The publication of Martha Beck’s Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, has generated intense controversy and conflict, not only for its treatment of Mormonism, but also regarding issues of consistency, disclosure, memory reliability, and the intersection between personal integrity and faith. This panel composed of LDS and non-LDS feminists …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2005
Advancing Feminist Sensibilities Among Mormon Men
Why aren’t there more visible and vocal male feminist voices within the Mormon community? The all-male panel will talk about their journeys toward becoming feminists, the challenges they face in maintaining feminist sensibilities in Mormon culture, and ideas they see for encouraging other Mormon men to take more active feminist stances. Michael J. Stevens, Paul …
Joseph Smith As Egyptologist
On first blush, Joseph Smith’s interpretations of the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham appear to contradict what Egyptologists say they are and what they mean. But are they really all that wrong? A broader understanding of ancient Egyptological religion explains the contradictions quite well. Kerry A. Shirts
The 1950 Priesthood Split And Fundamentalist Mormons Today
The two largest fundamentalist Mormon communities today are the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). They were one group until the death of their leader, John Y. Barlow, in 1949. What issues and actions caused their split? How have these events affected the two groups’ distinctly …
Is The Book Of Mormon Scripture?
This paper examines various definitions of scripture to determine if the Book of Mormon adequately fits. Do Latter-day Saints treat the Book of Mormon as scripture, a vehicle of the holy, or more like a scientific text? Franz Bibfeldt, G. St. John Stott
When Talking About God With Those Of Other Religions, Do We Mean The Same Thing?
When traditional Christians and Mormons talk about God, are they talking about the same being and disagreeing with each other, or are they merely talking past one another? This panel will explore the philosophical issue of how we can refer to God and what implications this has for interreligious discourse between Mormons and those of …
Mormon Contributions To Christology And Understanding The Atonement
Sterling M. McMurrin once noted that even among the best Mormon theologians, one can find “a confused combination of the entire gamut of atonement theories.” Panelists in this session will attempt to bring forth clarity from this confusion, as well as suggest areas in which Mormonism has made unique contributions to Christology (how Jesus can …
A Taste Of Everything: Why We Read Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber is considered by many to be the world’s foremost integral theorist, someone who, according to Huston Smith, has “book by book [been] laying the grounds for a genuine world integration.” So, who is Ken Wilber? What are the basic premises of his integral vision? Panelists will talk about what attracted them to Wilber’s …
What Does It Mean To Me To Call Joseph Smith A Prophet?
There are now a number of biographies painting a different picture of Joseph Smith than that which is typically presented at church. What should one make of the differing accounts of the first vision, Joseph’s version of celestial marriage, peep stones and magic, for example? This session asks active Latter-day Saint panelists to focus on …
Observations On Organized Religions And The Uses Of Power
Since all collective organizations inevitably generate and exercise power, some inquiry into the basis of LDS power seems germane. More specifically, what is the nature of the Mormon priesthood? Does the Church enjoy a unique authorization to act for God? Beyond the obvious function of the priesthood as a mechanism for Church governance, does it …