Wonder is excited by encounters with the unexpected, when we yield to “a sudden decentering of the self” (Bulkeley). Experiences of wonder spark both intense religious experiences and profound relationship connections. in both arenas—the intimately spiritual and the intimately social—when we are stunned, dazed, breathtaken, overwhelmed, consumed, or astonished, we feel yearnings to explore, to …
Category: Podcasts
Flunking Sainthood
For her forthcoming memoir, Flunking Sainthood, Jana Riess tackled twelve different spiritual practices in a quest to become more saintly, including fasting, fixed-hour prayer, gratitude, Sabbathkeeping, and generosity. although she began with great plans for success (“Really, how hard could that be?” she asked at the start of her saintmaking year), she found to her …
Jon McNaughton, Mormon Artist/ Right-Wing Propagandist
Mormon painter Jon McNaughton is one of the most popular and commercially successful artists in the United States. His religious and patriotic paintings have sold widely, and YouTube videos of two of his most popular paintings have each been seen by more than 3,000,000 viewers. But McNaughton’s art is also controversial because of the overt …
The Lioness of the Lord: The Letters of Augusta Adams Cobb to Her Husband Brigham Young
An archive in Wisconsin contains some 150 letters that Augusta Adams Cobb wrote to Brigham Young from 1844 to the 1860s. Augusta was Brigham’s second plural wife (of 55 total). A boston Brahmin, herbalist, and cultural feminist, Augusta abandoned her wealthy first husband and six of her children to marry Brigham Young in 1843. Her …
Further Light And Knowledge
This paper analyzes esoteric ways of knowing in Mormonism to illuminate how particular LDS women have synthesized, supplemented, or replaced Mormonism with elements of twenty-first century New Spirituality. The New Spirituality is the current generalized spiritual milieu in the United States: dynamic, competitive, flexible, and hybrid—an inclusive category that can cover the wide range of …
Mormons And Maternal Culture
Motherhood and homemaking receive a lot of lip service within Mormon culture, but when women use the internet (and other venues) to descant on their lived experience with this noble calling, people do not hesitate to ridicule domestic minutiae, sneer at discussions of poop, and condescend to crafters. This reaction to the nuts-and-bolts of child-rearing …
Pacifist Counselor In The First Presidency: J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961
For decades before he entered the First Presidency at age 61, Utah native J. Reuben Clark had been pro-war in philosophy and actions. As chief legal adviser in the US State Department, he even wanted to jail all pacifists. Despite this background, he played a different role in Mormon leadership circles by becoming a puzzling …
Controversies In Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Comparing The Opinions Of Experts
This presentation will examine the views of authors such as Fawn Brodie, Daniel Bachman, Lawrence Foster, Richard S. Van Wagoner, Todd Compton, D. Michael Quinn, Michael Marquardt, and George D. Smith regarding controversial issues in Joseph Smith’s polygamy such as: Whether he was married to Fanny alger in Kirtland? Whether any of his plural marriages …
Passive Aggression Among Latter-Day Saints: Evidence From The Wasatch Front
When people experience disagreements or conflict,passive aggression is one of at least five possible response options. Research shows that it is generally a poor, unconstructive strategy, and is also a less common response among the US population at large. However, for Latter-Day Saints born and raised along the Wasatch Front, the passive-aggressive response appears to …
Relief Society Herstory: The Women We Come From
In light of President Julie Beck’s call to focus on the history of Relief Society, we’ll look at some of the highs and lows of this auxiliary, including stories from lesser-known women who were Relief Society members throughout the decades. Join us as we walk uncorrelated in their shoes and find out the big–and the …