In the spring of 2004, five women formed an amateur writing group known as Segullah. Out of those interactions came plans to launch a journal featuring the insights and experiences of LDS women, designed to encourage literary talent, provoke thought, and promote greater understanding and faith. Come hear more about Segullah’s beginnings and how it …
Event: Southwest Symposium 2009
SW09022: Panel: Proposition in All Things: Post-election Perspectives on 8
Where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going with regard to Proposition 8 and the LDS Church’s foray into internet campaigning and community building? Panelists will discuss their personal experiences with the Prop 8 campaign and its aftermath and will examine the legal ramifications of Church involvement, including how …
SW09005: Strangers in Zion: Homosexuality and the Latter-day Saint Movement
While Mormonism is unique, it has several commonalities with other ethnic-based religions. For these tight-knit groups, expectations of sexual purity and controlling marriage serve as barriers to the outside world, perpetuating the ethnic-based religion. While the Community of Christ may share much of the same canon and early history with LDS Mormonism, there are important …
SW0915: Marriage, Mormons, and Civil Liberties
Nineteenth Century Mormons were denied their civil and religious rights in part because of their marriage practices. The will of the majority led to Mormons being driven from their homes and massacred and their leaders assassinated. Modern-day Mormons are cognizant that our ancestors were wronged, but may be less aware of the striking parallels with …
SW09006: Confessions of a Gospel Doctrine Teacher
This session gathers past and present gospel Doctrine teachers to discuss their approaches to teaching and creating meaningful experiences in their classes. What are their strategies for leading great discussions or answering hard questions? What would their “dream” class be? What have they learned about themselves and their students over the years? What are their …
SW09007: What Does Neuroscience Have to Do with Parenthood, Leadership, and How People Change?
Neuroscience has continued to unlock the mysteries of the human brain, discovering much about human motivation and how change happens. Research sheds light on not only how we struggle with change, but perhaps more important, it reveals that what we usually do to change actually prevents change from happening. This workshop addresses our experience of …
SW09008:
With national attention on the LDS role in the passage of Proposition 8, it is noteworthy that the LDS Church has set a fascinating precedent with its 130-year theological and legal battle to prevent blacks from marrying whites. This prohibition abruptly ended in 1978 with the termination of the priesthood and temple ban against those …
SW09009: Dual Session Paper 1: A Marginal Moses: A Case Study in Canonicity, Historicity, and Revelation. Paper 2: The Myth of the Missing Book of Abraham Papyrus
Paper 1: “A Marginal Moses: A Case Study in Canonicity, Historicity, and Revelation.” Since its canonization in 1880, most LDS members have viewed the Book of Moses as a restoration of lost truth grounded in historical events. However, converging lines of evidence from Mormon history, the reevaluation of the Joseph smith Translation, and textual criticism …
SW09010: Panel: The Liahona Children’s Foundation: A Grassroots LDS Humanitarian Project
The Liahona Children’s Foundation is a non-profit organization providing basic nutrition and education to needy latter-day saint children in Ecuador and Guatemala, with hopes to expand to other countries. This session will describe the Foundation’s work, the ways in which members of the Sunstone community can participate in its activities, and invites dialogue about methods …
SW09011: Where Big Love Began: The Inception of Mormon Celestial Marriage at Nauvoo, Illinois
Mormon polygamy (sometimes called “big love”) might have roots in Hebrew writings; however, Mormon Celestial Marriage was first alluded to in the Book of Mormon and was later shared with 200 men and more than 700 women in Nauvoo, Illinois, between 1841 and 1846. at first practiced in silence because it was against Illinois law, …