Banquet- JOSEPH SMITH MEETS MITT ROMNEY: WHAT DOES THE MORMON PAST CONTRIBUTE TO THE CRAFTING OF A CREDIBLE GLOBAL VISION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY? Grant McMurray, former president of the Community of Christ, will reflect on the opportunities and challenges resulting from a Mormon candidacy for president of the United States. With the world now watching how the movement defines itself, he argues that the sectarian interpretations of Restorationorthodoxy areoften inadequate, and even worse, silly. If there is a contemporary contribution to be offered by the Restoration movement, it cannot rest on ludicrous claims to “all truth” or prophetic inerrancy. But the Romney campaign does unwittingly provide an opportunity to sift through the church’s heritage in search of values and understandings that are credible in the broader culture of American society. What one finds, if looking through new eyes, is surprisingly visionary and thereby a worthy contributor to the dialogue so desperately needed in a world searching for community and yearning for peace.

W. GRANT MCMURRAY