Tag: Dan Wotherspoon

Why Ritual “Makes Sense”

By Dan Wotherspoon Dan Wotherspoon is the host of the Mormon Matters podcast and former editor of Sunstone. He has a Ph.D. in religion from Claremont Graduate University.     Or download the audio here: Why Ritual “Makes Sense”     At first blush, the word “ritual” doesn’t usually conjure much excitement. We often connect …

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Finding Myself at Sunstone

By Dan Wotherspoon “The most important thing is simply to let people know who you are—who it is that’s editing Sunstone.” So said Elbert Peck in early 2001 during one of our many long conversations in the Sunstone office. Though his advice came in response to my query about how he approached the task of …

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Roundtable: God Does Not Do “Small Talk”

By Fiona Givens, Joanna Brooks, Jana Riess, and Dan Wotherspoon This is an excerpt from the Mormon Matters podcast, “A Beautiful Vision of Mormonism”—a conversation about the richness of Mormon theology prompted by the release of, The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, written by Terryl and Fiona Givens (Deseret Book, 2012). …

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Roundtable: How Does the Atonement “Work”?

The following excerpt from the Mormon Matters podcast episode, “The Atonement in Mormon Thought and Experience” (Episode 54), focuses on a presentation and discussion of the four main theories in Christian thought about how Christ’s Atonement “works.” What are the mechanisms by which humans are rescued from the consequences of sin? And is a Savior …

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The Call of Abraham

  Their fervor triggers a trip to a different dimension. The members of the Gospel Doctrine class are involved in an energetic discussion of the Abrahamic covenant. In my cocoon, I’m aware of what’s going on, of how dynamic the exchanges are as various class members share ways that being part of that covenant blesses …

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