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 …
Speaker: CHERYL BRUNO
Quantifiably Stranger Than Fiction
In the gerentocracy of the LDS Church, actuarial tables can be (and have been) used to forecast leadership a few decades in the future. Though these predictions are generally quite accurate, surprises happen. Using historic actuarial tables, this presentation demonstrates four time periods where reality deviated most from the statistically most likely path, then presents …
Mormon Magic And The Religious World View
Hansen: Finding treasure and other wealth (in Jewish tradition) fits the spiritual schema of redemption. By examining folklore, responsa, etc, lessons can be drawn to better understand Mormonism. Bruno: Alchemist were a “necessary agent of creative transmutation: a priest in a hallowed, ancient priesthood; a son of the Widow; a knower of creation’s ancient secret; …
A Bible A Bible Interacting With The Book Of Mormon
How one interacts with the Bible as an artifact says as much about one’s identity as how one interprets the Bible’s concepts. The printed Book of Mormon resembles the Bible, but the story of its production and provenance does not fit the biblical model. This panel will explore the coming forth of the Book of …
A Bible A Bible Interacting With The Book Of Mormon
How one interacts with the Bible as an artifact says as much about one’s identity as how one interprets the Bible’s concepts. The printed Book of Mormon resembles the Bible, but the story of its production and provenance does not fit the biblical model. This panel will explore the coming forth of the Book of …
HEAVENLY MOTHER AND THE LETTER OF THE LAW
President Hinckley has told us that Jesus Christ forbids our praying to Heavenly Mother. But heavenly parents who refuse communication with their children seem unworthy of their status as gods, and a mother who will not hear or acknowledge her children is not a helpful role model for Latterday Saints. Therefore, there must be some …
THE VAGINA TESTIMONIES
In 1996, Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues explored the role of female genitalia in female empowerment, individuality, and sense of self. Her later work evolved to address women’s body images and violence against women. A 2001 SUNSTONE session entitled “Sacred Spaces: Mormon Women’s Faith and Sexuality” and nicknamed “the Mormon Vagina Monologues” featured LDS …
DO GOOD ONLINE FENCES MAKE GOOD LDS NEIGHBORS?
LDS-interest blogspace is divided into many different communities: Mormon feminists, Mormon mommies, Borderlanders (or New Order Mormons), interfaith discussion blogs, Nothing Wavering, Outer Blogness, the core of the Bloggernacle, and probably others. All of these communities overlap and communicate with one another, but they also do various types of boundary- maintenance to decide who’s in …
LOOK TO THE WEST: MORMONISM AND THE MASONIC WORLD VIEW
During sweeping social change of the 1820s, Americans became increasingly disenchanted with Freemasonry as a kind of secular priesthood. The William Morgan affair (1826) led to an anti-Masonic movement fueled by fears that a free society could not thrive in the presence of secret organizations. Anti-masons argued that masons formed a secret combination bound by …
Meaningful Approaches to Scripture
Meaningful Approaches to Scripture As Gospel Doctrine teachers know, Latter-day Saints approach scripture in a wide variety of ways. Some cherry-pick the verses or interpretations that support their views. Others seem to still rely on long-ago ‘reads’ of certain scriptural stories. Still others imbue stand-alone verses with vastly different meanings than the real scriptural context …