Early on in a faith shift, most of us begin to feel less comfortable at church, sure that we’re the only one thinking (what seem to be) bigger thoughts about the topics at hand, or frustrated at appeals to authority instead of genuine engagement. “Where’s the growth?” “Where’s the curiosity?”, we wonder. Experiences like these …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2017
Finding Faith and Virtue in Resistance
From its inception, members of Ordain Women have engaged in faithful agitation for gender equality. In response, some LDS Church leaders have characterized them as neither faithful nor virtuous. A few church leaders have even imposed ecclesiastical discipline on Ordain Women supporters and board members. Despite this, Ordain Women believes that true faithfulness and virtue …
It Was the Worst of Times; It Was the Best of Times: Finding God in the Wound
This has been a terrible year. And it has been a glorious year. I want growth, wisdom, and knowledge, but I don’t always like what it takes to get them. Pain and joy coexist in the extremes of personal, spiritual, and community life. Where do we find the truth Joseph promised in proving contraries? This …
[My] feelings… I should not dare to reveal”: The Personality of Joseph Smith
Ronald O. Barney
A Life Worth Living (after Mormonism)
For some Mormons, losing faith creates an existential crisis, making them ask what life’s meaning is. Why is meaning in life so important? What meanings are worth living for? This presentation explores theories and research on meaning, and shares insights toward achieving a meaningful life. Gary Horlacher Ernest Horstmanshoff
Mormons, Myth, Miracles, & Magic
On any given Sunday, but especially on the first Sunday of the month, it is not uncommon to hear Latter-day Saints speak of miracles in their lives. To an objective viewer, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between some event that might qualify as a miracle and others that seem more within the realm of …
Sing a New Song: Hymns of Devotion, Inclusion, and Faith
Come and sing new, relevant hymns with us! These hymns address topics such as the lifting of the priesthood ban on race, reverence for the earth, Heavenly Mother, the Atonement, evolution, the homeless, refugees, women’s prophetic role, the devil, death, faith, and doubt. The session will consist almost entirely of singing new hymns by Fred …
Leadershift: The Slurge from Love to Power
Leadershift is the final essay in my “Shift Happens” series. In part 1, I revisit the theme of my 1989 Sunstone speech “A Plea to the Leadership of the Church: Choose Love Not Power” and examine why church and state leaders tend to shift steadily from compassion to control, from ethics to self-preservation, from love …
Food of the Goddess: The Entheogenic Theory of Religion
This presentation will begin by discussing psychedelic plants (psilocybic mushrooms, mescaline cacti, ergot extract, ayahuasca, cannabis, etc.), how they affect the human brain, what psychedelic experiences are like, and the effects they can have on people. The second half will explain the entheogenic theory of religion, a somewhat speculative explanation of how we changed from …
The Wicked Son: My Father Is Warren Jeffs
Roy Jeffs is the son of the infamous FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs. Join him as he shares his harrowing story of shame, escape, and resiliency. Roy Jeffs