounds for her excommunication on charges of apostasy in September 1993, as one of the September Six

September Six

The September Six were six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the LDS Church in September 1993 for speaking against Church doctrine and leadership. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and the term was...

. Anderson remains as active in the LDS Church as her excommunicant status allows; she has been described by Levi S. Peterson

Levi S. Peterson

Levi Savage Peterson is a Mormon biographer, essayist and fictionist whose best-known works include the seminal biography of Juanita Brooks, his own autobiography and his novel The Backslider, "standard for the contemporary Mormon novel". He was born and reared in the Mormon community of...

 (1996) as exemplary of an emerging "church in exile" composed of faithful excommunicants.

Lavina Fielding Anderson married Paul L. Anderson

Paul L. Anderson

Paul L. Anderson is a Latter-day Saint architectural historian, museum curator and hymnwriter.Anderson was born in Pasadena, California and as a young man served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan....

.

External links

• The Mormon Alliance
• Lucy's Book edited by Lavina Fielding Anderson