This presentation compares and contrasts Joseph Smith’s views and practices regarding slavery, race, and ethnicity with those of William Miller and Ellen G. White (founding leaders of Seventh Day Adventism) and Mary Baker Eddy (founder of the Christian Science movement). These issues figured prominently in all three religious movements, but while all four leaders were …
Event: Southwest Symposium 2005
PANEL. MORMON FEMINIST LITERATURE REVIEW
Join panelists for a lively discussion of our favorite, provocative, thought-provoking, revolutionary, inspirational, and faith-enhancing books in the field of feminist spirituality. Re-discover the classics, and hear about newer volumes too good to keep to ourselves! A list of our top picks will be available for the audience. Mary Ellen Robertson, Carol Lynn Pearson Lavina …
THE FIRST TWO OF FIVE BRIEF ESSAYS ON THE ATONEMENT
In these two essays, I work to lay out the rationale and groundwork for any serious LDS consideration of the atonement of Christ. The first essay explores the context of the project. Why should we engage in such speculation as this? What is the LDS view of the role of reason in religious and spiritual …
THE SAN FRANCISCO BRANCH OF THE CHURCH IN THE 1850’S: INSIGHTS FROM THE CAROLINE BARNES CROSBY DIARY
Caroline Crosby was one of the most detailed chroniclers of events related to the Mormons in California from the time of her passing through on her way to a mission in the Society Islands in 1850 until her family moved back to Utah at the end of 1857. For a year and a half, from …
CREATIONISM, POSTMODERNISM, AND MORMONISM
LDS writers addressing the challenges of modern science, ranging from evolution and cosmology to Book of Mormon historicity, have frequently resorted to arguments derived from either the creationist or the postmodern science studies communities. The literature of these two groups, while poles apart on most intellectual and social issues, exhibits characteristics of poor scholarship, including …
PANEL. SPIRITUALITY IN MUSIC, OR THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER, PAUL, AND MARY
Music, and the lyrics connected with it, can express many emotions, moods, and spiritual depths and heights. One part of this session will look at what creates spirituality in music and it will also look at how varied music we define as spiritual can be, from towering peaks of Western classical music to hymns, spirituals, …
COMMUNITY OF CHRIST THEOLOGY AT AN IMPASSE: IS CHRISTOLOGY THE KEY?
In May 2002, the First Presidency of the Community of Christ appointed a twelve-member task force to give attention to the significant theological issues facing the church. The task force’s first statement, “Scripture in the Community of Christ” was published in June 2003. It dealt generally with the issue of the use of scripture in …
DISCUSSION. LDS PERSPECTIVES ON THE STEM CELL DEBATE
The debate revolving around embryonic stem cell research often degenerates into a partisan-style argument over when life begins, or, from a Mormon perspective, when the spirit enters the body. The ethics of stem cell research deserves better, and Latter-day Saint theology and practice provide a framework for a more constructive debate. David Hunter
GOLD RUSH SAINTS: THE CONTEST BETWEEN BABYLON AND ZION IN CALIFORNIA’S NEW EL DORADO
Beginning with the 1846 and 1847 arrivals of the Brooklyn Saints and the veterans of the famed Mormon Battalion, California’s LDS pioneers became centrally involved in events that had great significance not only to Mormonism but also to the broad course of regional and national growth. In this presentation, based on his recently published narrative …
FILM AND DISCUSSION. “BURYING THE PAST: LEGACY OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE”
Park City, Utah; co-director, University of Utah film studies division; director, Burying the Past , winner of the “Best of Festival Award” at the Berkeley Film Festival and “Best of State Award: Utah” 2004, in the video category. Following the showing of Burying the Past, director Brian Patrick will answer questions about the film and …