Great Movies That Have Expanded My Religious World For many of us, movies not only entertain but can also change how we see and experience life and the world. From watching a film, we can feel cleansed, live without guilt, or be more selfless. For exalting recommendations, come to this session! Scot Denhalter, Moderator; Elbert …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2006
Tell Us Your Story
Discussion. Tell Us Your Story. The homes and bodies of most people in the so-called developed world are bursting with abundance, but most of us are starving for the thing that matters most: intimacy. The only experience more intimate and more nourishing than listening to other human beings speak from the heart about their spiritual …
Big Love, Big Issues
Big Love, Big Issues The new HBO series, Big Love, has created quite a stir among media watchers, cultural critics, and Mormons. Why the buzz? The show centers on the family of Bill Hendrickson, the owner of a growing chain of home-improvement stores who owns three homes of his own, each occupied by one of …
Dissenting Opinions: Art From The Dark Side Of Happy Valley
Dissenting Opinions: Art From The Dark Side Of Happy Valley Mormon teachings depict the universe as driven by a plan, a plotline in which good will assuredly triumph over evil. Humans are believed to be essentially divine beings who will ultimately respond in accord with their truest nature. Given this framework, Mormons (like most people) …
Is Plural Marriage Required For Exaltation?
Is Plural Marriage Required For Exaltation? Mormon fundamentalists and modern polygamists generally assert that plural marriage is a commandment of God, required of all of his worthy followers irrespective of time and place. For this reason, they have attempted to continue polygamy after President Joseph F. Smith stopped approving plural sealings in April 1904. Also, …
The Poet Joseph Smith
The Poet Joseph Smith (recording: poor quality) Brigham Young said “Joseph Smith was a poet, and poets are not like other men. . . . They catch the swift thought of God and reveal it to us.” This proposal presents two close examinations of Joseph Smith as poet: the psalm of anguish recoverable in his …
Does Tattoo Taboo Ring True for Mormon Youth?
Panel, Does Tattoo Taboo Ring True For Mormon Youth? When Brigham Young University basketball star Rafael Araujo’s obvious tattoos drew media attention in 2004, and the team’s media guide used electronic means to scrub his image by manipulating a photo, the flap attracted national coverage. Do tattoos violate Mormon reverence for the body? What motivates …
Author-Meets-Critics Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency Of Spencer W Kimball
Author-Meets-Critics Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency Of Spencer W Kimball Edward L. Kimball’s highly anticipated study of the landmark Church presidency of Spencer W. Kimball arrived late last year with far less fanfare than it deserved. According to the book’s preface, the author and publisher Deseret Book “[did] not agree on the interpretations or weight …
The Sugar Beet: 4 Years, 5 Months, 7 Days, And 3.52 Hours Later
The Sugar Beet: 4 Years, 5 Months, 7 Days, And 3.52 Hours Later Everyone loves Mormonism’s premier satirical newspaper, The Sugar Beet. And everyone is really excited that The Sugar Beet’s first collection, The Mormon Tabernacle Enquirer, is scheduled to come out this fall just in time to keep us all awake during General Conference. …
Join None Of Them, For They Are All Wrong
Join None Of Them, For They Are All Wrong The panelists in this session will present their experiences of attending a variety of non-LDS churches. Their observations will range from music to preaching, from doctrine to fellowship, from proselytizing to church government. How do their experiences compare with those of Joseph Smith? Did they find …