By D. Jeff Burton D. Jeff Burton is the author of For Those Who Wonder and a former member of the Sunstone board of directors. I exchanged thoughts and experiences with “James” (not his real name) who has a “closet doubter” story similar to many I’ve heard over the years. First, here are his …
Author: Stephen Carter
Liquid Assets: How Climate Change Could Affect the LDS Church in Florida
By Mark Thomas Mark Thomas earned an MBA from Northwestern University, and works professionally in public finance. He began his career as a real estate appraiser in Utah. “If we had poets, we’d be writing about the swallowing of Miami Beach by the sea.” Bruce Mowry City Engineer Miami Beach, Florida “In the …
The Fellowship of the Saints
By Edward Hogan Edward Hogan is a retired mathematics professor. He now spends his time making furniture, gardening, and attempting to write a novel. I am sitting in the family room watching television when my wife, Connie, comes in and shows me her thumb. It hurts, she says, and feels infected. “Should I …
And Thorns Will Grow There
By Emily Belanger Emily Belanger is a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, where she lives with her husband. When she isn’t teaching, writing, or fending off Southern scorpions, she reads every fairy tale she can find. “And Thorns Will Grow There” took second place in the 2015 Sunstone Fiction Contest. …
Still Finding Pieces
By Lia Hadley Lia Hadley lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest where she writes and teaches, always finding new ways to recycle the past. The other day, I was at the grocery store here in the Pacific Northwest with my husband. As we came out of the soup and pasta aisle, …
How Warren Jeffs Maintains His Hold Over the FLDS
By Ken Driggs Ken Driggs is an attorney living in Atlanta, Georgia. He specializes in criminal defense and has a graduate degree in legal history. He has visited and written about Fundamentalist Mormons since 1988. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” …
The Quest for the Historical Jesus
By Robert A. Rees Robert A. Rees teaches Mormon Studies at Graduate Theological Union and the University of California Berkeley. He has just completed a play on Emerson and his circle and is compiling a collection of his essays on the Book of Mormon. He can be reached at bobrees2@gmail.com. Pilate asked the …
In the Presence of the Lord
By Kenny Kemp Kenny Kemp is an attorney and author whose latest book, Flying with the Flak Pak, tracks his father’s adventures as a bomber pilot in WWII. He can be reached via his website at: www.kennykemp.com. I have finally found a way to live Just like I never could before. I …
Thinking About the Handbook Update Using the Four Quadrants
By Russ Osmond Russ Osmond has a Ph.D. from Syracuse University and is the founder of Change Strategies International in Atlanta. He is a retired USAF chaplain and an internationally published authority on conflict resolution communication. In the fall of 1963, I was wearing my ROTC uniform as I helped burn a sculpture …
Supporting Your LGBTQ Loved One in Today’s Church
By Natasha Helfer Parker Natasha Helfer Parker is a licensed clinical marriage & family therapist and certified sex therapist with almost 20 years experience working primarily with Latter-day Saints. She can be contacted at natashaparker.org. QUESTION: Our teenager recently came out to us as being gay, and, wanting to respond in a supportive way, …