This perennially well-received Sunstone session features the stories of those who have chosen to remain active, dedicated Latter-day Saints even in the face of many difficult challenges to traditional faith. How have these members wrestled with their faith and yet emerged more determined than ever to be a part of the Latter-day Saint community? JALYNN …
Event: DC Symposium 2009
DC09010: The Mormon Place in the American Religious Landscape
In 2008, the Pew Forum released the US Religious Landscape survey, the largest study of American religious life ever conducted, including a statistically significant sample of Latter-day Saints. What does it tell us about Mormons and other religious groups in America? This presentation will focus on three areas, with a particular focus on the Mormons: …
DC09011: “We Are All Going to Have to Live It Someday” Is Polygamy Really a Higher Law?
Some women attempting to escape from polygamy have complained that LDS bishops they consulted advised them to return to their husbands because “We are all going to have to live polygamy someday.” LDS theology distinguishes between “higher” laws–what God really wants us to do–and “lower” laws, which we have to settle for because the higher …
DC09012: Obedience Culture Churches and Their Impact: From Guantanamo to California’s Proposition 8
Obedience Culture values conformity over competence, unflinching faith over critical thinking, and institutional loyalty over human dignity. I examine the ascendancy of Obedience Culture among LDS and other US religious communities and explore its recent extension into public policy. I argue that Obedience Culture influences have deteriorated America’s moral leadership and that the particularly organized …
DC09013: Panel: Mormons in International Relations
With its corps of missionaries and explosive growth overseas, the LDS Church is evolving from a US church to an international religion. Church members are often inclined toward careers in international relations. What are some issues that Mormons working in international relations should be prepared to address? What challenges might Mormons experience during a career …
DC09014: Keeping the Covenant: The Role of Mormon Expression in Modern American Political Discourse
This presentation will focus on the proper role of Latter-day Saints in modern American political discourse. It will focus not on the meta-actions of the institutional Church, per se, but rather on the duties, actions, and responsibilities of individual Mormons in pursuit of the common good. The presentation will draw heavily on social contract theorists …
DC09001: DISCUSSION WITH AUTHOR: NAUVOO POLYGAMY . . . BUT WE CALLED IT CELESTIAL MARRIAGE
Mormon polygamy began in Nauvoo, Illinois, a river town located at a bend in the Mississippi about fifty miles upstream from MarkTwain’s Hannibal, Missouri. After church founder Joseph Smith married some thirty-eight women, he introduced this GEORGE D. SMITH
DC09002: This is My Body: Thinking about the Sacrament
In this devotional, we will read the story of the Last Supper closely to unpack the language and find parallels and connections to all aspects of Christ’s ministry. We will seek to unfold new dimensions to the weekly ritual of the Sacrament. What does it symbolize? What does it direct our attention toward? How can …
DC09003: Causing the Constitution to Hang by a Thread: The Mormon Involvement in Torture
Mormons have long believed that the elders of the church would be called upon to save the US Constitution. Ironically, the Constitution has been seriously endangered by two Mormons who acted as authors, planners, legal experts, and executors of Bush doctrines that led directly to torture, dismissal of the Geneva Conventions, wiretapping without warrant, and …
DC09004: An LDS Rationale for Humane Immigration Policy
Migration is the story of Adam and Eve, Lehi’s family, the Israelites, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus–as well as 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US and 24 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide. This discussion will explore opportunities for Latter-day Saints to “welcome the stranger” and the ways in which many LDS leaders respond to this …