A common response to the race issue in Mormonism is the often tearful memory of where we were on June 8, 1978. But Black Latter-day Saints who have some history in the Church remember when racialist policies kept them from full participation in the Church and justified some appalling assumptions about them. Today, many of …
Event: DC Symposium 2009
DC09007: Panel: New Directions in Mormon History
In recent years, Mormon history has become a higher profile area of study, benefiting from the attention of rising numbers of non-Mormon academics as well as groundbreaking scholarly achievements by Church members. This increased attention has propelled Mormon studies in new directions: new disciplines, methodologies, and questions have deeply enriched our knowledge of the Mormon …
DC09008: Panel: Mormon Art: Definitions and Directions
Spencer W. Kimball declared that the full story of Mormonism has yet to be written, painted, sculpted, or composed–and the task of Mormon artists is to accomplish this. How close are they? This panel gathers a group of Mormon artists in a variety of disciplines to address several questions: Does such a thing as Mormon …
DC09009: Why I Stay
This perennially well-received Sunstone session features the stories of those who have chosen to remain active, dedicated Latter-day Saints even in the face of many difficult challenges to traditional faith. How have these members wrestled with their faith and yet emerged more determined than ever to be a part of the Latter-day Saint community? JALYNN …
DC09010: The Mormon Place in the American Religious Landscape
In 2008, the Pew Forum released the US Religious Landscape survey, the largest study of American religious life ever conducted, including a statistically significant sample of Latter-day Saints. What does it tell us about Mormons and other religious groups in America? This presentation will focus on three areas, with a particular focus on the Mormons: …
DC09011: “We Are All Going to Have to Live It Someday” Is Polygamy Really a Higher Law?
Some women attempting to escape from polygamy have complained that LDS bishops they consulted advised them to return to their husbands because “We are all going to have to live polygamy someday.” LDS theology distinguishes between “higher” laws–what God really wants us to do–and “lower” laws, which we have to settle for because the higher …
DC09012: Obedience Culture Churches and Their Impact: From Guantanamo to California’s Proposition 8
Obedience Culture values conformity over competence, unflinching faith over critical thinking, and institutional loyalty over human dignity. I examine the ascendancy of Obedience Culture among LDS and other US religious communities and explore its recent extension into public policy. I argue that Obedience Culture influences have deteriorated America’s moral leadership and that the particularly organized …
DC09013: Panel: Mormons in International Relations
With its corps of missionaries and explosive growth overseas, the LDS Church is evolving from a US church to an international religion. Church members are often inclined toward careers in international relations. What are some issues that Mormons working in international relations should be prepared to address? What challenges might Mormons experience during a career …
DC09014: Keeping the Covenant: The Role of Mormon Expression in Modern American Political Discourse
This presentation will focus on the proper role of Latter-day Saints in modern American political discourse. It will focus not on the meta-actions of the institutional Church, per se, but rather on the duties, actions, and responsibilities of individual Mormons in pursuit of the common good. The presentation will draw heavily on social contract theorists …
DC09001: DISCUSSION WITH AUTHOR: NAUVOO POLYGAMY . . . BUT WE CALLED IT CELESTIAL MARRIAGE
Mormon polygamy began in Nauvoo, Illinois, a river town located at a bend in the Mississippi about fifty miles upstream from MarkTwain’s Hannibal, Missouri. After church founder Joseph Smith married some thirty-eight women, he introduced this GEORGE D. SMITH