Each year, a hand-picked set of thoughtful, intelligent Latter-day Saints talk about how they have chosen to interact with Mormonism. This “Why We Stay” session of the Sunstone Symposium is always very popular, and this year’s session has an incredible lineup.
Moderator
Dan Wotherspoon, Ph.D. is the host of the Mormon Matters podcast and former editor and executive director of the Sunstone Education Foundation. Each year he curates and moderates the Why I Stay panel.
Panelist
Susan M. Hinckley is an artist/writer living in Arizona who loves desert living, running, unanswerable questions, wind in her hair, and a bit of green chile in everything.
Panelist
Philip McLemore is a former LDS Institute director, Air Force chaplain, and hospice chaplain. He is a meditation teacher who conducts seminars and oversees an online program at meditatewithphil.com.
Panelist
Debra Bonner, after graduating from the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in vocal performance, Debra married her sweetheart, Harry, served a Baptist mission in Liberia, West Africa for nearly two years, and then became an inner-city high school choir director. Debra has trained with with the two top vocal pedagogues of the 20th Century for over 30 years, performed around the world, and has developed her own vocal technique, DebraTone.
Unity Gospel Choir is a traveling performance group whose main purpose is to bring souls unto Christ. The choir consists of about 40 members focused on this one purpose. The gospel music they sing is heartfelt, bringing audiences to their feet—clapping, stomping and swaying to the “joyful noise.”