Mormons and the Machine In the last year an attempt has been made to establish a ‘Mormon Studies Center” at Utah Valley State College, in which faculty from across the curriculum were beginning to study the intersection of their disciplines with LDS experience, history, thought, and theology. The use of the Internet in dispersing such thought and information holds some prominence here. This presentation will explore the possible impacts of the ready availability of uncorrelated historical research, of Sacrament Meeting talks from around the world, of pornography, or anti-Mormon literature, and of self-defining, and reinforcing communities of affinity and discussion. How are we, both as an institution and as individuals, using the Internet today, and how are our patterns evolving? The relevance and timeliness of this nexus has just been brought into sharp relief by the Church hierarchy’s decision to “ask” all wards and stakes to shut down their web sites until further notice. I will propose the beginnings of an outline of research programs we could undertake in exploring this fast-evolving relationship, as church members and leaders respond to the new media and technology.

Kim McCall, Mel Tungate