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In Memory of Steve Mayfield

Steve Mayfield began his decades-long connection with Sunstone in the 1980s when he volunteered as an audio recorder at Washington DC Sunstone symposia.

When he moved to Utah to become a crime scene photographer for the Salt Lake Police Department, he began documenting numerous Salt Lake symposia and other conferences, creating a valuable picture archive of the Mormon studies community through the years. Many of our print programs warned attendees that to fall asleep at the symposium was to risk having their photo snapped by the impish Steve. And he always made good on our warning.

Steve was also a frequent presenter at Sunstone symposia, focusing on Evangelical/LDS relations and—his expertise—the Mark Hofmann case. (See a list of links to his presentations below.)

Former Sunstone editor Elbert Peck describes Steve as, “One of those heroic volunteers, year after year. . . . A good soul.”

Steve Mayfield died March 30, 2024. We will miss him greatly.

 

Steve Mayfield at the 2005 Sunstone Symposium.

 

From left: Jerald Tanner, Sandra Tanner, Steve Mayfield at a Sunstone Symposium.

 

Steve Mayfield gives a dog ears to hear at the 2010 Sunstone Symposium.

 

Steve Mayfield being interviewed by Fox 13 at the 2011 Sunstone Symposium.

 

Steve Mayfield giving a 2012 Sunstone Symposium session his full attention.

 

Following is a collection of the symposium sessions Steve presented on the Mark Hofmann case in chronological order.

The Smoke Still Lingers: The Mark Hofmann Affair Fifteen Years Later

Smoke Still Lingers: An Update On The Mark Hofmann Story

Twenty-Year Reflections On The Mark Hofmann Bombings

Mark Hofmann: 25 Years Later

by Stephen Carter

Stephen Carter is the director of publications at the Sunstone Education Foundation and author of Virginia Sorensen: Pioneering Mormon Author. He is the recipient of the 2023 Smith-Pettit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters.