Deep within human consciousness and throughout mythology, we observe the earth symbolizing the feminine energy of the cosmos. In much of the world, human beings have inherited a mythology that promotes men’s authority and dominance over the earth and over women. This core belief has left a legacy in which women are subjugated and our …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2004
PROPHETS AND PROPHECY IN THE MORMON TRADITION
A work in progress, an exploration of the place of prophets and the function of prophecy in Mormonism, this paper will point both to differences across time—in early versus recent years—and to variations in the role of prophets and the function of prophecy in alternative forms of Mormonism. Jan Shipps, Ron Romig, J. Bonner Ritchie
DOES IT MATTER HOW WE REMEMBER THE ABANDONMENT OF PLURAL MARRIAGE?
Twenty years ago, Michael Quinn demonstrated that plural marriage had been actively practiced within the Church after the 1890 Manifesto. Kathleen Flake’s recent book tries to explain why that was and what finally motivated the Church to abandon the practice between 1905 and 1910 in the context of the seating of Apostle Reed Smoot in …
JOHN W. AND LORIN C. WOOLLEY: ARCHANGELS BETWEEN NINETEENTH-CENTURY POLYGAMY AND TWENTIETH-CENTURY MORMON FUNDAMENTALISM
A large majority of today’s Fundamentalist Mormons believe authority to perform plural marriages outside the Church originated in1886 when LDS Church President John Taylor received a revelation regarding plural marriage as well as a personal visitation from Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. They believe President Taylor ordained a few trusted men with apostolic authority and …
THE SECRETS OF NIM’S: WHEN THE BOOK OF MORMON WAS DICTATED, WERE THERE “OTHERS” IN IT?
In 1992, John Sorenson published his article “When Lehi’s Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?” Sorenson urges that they did, and that the Book of Mormon should be read as containing references to these “others” who had to have been present, but are not expressly mentioned. Indeed, Sorenson’s “Others” hypothesis is …
FILM. EMBRACING OUR HOMOSEXUAL CHILDREN
The 50-minute documentary, Embracing Our Homosexual Children, focuses on the Horstmanshoff family of Salt Lake City. John and Ilse are the parents of eleven children including three gay sons and a lesbian daughter. As their children first came out and then later as they found same-sex partners, these parents provided a nurturing and loving environment. …
RECLAIMING MAGDALENE: THE LOST BRIDE IN CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY — & — Vocal Performances
In this second Smith-Pettit lecture, Margaret Starbird will discuss the partnership of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, providing evidence from the Hebrew and Christian sacred texts that the Sacred Union was originally at the heart of the Christian mythology. The loss of the ‘Bride” in the Christian story has had tragic consequences. Restoring the holy mandala …
WILLIAM CHAMBERLIN’S LDS IDEA OF GOD
Sterling McMurrin considered William H. Chamberlin (1870–1921) the “foremost Mormon philosopher” and “more competent than Orson Pratt or B.H. Roberts,” but Chamberlin is largely forgotten, and his work can be found only in the special collections sections of university libraries. Chamberlin was a personalist philosopher who believed that the person was the ultimate category of …
100 YEARS OF MORMON NOVELS
More than one hundred years ago, Nephi Anderson published what is considered to be the first Mormon novel, Added Upon. It was an interesting attempt to encompass the entire gospel plan, from pre-mortality to the afterlife. After that came a long dry period for LDS novels, with the form resurfacing in the 1940s and ‘50s. …
GEORGE ROMNEY: MAVERICK MORMON ACTIVIST
As president of an automobile company, governor of Michigan, stake president, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, George Romney demonstrated a rare form of integrity and commitment to the public weal. However, it was as a private citizen that Romney most exemplified the philosophy that voluntarism is not an act of charity but …