The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sandy Utah Crescent Stake

August 21, 2013

Brother Denver Snuffer

Sandy, UT 84092

Via Hand Delivery

RE: Notice of Disciplinary Council

Dear Brother Snuffer,

After nearly 18 months of prayerful consideration, you are hereby notified of a disciplinary council to be held for you on Sunday, September 8, 2013. The disciplinary council will be held in the High Council room at the Stake Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Please let me know if you plan to attend the disciplinary council. You are welcome to bring your wife if you choose. If you wish to bring any witnesses, let me know by Wednesday, August 28th so that I can consider who you would like to bring and their purpose in participating in the council. In addition to the High Council, I will invite Bishop Lundgren to attend the disciplinary council.

The issue for consideration at the disciplinary council is whether the continued publication of Passing the Heavenly Gift constitutes an act of apostasy and, if so, what the appropriate remedy should be. For your information, if the council concludes that publication of the book is an act of apostasy, the only alternative outcomes for the council are disfellowship or excommunication. Church policy makes no allowance for probation for acts of apostasy, a reflection of the serious nature of this issue.

Denver, I am not anxious to chase people out of the church. My goal is the opposite—to enable all to enjoy the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have tried to be open minded about the issues we have discussed. I am sympathetic with those who face crises of faith.

I cannot deny, however, the spirit's influence on me and the responsibilities I have to protect the interests of the church. I have tried to persuade you that PTHG is not constructive to work of salvation or the promotion of faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The book's thesis is in direct conflict with church doctrine. In your effort to defend the restoration, you have mischaracterized doctrine, denigrated virtually every prophet since Joseph Smith, and placed the church in a negative light. The book is a misguided effort to attempt to bridge the gap between the church and its dissidents. PTHG will never be the solution to hard questions that you believe it is. Like every other such effort, it will attract only the attention of those whose spiritual eyes, ears and hearts are obscured from the truth. Your work pits you against the institution of the church and will lead to the spiritual demise of you and your family.

To avoid the disciplinary council, I ask you, again:

1. To remove PTHG from publication;

2. To acknowledge to those who follow your blog that PTHG contains content that needs to be withdrawn; and

3. To cancel your planned speaking tour that begins in September, which I believe will promote the views expressed in PTHG.

Please, dear brother, we want and need you on the side of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter-days. Please reconsider your journey down the path that is likely to lead to the impairment of your church membership.

Sincerely,

Truman Hunt

Stake President