In an April 1989 General Conference talk, Ezra Taft Benson said, “Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.” This presenter agrees. An unquestioned, aggressively supported faith tends to dismiss logical argument and evidentiary consideration, thereby involving the abdication of one’s responsibility as a thoughtful moral agent. This is a form of pride that continues …
Speaker: Glenn Cornett
Faith as a Deadly Sin (of Pride)
In an April 1989 General Conference talk, Ezra Taft Benson said, Glenn Cornett, Kim McCall
The Spin of Art: How Art Influences the Message of History
By framing what you see and how you see it, a painter is in charge of history. Similarly, a composer can ‘spin’ our understanding of what ‘really’ happened. Considering examples from centruies of Catholic and LDS art and music, we will look at how artists have left their (often subversive) mark on the historical record …
SL09334 Panel: The Liahona Children’s Foundation: A Grassroots LDS Humanitarian Project
The Liahona Children’s Foundation is a non-profit organization providing basic nutrition and education to needy Latter-day Saint and other children living in the developing world. The Foundation serves children in Ecuador and Guatemala but hopes to expand its work to other countries. This session provides information about the work of the foundation and ways in …
DC09012: Obedience Culture Churches and Their Impact: From Guantanamo to California’s Proposition 8
Obedience Culture values conformity over competence, unflinching faith over critical thinking, and institutional loyalty over human dignity. I examine the ascendancy of Obedience Culture among LDS and other US religious communities and explore its recent extension into public policy. I argue that Obedience Culture influences have deteriorated America’s moral leadership and that the particularly organized …
SW07007: Divided Loyalties? Mitt Romney: The First Mormon President?
Divided Loyalties? Mitt Romney: The First Mormon President? In many ways, Mitt Romney is a dream candidate for Mormons: he is handsome, bright, charismatic, and articulate. He has been a successful businessman and politician as well as Church leader. He has a quintessential Mormon pedigree, polygamous ancestors; distinguished genealogy; son of a prominent political, business, …
PANEL. SPIRITUALITY IN MUSIC, OR THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER, PAUL, AND MARY
Music, and the lyrics connected with it, can express many emotions, moods, and spiritual depths and heights. One part of this session will look at what creates spirituality in music and it will also look at how varied music we define as spiritual can be, from towering peaks of Western classical music to hymns, spirituals, …
PANEL. SPIRITUALITY IN MUSIC, OR THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER, PAUL, AND MARY
Music, and the lyrics connected with it, can express many emotions, moods, and spiritual depths and heights. One part of this session will look at what creates spirituality in music and it will also look at how varied music we define as spiritual can be, from towering peaks of Western classical music to hymns, spirituals, …
PANEL. THE BOOK OF MORMON QUANDARY
Over the past two decades, scientific research has emerged which challenges the LDS church’s explanation for the origins of the Book of Mormon. How should we as Church members respond to the questions this research raises? Considering the implications of these findings, how might we as individuals shift our personal philosophy, religious belief and practice, …
IN SUPPORT OF POLYANDRY
Recent Sunstone symposiums have given a public forum to defenders of Mormonism’s past practice of polygamy. It’s time to consider the benefits of an alternative lifestyle! Glenn Cornett, Richard Rands, Mary Ellen Robertson