Cognitive distortions, or thinking errors, cause individuals to perceive reality inaccurately, producing and reinforcing negative thoughts and emotions. All individuals, families, and cultures perpetuate distorted thinking patterns, including Mormonism. This session will look at common Mormon thinking errors and offer remedies for them including examining beliefs and self-talk, correcting inaccurate thought patterns, and expanding clear …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2016
Death S Bifocals Focusing Life S Joy S Magnifying Life S Violence
To apprehend life, we must contemplate death. Socrates, Jesus, and the Buddha did just that, intertwining the threads of death with the qualities of life. However, the contemplation of death can also amplify violence and diminish one’s quality of life. Using research from the field of terror management, this presentation will explore these two death …
Landing Instructions How To Navigate Or Help Someone Navigating Faith Crisis
A faith crisis is like turbulence on a airplane: one minute everything is fine, then the plane starts shaking; you feel powerless and scared. Worse, unlike on an plane where your fellow passengers are gripping their seats the same way we are, in a faith crisis we often feel like we’re alone. Though airplane turbulence …
Mormon Alchemy Making A Life That Matters From Mormonism S Most Common Sometimes Even Ugly Elements
Hundreds of years ago, alchemy was the medieval predecessor to chemistry—an almost-scientific determination to transform that which is common, like lead, into something valuable, like gold. What would Mormonism look like if each of us learned to become Mormon alchemists? What if, instead of picking around the parts we dislike, or fighting against our religious …
Mormon Women Write Life Writing And The Construction Of Mormon Womanhood
Drawing on their Puritan heritage, early Mormon converts were avid life writers, keeping diaries and journals, writing autobiographies and life sketches, and even producing ward cookbooks. Life writing continues to occupy a significant place in Mormon culture, especially among women. This presentation examines Mormon women’s life writing across time and culture, showing how Mormon women’s …
Neurodiversity And Mormonism
The autistic community is often overlooked within Mormonism. As numbers of diagnosed and self-diagnosed autists continue to increase throughout society, the number of Mormon autists will also increase. How can non-autists (allists) better understand autism? In what ways do autists benefit from Mormonism and in what ways do we contribute? How do we struggle? How …
Human Trafficking In Zion
Fifteen years ago, for nine months, Steven Fales turned to sex work in New York City in order to pay child support. Using personal stories from this time and data from organizations such as Truckers Against Trafficking, Fales will show how Mormons remain mostly ignorant of human trafficking in Zion, and what we can do …
Should Mormons Be Vegan
Mormonism once strongly advocated against harming animals unnecessarily. Both prophets and scriptures have put restrictions the use of animals for food. During this time of nutritional abundance where the use of animal products is no longer necessary, it is time for Mormons to get back to their doctrinal roots and end the exploitation of animals. …
Face To Face Foundations For A Mystical Tradition In Mormonism
Mysticism, properly understood and practiced, is the quest for a deep and direct realization of God and Self. It is conscious awakening into the mystery of life itself and therefore vital for vibrant, spiritual living as individuals and as a community. Sadly, a rich mystical tradition has not developed in Mormonism in spite of the …
Conversations With Harry Sectarianism And The One True Church
My ninety-five-year-old friend, Harry Fox, has ministered his whole life in the Church of Christ, which originated in the Campbellite restoration movement, and we have had many conversations about the quest for the true church of Christ. This paper explores the basic issues of these dialogues. Can the true church of Christ be found in …