During Proposition 8, an initiative on the 2008 California ballot prohibiting same-sex marriage, some Latter-day Saints who refused to support the Church’s campaign or who openly opposed it were disciplined by local leaders in spite of the Church’s official policy allowing non-support, if not dissent. This is the story of one person who was disciplined …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2018
Understanding and Compassion for other Threads in our Tapestry: Insights from Social Psychology
There are many different Peter Leavitt
One Heart One Mind: Evolving an Indigenous Mormon Mysticism
From Jewish Kabbalah to Islamic Sufism to the more recent revival of Christian contemplation, the yearning for direct experience of God seems to be at the heart of the human journey. Latter-day Saints may naturally ask, will Mormonism bring forth its own meditative tradition in accordance with this pattern? Has that tradition already begun to …
Redeeming the Endowment: The Return of the Queen
In this presentation, I will address two fundamental problems that the endowment creates for women; first, that they are ordained as priestesses to their husbands rather than as priestesses to God and, second, that in the endowment there is missing the presentation of a female divinity. My paper is divided into two sections addressing at …
The Problem in the Mormon Church is singular: PATRIARCHY
The marriage of patriarchy to religion was an unholy one, allowing patriarchy to become even more toxic and religion to become malicious, vindictive, and full of shame and fear. When church leaders are faced with choosing something Christlike or something patriarchal, they’ll choose patriarchal every time, because—to them—they are the same thing. In reality, the …
366.Gaining Perspective during the Mormon #metoo movement
Matt Long discusses what he’s learned about the LDS Church’s response to the Mormon #metoo movement after representing defendants, victims, family members, and bishops affected by sexual abuse in the Mormon context. He will also discuss the Church’s sexual abuse policies and what changes are likely or unlikely to occur and why. Matt Long
The Book of Mormon Musical: How Funny is it to Mormons?
The Book of Mormon Musical has been one of the most successful musicals in American theater history. Audience have flocked to see Mormons and Mormonism satirized, lampooned, and caricatured. But how funny is it to Mormons? How successful has the Church’s attempt been to turn the musical in its favor? Bob Rees, Clifton Jolley, Ron …
The Memeing of Mormonism: ‘Stuff You Missed in Sunday School’
“The truth will cut its own way.” —Joseph Smith. Stuff You Missed in Sunday School is a 2017 Brodie-award-winning advocacy platform that takes the complexities of Mormonism and distills them into bite-sized chunks, one meme at a time. How does SYMISS use social media in tandem with design and marketing principles as advocacy tools? Craig …
Listen to Your Mother! Love IS All You Need
Sometimes, when I am reading scriptures, or history, or thinking about what is happening, I hear Her. Sometimes it is a conversation, sometimes it is just Her. She needs no protection. I do not need permission to listen to my Mother, my Sister, my God. This is sharing time. I will speak of some of …
Reconciling Threads of Apostasy in Family History, or, Who Was Ezra Strong?
In 2015, FamilySearch notified me that my ancestor Ezra Strong was mentioned in the Joseph Smith papers. As I traced his journey that spanned from New England to Oregon, I saw that, although devout in his commitment to to the restoration, Ezra was loyal to no man—at least not for very long. This presentation will …