This session invites participants to reenvision clashes between Mormonism and other western forces within a new geocultural framework—that of the Deep West. The Deep West is conceived of as the adjacent heartlands of the Colorado Rockies and plateau in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northern Arizona, and New Mexico, along with the area’s deeper native and …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2012
DIAGNOSING THE SEER: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FIRST VISION
Mormons consider Joseph Smith’s first vision one of the most significant events in religious history; it is by far the most controversial of his visions. Many Mormons maintain that the accounts of the vision are historically accurate, while critics assert that different accounts are inconsistent and historically inaccurate. This session will summarize the various accounts …
WHO GETS TO SAY WHAT FORMER MORMONS ARE LIKE?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints likes to believe that the only ones qualified to talk about Mormonism are its most faithful members, or—ideally—the Church itself, through its appointed spokesmen. And, being a multi-billion-dollar operation, it has the resources to convince people through organizations such as the More Good Foundation, Mormon Voices (a.k.a. …
HEALTHY YOUTH SEXUALITY: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF FOR THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH
Utilizing For the Strength of Youth as a framework to discuss the Church’s approach to youth and sexuality, this presentation proposes healthier ways of approaching youth sexuality education, starting with the twin issues of dress and modesty. The presenters draw upon two important models for sexuality education within a religious community, “Circles of Sexuality” (Dailey, …
IMAGES OF THE DIVINE FEMININE
This session will begin with Margaret Toscano’s slide lecture of images of goddesses and women represented in pre-historic statues, contemporary paintings, and sculptures. Taken primarily from Western art, they show how our reality is shaped by the images we make and how our limited discourse about the Female God has also limited our access to …
MORMONS AND THE FBI
This session will include a screening of the BYU documentary Agents of Justice, detailing the lives of three LDS FBI agents who were killed in the line of duty: Samuel Cowley, Douglas Price, and Robert Porter. The remainder of the discussion will focus on famous (and infamous) Mormons who have worked at the FBI, performed …
THINKING ERRORS, MORMON STYLE
People often behave, think, and respond emotionally according to patterns dictated by deeply entrenched beliefs, assumptions, perceived obligations, fears, and distortions taken from their religious, cultural, and family teachings and role modeling. All cultures and families create this dynamic, which is not necessarily good or bad, but is still decidedly real. When the resulting behaviors …
AUTHOR MEETS CRITICS: IN HEAVEN AS IT IS ON EARTH: JOSEPH SMITH AND THE EARLY MORMON CONQUEST OF DEATH
This panel discussion brings together scholars and thinkers familiar with Samuel Morris Brown’s recent book, In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death. Please join the book’s author and a panel of careful readers in a vigorous exchange about this book and the overview of Mormonism it …
COMING OUT AS AN ALLY: THE IMPACT OF STRAIGHT MORMONS IN ADVANCING LGBT ISSUES IN THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
From the launching of Mormon “It Gets Better” videos to the formation of Mormons for Marriage Facebook groups, from the organizing of “Circling the Wagons” conferences to the participation of straight Mormons in pride parades, 2012 will be remembered as the year when straight, progressive Latter-day Saints came out massively in support of LGBT Mormons. …
EVOLVING MEDIA PERCEPTIONS OF FOUR 2012 MORMON PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS: MITT ROMNEY, JON HUNTSMAN, ROCKY ANDERSON, AND ROSEANNE BARR
Part I: This paper will focus on the media’s evolving perceptions relative to Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, specifically as it involved the so-called “Mormon Question.” How have perceptions changed and shifted since the former Massachusetts governor announced his candidacy in early 2011 and as we approach the general election in which Romney seeks the nation’s highest …