Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Denver Snuffer/Excommunication/Sustaining Church leaders

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A FairMormon Analysis of Denver Snuffer's Online Claims: Denver Snuffer's Excommunication: Sustaining Church leaders

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• Snuffer's wife claims revelation on how disciplinary council should be conducted

Snuffer's wife claims revelation on how disciplinary council should be conducted

Snuffer insisted that he and his wife were better placed to get revelation on how a disciplinary council should proceed than his local leaders:

My wife prayed about this and was of the strongest of convictions that the family needed to be at the council. I agreed with her. Therefore, my children were all there to silently observe.

When he arrived at his disciplinary hearing, Snuffer tells us that:

We spent an hour in the hallway, outside the High Council room, discussing the stake president's refusal to allow my children to attend. My wife was welcome, my children were not. My wife explained that she had made it a subject of prayer, and in answer to prayer wanted them to be there. The stake president refused. He said it would be "a circus" to permit it.

My wife reviewed the Church Handbook of Instructions. She explained to President Hunt that the book is silent, and does not bar children from attending. He admitted that was true but it was his decision to forbid them. My wife said it was my court and I ought to be allowed to have them with me. He replied it wasn't my court, but the church's.

Snuffer and his wife do not understand or follow the teachings of Joseph Smith. In April 1833, Joseph wrote a member of the Church:

I will inform you that it is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or any one, to receive instruction for those in authority, higher than themselves; therefore, you will see the impropriety of giving heed to them, but if any person have a vision or a visitation from a heavenly messenger, it must be for his own benefit and instruction; for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the Church are vested in the keys of the kingdom.

According to Joseph Smith, Snuffer and his wife cannot receive revelation for what their stake president—higher in authority in the Church than they--ought to do about a matter of Church government. If they did not get their revelation from God, where did it come from?

Despite his claim to sustain, Snuffer would not even respect disciplinary council procedures and the stake president's decision to exclude the children from the proceeding.

Snuffer claims that his concern was that his children would assume that he was in reality guilty of some moral transgression. The stake president assured them that this was not the case—his apostasy was the only issue. Even though Snuffer's purported concern had been addressed, he refused to attend if the children were not allowed in, and left.

Snuffer's attitude is reflected by at least one of his family members, which perhaps explains why the stake president did not wish to permit their attendance at the council:

He said that was a reasonable concern and he said to everyone of us that "this only has to do with a book." One of my daughters responded, almost to herself but loud enough we all heard her: "A book! A book! Are you serious?"

This is clear evidence that Snuffer's children do not understand the implications of his apostasy any more than their parents do.

Snuffer later makes it sound as if he was refused admission to the council:

I was prevented from entering the room with my children. Therefore I was unable to speak with the High Council about the matter.

In fact, however, he was simply not permitted to use the council to serve his own agenda. He was able, and could have spoken with the High Council, but instead, chose to leave without participating or learning of the council's decision:

We talked for an hour in the hallway....The door to the High Council room was open. I assume they overheard the discussion. It was a little after 8:00 when we left.

Despite this self-reported behavior, Snuffer continued to insist that he sustained his local leaders, even while in the act of refusing to follow their instructions or attend the council because his demands were not met:

We talked for an hour in the hallway and ended with me bearing my testimony to the children, pointing to President Hunt and telling them (my children) that I sustained him, pointing to my Bishop and telling them I sustained him.

Later, Snuffer would claim that the high council

used their dominion over me to sustain the charges and ratify all that went on before.

This is nonsense. Snuffer's behavior was simply further proof that the charges were true—he was in active apostasy, would not respect the reasonable requests of his priesthood leaders. It had nothing to do with them using "dominion"—they had so little dominion that they couldn't even compel Snuffer to come into the room if he chose not to. All they could do was ratify what Snuffer had already done—cut himself off from the Church.

Snuffer and his wife claim to receive revelation about what their leaders should do—but Joseph Smith says that this is impossible.

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