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| Dennis Whitesides |
New Plymouth - Regrets, he's had a few. Dennis Brownsides often sits quietly in his New Plymouth, ID home, wondering what could have been. "Had I only known what was coming down the road..." He drifts off into deep thought again, staring into the distance.
I've come to this sleepy Idaho town to answer the question: How close were we to having a September Seven? Dennis and I have been meeting the past few days to pore over old photographs and scan through old journal entries. "I grew up as a LaDaSa. I bet you didn't know that". I did actually. I'd done my homework. "Let's get back to the journals," I say wearily. It's been a grinding, depressing few days.
Dennis Brownsides grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. Born to fifth generation pioneer-stock parents, Dennis' roots in Mormonism are deep. After a typical childhood of soccer and scouts and chasing girls, Dennis accepted a mission call to the Paraguay Asuncion mission. "I loved my mission," Dennis concedes. "But that's where the problems started..." It was in Paraguay that Dennis first heard about "Nauvoo's Whistling and Whittling Brigade".
Dennis continued, "I didn't believe the guy. I thought he was just spinning a yarn to try to shake us, like a lot of people did. I didn't give it much credence." Shortly after that encounter Dennis's mission was complete and he returned home honorably.
"One day, about a month after I had gotten back, I went to see a ball game at the old Derk's field. The bus dropped me off early so I took a stroll around the block. I saw a old house that had been converted to a bookstore. Their sign said they had LaDaSa books so I went inside. While I was browsing around I saw something that shocked me. I felt like I had been slugged in the stomach."
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| Dennis (left) in Paraguay, ca 1957 |
"Right on the front page is the headline 'Whistling and Whittling and Whackiness: The true story of Nauvoo's secret police'. I couldn't believe it. The guy in Paraguay was right. I was devastated." Dennis bought a copy of the newsletter and went straight home. He locked himself in his room and read all night.
"Some of the stuff I was reading just blew my mind. It hurt my prayers, for sure. I went to talk to my bishop about it but he just brushed me off. He said the Coopers were liars and were out to make the church look bad. But that didn't help me. I felt deceived and betrayed."
Dennis struggled with his church attendance. He started drinking caffeinated Coke and eating meat pretty heavily. He also stopped attending his ward's Eat, Meet, and Greet.
"I still went to church but my heart wasn't in it. I loved the people and I loved the culture but I couldn't get past the shady history. It was like a loose tooth you can't leave alone. I would cause trouble in Sunday School and Elder's Quorum. I could tell other people were uncomfortable but I couldn't keep my mouth shut." Eventually Dennis' need to speak out would cost him.
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| The author, going through some journals |
The next day Dennis apologizes for the nonsensical tirade. He had had a rough night and thought the answer to his problems lay at the bottom of an aluminum can. I tell him it's fine. We have work to do today. Let's put it behind us.
After years of going through the motions at church Dennis decided he needed to "poop or get off the pot". So he made an appointment to see his stake president.
"This was early August 1993. I go meet with the stake president and basically lay it all out on the table. I tell him I've been spending years researching the Whistling Brigade and I let him know I'm going to publish a book. He tells me that he thinks that's a bad idea and says I wouldn't like the consequences if I did publish. Basically, he threatens me."
But Dennis stood his ground. And the stake president followed through with his threat.
"A few days after my book came out I got a fax from my stake president telling me that they are holding a church court for me. It's scheduled for August 31st. I knew I didn't have to attend but I wanted to go so they would at least have to look me in the eye. After some back and forth between me and the stake president he retired to another room to deliberate on my fate. After five minutes he came back with the decision: excommunication."
After more than 40 years in the church Dennis was no longer a member. Or was he? This is where the importance of the journal comes in.
"So they excommunicated me on August 31st, right? But the next day the stake clerk stopped by my house to drop something off. Turns out I had left my hat at the stake center and he was returning it. So technically the meeting wasn't over. The way I see it I wasn't excommunicated until he brought my hat back, officially ending the meeting. After the clerk left I went and wrote in my journal, 'Just got my hat back that I left at my church court. Finally closure.' The date of that entry? September 1st, 1993!"
During September, after Dennis was excommunicated, the church disciplined six others. They became known as "The September Six" and they were a cause celebre. Their stories became a rallying cry for many. You can see why it is so important for Dennis to find his journal. If he can prove he was excommunicated on September 1st he gets the fame he feels he deserves. If he can't find the journal then he is just the weird old guy in Nowhere, Idaho with seven cats.
We grab another box and start digging.
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