Recent scholarship on early Christianity has created new perceptions about women’s roles: did Jesus treat men and women as equals, and did women have leadership and priesthood roles in the early Christian community? What were women’s real roles in the early Christian movement, and how does that affect or prescribe the nature of a Christian …
Speaker: Todd Compton
PANEL. DEALING WITH FAMILY CRISIS IN 1886: THE DEATH OF CHARLEY WHITNEY AND THE MARRIAGE OF GEN WHITNEY
The diaries of Helen Mar Whitney contain many prosaic days. But they also include moments of high drama, starting with the grueling, beautifully described death of Helen’s husband by dropsy in 1884. When Charles Whitney, Helen’s teenage son, shot himself in 1886, Helen again recorded the event in detail in her journal, a harrowing few …
PANEL. JON KRAKAUER’S ‘UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN’
Jon Krakauer’s book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith received astounding media attention and scrutiny even weeks before its release, including two statements from LDS leaders that condemned the book as historically inaccurate and critical of all people of faith. This panel seeks to examine Krakauer’s depiction of fundamentalist Mormonism, mainstream …
KEEPING THE FAITH
As part of its mission to host respectful discussions of all perspectives related to Mormonism, this session features the stories of several individuals who have chosen to remain active, dedicated Latter- day Saints even in the face of difficult issues that might challenge traditional faith. How have some wrestled with their faith and yet still …
GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST: EDITING MORMON DIARIES
Journal, diaries, and memoirs can offer the most intimate glimpses into the lives of those who have long since died. Yet they are limited to only one perspective and are hardly the final word on a subject’s life. How can diaries help shine light in dark places, helping to illuminate the past? What are their …
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN: Orthodoxy, Priesthood, Temple
Like intricately cut diamonds, Jesus’s parables offer multiple refractions on many intersecting issues. In the case of the parable of the Good Samaritan, I find many implications for issues such as race, finances, taxes, health insurance, temple, priesthood, orthodoxy, and love. Besides encouraging us to practice opportunistic and down- to-earth compassion, this parable subtly undercuts …
READERS THEATRE PERFORMANCE: EASTER IN THE EYES OF THE WOMEN
The Easter story is most often viewed through the eyes of the apostles and various Roman leaders. This presentation relates this miracle through the words of the women who experienced it. Laura Hansen, Mary Ellen Robertson, Todd Compton, Janet Brigham Rands, Joan Petersen
John Willard Young & Presidential Succession In Mormon History
John Willard Young & Presidential Succession In Mormon History Todd Compton, Leo Lyman
The Spiritual Roots of the Democratic Party
The Spiritual Roots of the Democratic Party While politics is a complex, often contradictory subject, there are spiritual principles involved in the Republican and Democratic political parties. State Representative from Utah County and stake president Bill Wright has recently stated that one cannot be a Democrat and a good Mormon. Though I have great respect …
My Creed
My Creed For millennia, Christians have distilled their beliefs into short statements, similar to Joseph Smith’s Articles of Faith. While the practice of a committee imposing a creedal statement of belief on a congregation is anathema to Mormons, the use of the literary form of the creed by individuals is a helpful spiritual discipline. It …