The prophetic imagination as a mode of consciousness disrupts mainstream cultural trends and seeks to expand individual and communal faith using language ripe with poetic rhythms and imagery. Whereas dogma intends to pin down and flatten out ideas and to narrow the conceptual frames through which people view the world, poetry relies on metaphor, nuance, …
Speaker: Stephen Carter
The Malnourished Children of Madagascar
The Bountiful Children’s Foundation is an NGO that addresses malnutrition among Latter-day Saint and other children in the developing world. The foundation is currently serving the needs of malnourished children in over 200 congregations in 20 countries. Recently the Foundation expanded its operation to Madagascar, one of the poorest (and yet most beautiful) countries in …
The Primary Colors and My Duct-taped Shelf
Using my favorite Primary songs as a framework for growth, I’ve learned to live without fear, trust my gut, be an advocate for social justice, heal from crippling depression, and recognize that there are many spiritual paths and that Mormonism is just one possible path to the top of the mountain. Using Primary lyrics, I …
Polygamy: Beyond Mormonism
Polygamy is common in most large mammals, from deer to elk to the great apes and more. Is polygamy natural amongst humans? Would modern young people benefit from practicing a non-patriarchial polygamy? How do modern Americans feel about polygamy? Tom has traveled the country asking these questions, and the answers may surprise you. Tom Bennett, …
I Go to Two Churches
It seems strange to go to another church when you already attend the only true and living church on the face of the earth. But the members of this panel have actually found that supplementing their LDS church-going with another religious tradition has enriched their spiritual lives and made them better people. Stephen Carter, Gina …
Hope: A Devotional
Emily Dickinson says that “hope is a thing with feathers.” St. Paul included hope in his golden triad of Christian virtues, in between faith and love. This devotional considers the dimensions of hope in a world that often seems hopeless, examining it through the prism of scripture, art, poetry, and music. Bob Rees, Stephen Carter
On Beyond Faith in the Borderlands
Many troubled LDS members dwell in the Borderlands of the Church. Acceptability is always an issue for Borderlanders. But acceptability has two facets: (1) what we need to do to be acceptably faithful, and (2) what can be done to make Borderland members like us more acceptable and better perceived as “being faithful.” This session …
Borderlands Session: For Those Troubled by Church Programs, Practices, and Policies – Ways to Respond
Most LDS members encounter church programs, practices, and policies (PPPs) that bother them, e.g., the inability of non-temple-recommend-holding parents to attend a child’s wedding, policies related to children of same-sex couples, and practices related to the Word of Wisdom. This session will explore some of the more troublesome PPPs and offer thoughts on what we …
336: Mormonism and the Pornographic Worldview
Mormons preach passionately and frequently against pornography, warning each other against its destructive nature. However, Mormonism shares a basic tenent with pornography that manifests itself in almost all our interactions, from the way we talk to each other in church hallways, to how our leadership is constructed, to what we think will happen in the …
Mormons and Death: Readings from Moth and Rust
Sunstone editor Stephen Carter has assembled a book of forty-six essays discussing death from a Mormon perspective. Four of the essayists will join this panel to present a thoughtful discussion on what is often a taboo topic. Stephen Carter, Brian Stuy, Jerilyn Hassell Pool, John Hatch