Speaker: Val D. Rust

FINDING FULFILLMENT ON THE MORMON MARGIN

In this paper, I discuss my own journey through life as a dedicated, faithful Mormon who eventually chose to remain on the margins in terms of my callings and participation. I also relate my position to the broader literature on those who are marginalized and refer to traditional meanings of being marginalized as well as …

Read more

AUTHOR MEETS CRITICS. RADICAL ORIGINS BY VAL RUST

Val Rust’s new book, Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors seeks to understand the first members of Joseph Smith’s unique movement and what might predispose them to join such a “radical” group. Rust searches for answers in the ancestry of early converts, arguing that those who came before influenced the beliefs and …

Read more