Mormon Alliance
Encyclopedia
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. During the next few months, the trustees established a broad range of supporting purposes: providing a comprehensive definition of spiritual abuse, working to reconcile leaders and members who were out of harmony, establishing a Members’ Bill of Rights
, providing a forum for a reasonable and tempered discussion of governance in the Church, critiquing general conference, and identifying and documenting cases of spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse. Janice Merrill Allred and Lavina Fielding Anderson
, two of the trustees, became co-chairs of the Case Reports Committee in the fall of 1992 and still serve in those positions. Toscano and Fielding Anderson were excommunicated by the Church following their actions.
The Alliance published a quarterly newsletter from July 1999 to January 2006, as well as three volumes of case reports online. The Alliance also sponsored quarterly meetings, two of which would follow Church General Conferences
and one in conjunction with the Sunstone
symposium held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
, providing a forum for a reasonable and tempered discussion of governance in the Church, critiquing general conference, and identifying and documenting cases of spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse. Janice Merrill Allred and Lavina Fielding Anderson
Lavina Fielding Anderson
Lavina Fielding Anderson is a Latter Day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington...
, two of the trustees, became co-chairs of the Case Reports Committee in the fall of 1992 and still serve in those positions. Toscano and Fielding Anderson were excommunicated by the Church following their actions.
The Alliance published a quarterly newsletter from July 1999 to January 2006, as well as three volumes of case reports online. The Alliance also sponsored quarterly meetings, two of which would follow Church General Conferences
General Conference (LDS Church)
General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders...
and one in conjunction with the Sunstone
Sunstone Magazine
Sunstone is a magazine published by the Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc., a 501 nonprofit corporation, that discusses Mormonism through scholarship, art, short fiction, and poetry. The foundation began the publication in 1974 and considers it a vehicle for free and frank exchange in The Church...
symposium held in Salt Lake City, Utah.