This perennially well-received session features the stories of those who have chosen to remain active, dedicated Latter-day Saints even in the face of challenges to traditional faith. Dan Wotherspoon, Sydnie Cazier Olsen, Bill Reel, Eric Samuelsen, Jerri A. Harwell
Speaker: Eric Samuelsen
SL10291: Pillars of My Faith
This is Sunstone’s perennially best-attended session. Hear speakers share the events and concepts that animate their religious lives: a little soul-baring, a little spiritual journey, a little intellectual testimony-bearing. This self-reflective night is about the things that matter most, plus spirited congregational hymn-singing. Eric Samuelsen is a playwright, a theatre director and historian, and a …
SL10331: Panel: Glenn Beck: Likely Mormon or Unlikely Mormon?
Glenn Beck is presently the most famous—and possibly the most infamous—Mormon in America. He is better known than President Monson or Steve Young and is more popular than Harry Reid or Mitt Romney. Some see Beck as a populist prophet of the coming apocalypse while others consider him the most dangerous man in America. This …
SL10371: Gay and Mormon on the Stage and Screen
”Mormon Mothers as Devices (Key Change-Agents) Used to Reduce the Toxicity of LDS LGBT Inertia.” Frost presents insights he gained while creating his popular character Sister Dottie S. Dixon, exploring the role of “mother” as an agent for positive change within the Mormon family. “Coming Out Mormon Style: Three Recent Plays, One by Me.” The …
‘My Soul Delighteth in Plainness’
‘My Soul Delighteth in Plainness’ As a non-Mormon, but one who has been very involved in all things Mormon for more than twenty years, I’ve become aware of the difficulties of reconciling various aspects of the Mormon faith. When Nephi states that his ‘soul delighteth in plainness,’ one must wonder just how he defined ‘plainness.’ …
This I Believe
This I Believe This session is modeled on This I Believe, the 1950’s radio series revived and broadcast on NPR. Participants crystallize an aspect of their core beliefs into a 350–500 word essay. Come hear essays from old and new friends-and we’ll have time during the session for the audience members to begin writing essays …
ANOTHER ‘DAWNING OF A BRIGHTER DAY?’: MORMON LITERATURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
ANOTHER ‘DAWNING OF A BRIGHTER DAY?’: MORMON LITERATURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY In his seminal essay, “The Dawning of a Brighter Day: Mormon Literature After 150 Years” (BYU Studies, 1982), Eugene England celebrated the “major blossoming of a mature Mormon literature” that was then taking place. Now, at the turn of the new century, several …
The Sugar Beet: 4 Years, 5 Months, 7 Days, And 3.52 Hours Later
The Sugar Beet: 4 Years, 5 Months, 7 Days, And 3.52 Hours Later Everyone loves Mormonism’s premier satirical newspaper, The Sugar Beet. And everyone is really excited that The Sugar Beet’s first collection, The Mormon Tabernacle Enquirer, is scheduled to come out this fall just in time to keep us all awake during General Conference. …
Mormon Cinema At Six: A Progress Report
Mormon Cinema At Six: A Progress Report Although Mormons have been a topic for films as early as 1905, and LDS filmmakers have been telling quintessential Mormon stories since the 1930s, Richard Dutcher’s films God’s Army (2000) and Brigham City (2001) mark what some consider to be the birth of “Mormon Cinema”, feature-length films with …
Peculiarities
Sunstone is thrilled to host the world premiere of a new film, Peculiarities. Initially written by Brigham Young University professor Eric Samuelsen as a play, the film version has emerged as a true cooperative venture by the writer, director, crew, and cast, who have all worked on the film for free. Of Peculiarities’s origins, Samuelsen …