Aware of the growing number of LDS members exiting the Church the LDS hierarchy have responded to some of the cause with the Gospel Topic Essays; many of which focus on Mormon origins, but the problems with the traditional narrative is much larger. The biblical record of Isrealite origins is based primarily on myth presenting …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2019
John Pierce Hawley and the Temple at Zodiac Texas 1849-1851
This presentation will give an overview of temple development—from Kirtland to Nauvoo to Zodiac and to the Endowment House. The center of the presentation will be a contextualization of Hawley’s insight into the changing of the Endowment and other ordinances through those years. Melvin C. Johnson, Andrew Hamilton
Mormonism and Masonry: Emerging Evidence
Clair Barrus will investigate how Joseph Smith’s treasure seeking changed direction in the 1820s in response to Masonic ideology, opening the way for the restoration of scripture. Cheryl Bruno will investigate the underlying objectives of Nauvoo Freemasonry, demonstrating their cross-purposes with the Grand Lodge. The dramatic clash of Mormons and Masons from New York to …
It’s Not Hopeless! Navigating Mixed Faith Marriage
As more Mormons experience faith transitions and faith awakenings many couples find themselves unexpectedly in mixed-faith marriages. This session presents both personal and professional insights into honoring both the challenges and benefits of differing beliefs in a marriage. We will highlight the gifts associated with individualization and fostering mutual respect for each person’s spiritual journey. …
Would Jesus Attend Sunstone?
Some Latter-day Saints feel that attending or presenting at Sunstone or publishing in Sunstone Magazine—or even reading it is—inappropriate or, worse, dangerous. It is popular for Latter-day Saints and other Christians to ask WWJD—”What would Jesus do?” This session attempts to answer that question in relation to Sunstone. Bob Rees, Bill McGee
Graffiti and the Kirtland Temple
Tom Kimball has worked as a volunteer handyman and tour guide at the Kirtland Temple since 2016. At some point, he began actively looking for and logging the existing graffiti in the temple. Some of it is likely from teens gathered in the bell tower over a 1920’s RLDS reunion campout, but some of it …
Many Great and Important Things: The Doctrine of Continued Revelation Today
One of the hallmark doctrines in Mormon theology is belief in the reality of direct and continuing revelation from God to his prophets. Whenever there has been an established “kingdom of God” on earth, we are taught to “follow the prophet” who is God’s mouthpiece. As LDS doctrines do change over time, how do we …
The Near and Distant Future of Faith
Traditional forms of faith drawing on divine authority claims, doctrinal certitudes, resistance to science, and detachment from “the world”, etc. are showing their wear. In the near term, if faith is to survive to rising generations in a meaningful way, it will likely need to be constituted differently, and draw its claim to authority and …
Mormon Poetry and the Prophetic Imagination: Opening (the) Faith Toward Possibility
The prophetic imagination as a mode of consciousness disrupts mainstream cultural trends and seeks to expand individual and communal faith using language ripe with poetic rhythms and imagery. Whereas dogma intends to pin down and flatten out ideas and to narrow the conceptual frames through which people view the world, poetry relies on metaphor, nuance, …
The Religious Case for Environmental Stewardship
Joseph Smith’s first visionary experience with the Divine was occasioned by pondering the swirling stars, radiant sun, and powerful Earth. Early Mormonism was tied directly to the land, be it the banks of the Susquehanna, Nauvoo, or the Salt Lake Valley. Sacred Land is an idea rooted deeply within the Mormon psyche. But that connection …