LDS General Authority Excommunicated From Church

KUER 90.1 | By Lee Hale

Published August 8, 2017 at 4:20 PM MDT

A high ranking leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been removed from his position and excommunicated from the church.

James J. Hamula, 59, is the first high profile leader to be excommunicated from the LDS church since George P. Lee 28 years ago.

Hamula was one of about 100 General Authority leaders who minister full-time for the church, leaving behind careers to oversee millions of members worldwide.

A spokesperson for the church confirmed Hamula’s removal but did not give a specific reason for it, except that it was not due to disillusionment or loss of belief known as apostasy.

Excommunication is the most severe penalty for practicing Mormons and can result from a moral transgression, serious criminal acts or defiance of church leaders.

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Lee Hale

Lee Hale began listening to KUER while he was teaching English at a Middle School in West Jordan (his one hour commute made for plenty of listening time). Inspired by what he heard he applied for the Kroc Fellowship at NPR headquarters in DC and to his surprise, he got it. Since then he has reported on topics ranging from TSA PreCheck to micro apartments in overcrowded cities to the various ways zoo animals stay cool in the summer heat. But, his primary focus has always been education and he returns to Utah to cover the same schools he was teaching in not long ago. Lee is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is also fascinated with the way religion intersects with the culture and communities of the Beehive State. He hopes to tell stories that accurately reflect the beliefs that Utahns hold dear.

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