In its “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the LDS Church declares that “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” What are the implication of this declaration for transgender individuals? This session seeks to bring clarity to the matter of non-conforming gender identity and its expression among …
Speaker: Robert A. Rees
Why The Heart Is As Important As The Brain Combining New Science With Ancient Wisdom
Jesus said, “As a person thinks in her heart, so is she.” Long thought to be just a metaphor, the idea of a thinking heart is now supported by scientific findings revealing that the heart has its own nervous system with an electrical field 60 times greater in amplitude than that of the brain. It …
Joseph Smith S First Vision Imagery Neurology And The Construction Of Memory
Many critics of Mormonism assert that Joseph Smith invented the First Vision and then deliberately altered the details in subsequent retellings over the years so as to mislead his followers. This paper, based on textual analysis and neurology, posits an alternative explanation. Robert A. Rees
Devotional Glory
Glory is a central concept in Mormon theology. Latter-day Saints speak of God’s glory, of the glory it is possible for us to experience in mortality, and of the “degrees of glory” that will define our eternal existence. This devotional explores the nature, meaning, and dimensions of this supreme experience and state. It includes portrayals …
The Environment A Moral Issue For The Saints
Climate change and other environmental issues are threatening the long-term survival of our planet. It is a moral issue for all Christians, yet in the United States and many of the rest of the world’s governmental bodies seem incapable of coming up with solutions, mostly because there is money that can be made by exploiting …
Sunday School Psychotherapy Mormon Poets On Vulnerability And Madness Healing And Hope
Brigham Young once called Joseph Smith a poetÑand poets, Brigham continued, “are not like other [people]; their gaze is deeper, and reaches the roots of the soul” Such vision, he said, is akin to having “the searching eyes of angels” with which poets can “catch the swift thought of God and reveal it to us, …
PANEL: Mormon Studies at Graduate Theological Union and in the Academy
Robert A. Rees, Arthur Holder, Michael G. Reed, Sheila Taylor
PANEL: More Paint, Less Corner? New Developments in LDS/LGBTQ Relations
The past year brought many new developments, including the launch of the LDS Church’s website MORMONSANDGAYS.ORG, the Church’s amicus brief regarding Proposition 8, the new blog No More Strangers, Mormons Building Bridges and marching in gay pride parades across the US, the LDS Church pulling support from the anti-discrimination law under review in the Utah …
Is There a Faith Crisis in Contemporary Mormonism?
There has been considerable buzz in the blogosphere and elsewhere about a growing faith crisis among contemporary Mormons. This crisis of faith can be described as a state of intense emotional and spiritual distress resulting from the discovery of discrepancies between historical & scientific facts and the official LDS narrative. To what extent is the …
ANTI-MORMONISM IN THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Anti-Mormonism has been called one of the last acceptable prejudices in American culture. The popularity of HBO’s Big Love, the success of The Book of Mormon musical, LDS involvement in Proposition 8, and Mitt Romney’s quest for the US presidency have placed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints front and center in American …