Historian calls foul on Mormon excommunication of blogger

The editor of a Web site that encourages Mormons to question church history and doctrine has been told that he faces a church trial and possible excommunication because he is an apostate who is trying to lead church members astray.

David Twede, a fifth-generation Mormon who lives in Florida, is the managing editor of MormonThink, one of the most influential of the many Web sites on which active and former Mormons debate church teaching. Such sites have drawn increased traffic as Mormons turn to the Internet to find answers to controversial questions about Mormon history and traditions that the church does not address....

Mr. Twede’s situation was first reported on Friday by the Web site The Daily Beast, which suggested that Mr. Twede was being disciplined because he had posted several articles on MormonThink critical of Mr. Romney....

Philip Barlow, a professor of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, said that other Mormon bloggers had posted negative articles about Mr. Romney without any repercussions from the church....