By D. Jeff Burton IN THE EGG-LIKE image we use to illustrate the three types of Church membership, a Borderland member is one who, for various reasons, does not fit comfortably within the borders of Group 1 but has not yet migrated into Group 3.1 From the beginning I have said that, in addition to …
Tag: D. Jeff Burton
Braving the Borderlands: Mysterious Ways
By D. Jeff Burton In this column I share the story of Jennifer and her husband as they struggle to adapt to Borderland life during some rather large changes. In addition to editing and shortening our many emails, I have changed names and details to protect identities. Jennifer: My husband, John, a school principal …
Braving the Borderlands: A Borderlander Comes Out: Part II
By D. Jeff Burton THIS COLUMN1 CONTINUES the saga of Brett (a Borderlander who is in the process of coming out to his family and others) and his wife, Mandy. I have condensed and edited emails we exchanged over several months. I’ve also changed names and some details to protect identities. BRETT: Mandy and …
Borderlands: Miscellaneous News and Interesting Items
By D. Jeff Burton SLC SUMMER SYMPOSIUM ON 27 JULY 2012, at session 253 of the Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium, “Family Values: Coping with a Borderland1 Family Member,” I was joined by John Dehlin, Lilly Shults, Adam Fisher, and Suzann Werner in a panel responding to questions and comments from the audience. We received …
Braving the Borderlands . . . : Mormonism for Borderlanders: A User’s Guide
By D. Jeff Burton On 23 May 2012, Alain de Botton joined Doug Frabrizio on KUER’s RadioWest program for an exploration of de Botton’s new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion.[i] Despite the title’s reference to atheists, this book can be useful to any person trying to incorporate religion …
Identifying and Working with Adolescent Borderlanders
By D. Jeff Burton Adolescents have occasionally been discussed in this column, usually as innocent bystanders as their parents enter the Borderlands. I’ve sometimes provided suggestions about how to protect them, shield them, guide them, and so forth. However, we haven’t discussed children or teens who become closet doubters or Borderlanders themselves.1 I have …
Braving the Borderlands: Traits of the “Successful” Borderlander
By D. Jeff Burton It has become generally known that a large percentage of baptized Mormons worldwide eventually slip into inactivity, leave the Church, or are excommunicated. Many sojourn in the Borderlands of the Church for a time and then move on. But a few decide to stay in the Borderlands for various reasons: family, …
Braving the Borderlands: Conducting a Self-assessment
Know thyself. —Greek Aphorism To thine own self be true, and [you cannot] be false to any man. —Shakespeare At the 2010 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium (Session 124, 5 August SL10124), John Dehlin and I hosted a spirited discussion with about a hundred attendees about their individual Borderlander experiences. We primed the discussion with …
Braving the Borderlands: Protecting and Strengthening Your Marriage
By D. Jeff Burton During the past month, I have exchanged emails with “Will” (not his real name), a professional with a young family, concerning his movement into the Borderlands and the troubles he has confronted. While reading his responses to my standard questionnaire, I saw that Will’s marriage was suffering the stresses common to …
Braving the Borderlands: Bits and Pieces from the Inbox
By D. Jeff Burton D. Jeff Burton is an author and a former member of the Sunstone Board of Directors. The past few Borderlands columns have elicited some particularly worthwhile comments, some of which I want to share with you. Of course I’ve changed the writers’ names to shelter their identities.[63] Email from …