Shortly after Willard Richards arrived in Nauvoo for the first time in August 1841, he became Joseph Smith’s closest confidant, assuming a role once enjoyed by John C. Bennett. Bennett’s departure from Nauvoo and Mormonism was not a quiet one, and as he toured the country exposing and sensationalizing Mormon secrets (most notably, polygamy) Richards …
Speaker: Devery S. Anderson
Panel: Author Meets Critic on Devery Anderson’s
Over the years, the LDS church has struggled with how best to convey information about the temple to is members. John-Charles Duffy, Tania Rands Lyon, Devery S. Anderson
WILLARD RICHARDS AND NAUVOO POLYGAMY: 1841-1842
Shortly after Willard Richards arrived in Nauvoo from England in August 1841, he became Joseph Smith’s closest confidant, assuming a role once enjoyed by John C. Bennett. Bennett’s departure from Mormonism was not quiet, and as he toured the country exposing and sensationalizing Mormon secrets, including polygamy, Richards followed doing damage control. Yet Richards was …
NW10006: The Development of Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History
Since 1846 when the first LDS temple with private rituals was completed in Nauvoo, much has changed regarding the ceremonies, policies, and practices. Church leaders puzzled over how to handle various situations and theological and temporal implications. Hear the story from the historical records collected in this documentary history. Devery S. Anderson
DOES GOD REALLY HATE AMPUTEES?, OR WHAT DOES SCIENCE AND REASON TELL US ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF GOD?
DOES GOD REALLY HATE AMPUTEES?, OR WHAT DOES SCIENCE AND REASON TELL US ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF GOD? The title of this panel discussion comes from a website discussed by atheist Sam Harris in his book, Letter to A Christian Nation, that insists that there are no “answered” prayers that could not be written off …
The Nauvoo Temple Experience
The Nauvoo Temple Experience Devery Anderson, co-editor with Gary James Bergera of the two-volume documentary history set ,Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Anointed, 1842–1845 and The Nauvoo Endowment Companies,1845–1846 (published last fall by Signature Books), will give us a glimpse into temple worship in Nauvoo during its heyday as well as in the chaos that …
PURSUING THE ‘PROPHET PUZZLE’–RECENT EFFORTS TO EXAMINE JOSEPH SMITH
Over the course of the past year or so, several important scholarly works have been published carefully examining the life and career of Joseph Smith, namely Grant Palmer’s An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, Dan Vogel’s Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet, and Clyde Forsberg’s Joseph Smith, Masonry, and the Advent of Mormonism. My …
Pillars Of My Faith
Pillars is traditionally one of the most popular sessions at Sunstone symposiums. Join engaging speakers as they reflect on their faith journeys and the way they have ordered their spiritual lives. What gospel principles have been especially animating for them? What people have helped guide their way? What have been the most powerful or defining …
Following the Brethren: The Abdication of Agency
SL03091, This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the thirty-fifth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. It also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the revelation reversing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ policy of …
The Quorum of the Anointed
SL03091, This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the thirty-fifth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. It also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the revelation reversing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ policy of …