Still Among the Mormons: The Legacy of William Mulder Karen Rosenbaum, Phyllis Barber, Fred Buchanan, Mary Lythgoe Bradford, Emma Lou Thayne
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2008
‘The Divine Light: Understanding the Spirit of God
‘The Divine Light: Understanding the Spirit of God In 1832, Joseph Smith revealed a concept that bridges scientific and spiritual sensibilities about the universe. Called the Light of Christ (or spirit of God), this primal energy source is not only defined as the life force, the source of enlightenment, and the intelligence from which we …
Selections from Sermons on the Stewardship of the Earth
Selections from Sermons on the Stewardship of the Earth Utah Interfaith Power and Light, a local unit of a national ecumenical, environmentally oriented group of ministers and lay church folk, recently held an Earth Day sermon contest on the theme: ‘This Spring, Change the World by Reaching Out to Your Faith Community and Beyond!’ This …
Did Joseph Smith Know Himself? Do We Know Ourselves?
Did Joseph Smith Know Himself? Do We Know Ourselves? Yale Professor Harold Bloom, celebrated author of the book The American Religion and ardent advocate of Joseph Smith’s primary place in American history, asks a critical question at the end of his provocative Sunstone essay, ‘Perspectivism and Joseph Smith’ (Sunstone, March 2007). In echoing Fawn Brodie’s …
The Gospel According to the Blues: Twelve Gates to the (Inner) City
The Gospel According to the Blues: Twelve Gates to the (Inner) City Traipsing through this curious 1960’s odyssey are such strange bedfellows as Martin Luther King Jr., Hugh B. Brown, Delbert Stapley, Ben Banks, John Florez, Leonard Arrington, Eugene England, Utah Phillips, Polly Stewart, Ammon Hennacy, Rosalie Sorrels, Steve Holbrook, Steve Hale, Darius Gray, Lester …
What Women Know
What Women Know LDS General Relief Society President Julie Beck’s October 2007 general conference address focused on the topic of women’s roles and sphere of influence, highlighting the phrase ‘Mothers Who Know.’ Even as President Beck was speaking, the Bloggernacle began to light up with discussion on her emphasis on mothers as nurturers and the …
‘They leave the Church, but they cannot leave the Church alone’: The Psychology of Apostasy
‘They leave the Church, but they cannot leave the Church alone’: The Psychology of Apostasy The word ‘apostate’ simply means ‘one who stands apart,’ but from the standpoint of emotional well-being, ‘standing apart’ is seldom a healthy, happy place to be. Does current psychological theory offer any insight into the growing phenomenon of apostate Mormons …
Mormons and the Iraq War
Mormons and the Iraq War Drawing on my firsthand experience from two trips to Iraq with the pacifist group, Christian Peacemaker Teams, and my background in LDS theology and scripture, I will argue against the common misperception among Latter-day Saints that the U.S. military is waging ‘a war of freedom’ to liberate Iraqis, that the …
Mormons and the Cross
Mormons and the Cross The cross, perhaps the most potent and ubiquitous symbol in Christendom, has been essentially rejected as a symbol by the LDS Church. Mormons do not wear crosses, and no Mormon chapel or temple is adorned with a cross. For other Christians, who see the cross as the very emblem of Christ’s …
‘The Group’: LDS Hippie Culture and Drug Recovery
‘The Group’: LDS Hippie Culture and Drug Recovery In the hippie culture of the sixties and early seventies, the LDS Church’s staunchly conservative stance seemed anathemic to a philosophy of drug use as the way to enlightenment. Yet among a small group of recovering drug addicts, the theology of Mormonism was reinvented and reinvigorated to …