The Mormon Spectrum website was created by a group of people who self-identify as being a part of the spectrum. We understand what these different spaces look and feel like, along the spectrum, and feel there is a need for an online space that is neutral, thorough and feels safe to anyone in any part of the spectrum.

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We recognize, and empathize with, the overwhelming feelings that may accompany the discovery of information outside of the correlated church material. In creating this site, we want to show that a spectrum exists within the world of Mormonism. That there isn’t just a one size fits all Mormon and that many people are navigating their relationship, with the church and Mormonism, in different ways as they move away from identifying as an orthodox Mormon. That there are options.

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We also recognize that there can be significant misunderstandings and hurt feelings between people who are in different parts of the spectrum. We hope that with a better understanding of the various perspectives within the spectrum we will forge better understanding and empathy between us all, so that our relationships are not harmed by our different views and choices.

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Our goal is to provide access to the best resources available for Exploring, Unorthodox and Post/Ex Mormons in the hopes that they will be able to explore, discover and choose what works for them. We hope to provide a safe and empowering space for those who are on this journey or trying to understand loved ones who are.

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In 2018 the church announced it would be moving away from the word Mormon when referring to the name of the church or members and began an enormous process of rebranding itself as they implemented the change online and in print using the Style Guide they released through their Newsroom. We have accordingly updated our links to reflect those changes on our website. We believe the name Mormon will always be associated with the church. It's how the world, and it's own members, have always referred to the church and themselves since its inception. We therefore feel no need to alter anything else about our website and feel very comfortable continuing to use the word Mormon Spectrum to describe ourselves.

 

The original Mormon Spectrum website was created by Jason Howard, Steve Holbrook and Alison Udall with the help of a team of advisers that read, gave feedback and made edit suggestions during its creation. Alison has overseen the production of the site and gathered all the information found in the site with the help of many in her crowd-sourcing approach. She is the author of all the text that is found on the site. The website was not funded by anyone outside this group nor has it taken in any outside donations to date. The website was produced by many hours of volunteer effort. The website was not produced by any outside organization. The new website was created by Alison and her daughter Kim in 2019 in order to improve functionality.

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The genesis for the website began at a retreat in February 2015 in Utah where a group of individuals, invited by John Dehlin, gathered to brainstorm ideas about how to offer support. Mormon Spectrum began from the ideas shared at that retreat and expanded from there after Alison decided to create the website and MSiP directory.