More than 25 years have passed since Mark Hofmann’s bombings and murders exposed his Mormon and Americana documents as forgeries. This presentation will discuss: 1) what has occurred in the story since Hofmann went to prison; 2) the discovery of additional Hofmann forgeries or possible forgeries; and 3) the impact of Hofmann’s forgeries and crimes …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2011
Parody Never Faileth: The Role Of Humor, Satire, And Kitsch In Mormon Culture
Mormons love a good laugh—and sometimes are willing to laugh at themselves. Join us for a lighthearted and light-minded Thursday evening plenary session wherein we will enjoy a closer look at the amusing, the humorous, and the absurd in Mormon creations. We will examine Jana Riess’s Twible project, a slide show featuring LOLcats with a …
Searching For Gene England
Eugene England is remembered by tens of thousands as one of twentieth-century Mormonism’s most significant influences on culture, literature, and practical religion. When Gene participated in the founding of Dialogue, elder Joseph Fielding Smith said it would not be good for the Church. And Gene’s essays and sermons were as troubling to some as the …
A Psychobiography of Joseph Smith: Two Secular Views United
With no historical, archeological, or genetic evidence supporting either the Book of Mormon or the Book of Abraham, the most prominent naturalistic theory of their creation is that they came from Smith’s own mind. Over a decade ago, each of us independently published a comprehensive psychobiographic study of Smith, using contemporary models of behavioral science …
The Social And Economic Teachings Of Mormonism: Social Justice Is Alive And Well
In the 1980s, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued their pastoral letter about our responsibility as Christians to assist the poor. In 2010, the LDS Church stated its new Fourth Mission “to serve the poor and needy” in a new handbook that emphasizes ministering to others. Similar strong traditions exist in many other Christian …
Games Mormons Play
Board games by and for Mormons have found significant commercial success over the past 25 years. one genre that has seen various iterations is the trivia game. These games highlight what is considered Mormon culture and what a Mormon might be expected to know. This paper considers the content and nature of the questions of …
The Crisis Of Mormon Intellectuals: How To Believe When You Don’t Think You Can
This devotional explores several attributes of discipleship not normally associated with the Church, including the place of doubt in LDS testimony and the role of criticism within a faith community, relying on the example of Jesus, who criticized some within his faith community but did not withdraw from it. Nevertheless, his and your actions may …
The Face Of God: The Filter Of Mormon Iconography
Strategies of both preliterate Christian artists and media moguls saturate Mormon iconography. This investigation of LDS art and icon sketches disparities between fundamental doctrinal texts and the religious imagery evolved today. A revealing look at scripture, science, and iconography may reflect the stark gaps in our spiritual omprehension of a latter-day orld. understanding and arrowing …
Mormon Quest For The Presidency: From Joseph Smith To Mitt Romney And Jon Huntsman
This session is a roundtable discussion focusing on two presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, each seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for president. Special emphasis will be given to the strengths versus the weaknesses of each, as well as assessing the chances for success of each. A brief overview will be provided of the …
Very Careless In His Utterances: Editing, Correcting, And Censoring Conference Addresses
At the Sunday morning session of the October 2010 General Conference, President Boyd K.Packer gave a talk titled “Cleansing the Inner Vessel.” a few sentences and several words were changed from the spoken talk in the published talk posted on the Church’s website, LDS.org. Almost instantly, these changes and their significance were analyzed in the …