Author: Matt Thurston

Two Guys Ranking the 2009 Best Picture Nominees

A joint post from Matt Thurston and Clay Whipkey. Sunstoners are an arts & culture loving bunch.  Throughout the years, whether in the pages of the Magazine, or from the podium at a Symposium, Sunstoners have repeatedly demonstrated that they only need the barest thread of a connection to Mormonism to launch into an animated …

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The Inevitability of LDS Gay Marriage

Somewhere in the roiling sea of the Gay Marriage Debate ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú where the determined, but overmatched boats of Prophetic Proclamation, Scientific Speculation, Political Posture, and Bleeding-heart Babbling bob and weave, toss and turn ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú stand two immovable pillars.?Ǭ† Like towering lighthouses, they patiently endure the pounding sea, barely taking notice of the pitching and tossing …

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Am I a Sheep or a Goat?

Like 750,000 other California Mormons, I sat amongst my fellow ward members in our local chapel today as our bishop read the Preserving Traditional Marriage and Strengthening Families memo over the pulpit. He followed that by reading a memo outlining the church's views on political neutrality. He closed by asking each of us to ponder …

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On Violence and Richard Dutcher’s “Falling”

If Richard Dutcher's latest film Falling ever sees the light of day in the form of a limited theatrical release, which seems debatable at this point, it will certainly alienate the last of his mainstream LDS fan base. Though the comments from the audience during the Q&A discussion following the private screening rang fairly universal …

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The Fourth Path: Gay, Mormon, Celibate

A fascinating discussion is taking place over at Mormon Mentality with regard to recent changes made to the BYU honor code on the subject of homosexuality. Most interesting to me is the news that a group of gay BYU students took an active part in initiating and approving the changes to the honor code. One …

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Heretic Today, Prophet Tomorrow?

Religious History is replete with heretics or dissenters who, years later, look like prophets.?Ǭ† Think Galileo against the Roman Catholic Church on the subject of heliocentrism; think Orson Pratt against Brigham Young on the subject of Adam-God; think Juanita Brooks against both church leaders and fellow members on the subject of Mountain Meadows Massacre.?Ǭ† I …

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