Produced by BYU in 1969, the short film Johnny Lingo is often cited as a wise, compassionate story of male sensitivity to female identity, a positive demonstration of how to foster female self-worth. But the story hinges on the idea that a woman’s self-esteem is based on the price she commands in a financial transaction …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2009
SL09215 Church Historical Sites and the Construction of Testimony
I embarked on my own Mormon pilgrimage in an effort to understand religious declarations of faith as expressed in Church historical sites, particularly in Vermont, New York, and Missouri. First, I will examine how, in their attempt to restore Mormon historical sites, the LDS Church creates simulacra, sites where the representations have only a tangential …
SL09263 The “LDS” Purity Myth [Partial]
The LDS Church has long advocated virginity and sexual abstinence until marriage. Has virginity become a type of cult? This paper will also explore the connection between chastity and pornography for both men and women. What happens when a woman’s primary value is sexual, through motherhood, wifedom, and chastity? Is there a way to defend …
SL09324 Tradition and Progress: Elaine Cannon
This presentation focuses on the contributions made by Elaine Anderson Cannon to the lives of LDS women, to their understanding of their worth and duty, and to the broader Church’s conceptual grasp of woman’s divinity—including our relationship with the Divine Feminine. I will touch on both her life-long career as a writer, propelled by her …
SL09363 The Treachery of the Heretic
Conflict within religions is often far more potentially damaging than disagreements between them. At the heart of intra-religious conflict is the feeling of betrayal. The heretic is a member of the family who has chosen to destroy the family from within. This treachery is personal. But it feels different for the heretic, who feels she …
SL09152 Repeating History: Comparing the 1953 and 2008 Raids on FLDS
In July 1953, Arizona Governor Howard Pyle ordered police action against the Fundamentalist Mormons in the remote village of Short Creek. Pyle told the public he wanted “to protect the lives and futures of 263 children” in a community “dedicated to the production of white slaves.” The raid was an expensive failure and cost Pyle …
SL09223 Alexander Hale Smith: The Far West Son of Joseph and Emma Smith [Partial]
The presentation will provide a visual biographical review of Alexander Hale Smith’s life, with special emphasis on interaction with his extended Smith family and encounters with Utah Mormons during his life and ministry. Ron Romig (read by Rene Romig), Gracia N. Jones
SL09264 Cross at the Cross: LDS Contempt for the Christian Symbol
The cross taboo was a late development in Mormon history, manifesting itself at the grass-roots level around the 1900s and later being institutionalized as protocol in the 1950s by President David O. McKay. Previously, many Saints used and promoted the symbol in its visual and material form. This paper will explain why the early Mormon …
SL09326 Panel: Online Lesson Resources
The explosion of online publishing has created a proliferation of lesson helps, hints, and resources for the LDS teacher. These span an enormous range of ortho- and heterodoxies and offer a fascinating picture of how Correlation works (and doesn’t) in the 21st century. Join creators and users of some of these resources for a discussion …
SL09364 Women Making America: Finding Ourselves in Women’s History
Traditional history, as it has often been taught, describes a world where men independently made America—they appear to have begat themselves, fed themselves, and generally lived lives without women. It is a history of the most powerful people experiencing events divorced from daily life. What insights can be gained from a history that shifts its …