This panel will discuss why contemporary Mormon women have such strong feelings about this topic, how it defines the beginning of our journeys as mothers, how it might reflect LDS dependence on male authority figures in our decision-making, and the diminishing importance of midwifery roles within the LDS community from the early pioneer days when …
Event: Salt Lake Symposium 2009
SL09214 A Currency of Faith: Taking Stock in Utah County’s Dream Mine [Partial]
In 1894, John Hyrum Koyle began digging the Dream Mine on a mountaintop in central Utah. Koyle, who was a Mormon bishop at the time, claimed he had been shown where to dig by Moroni, the same heavenly messenger who had led Mormon founder Joseph Smith to unearth the golden plates. Moroni visited Koyle in …
SL09262 From Revelation to Repetition: The Decline of Dreams as Revelatory Experience in Contemporary Mormon Discourse
Historically, revelatory dreams have played an important role in Mormonism, protecting, guiding, and encouraging the Saints—especially during trials. In this paper, I will analyze revelatory dreams as discussed by general authorities since 1971. My analysis will suggest that dreams are still considered revelatory and used in the context of telling faith-promoting stories—but with a difference: …
SL09322 Panel: Activists and Mormonism: Using the Experience of Modern Activists to Give Context to Ancient Scripture
By examining the experiences of modern activists, we can gain insight into the lives of people in the Bible and Book of Mormon who stood up for their beliefs. As peace activists, we’ll share our experiences, along with those of other contemporary activists, and look back into the lives of Mormons such as Bathsheba Smith …
SL09362 Panel: This I Believe
Sunstone friends and supporters share short belief statements modeled on the NPR show. Rhonda L. Callister, Rory T. Swensen, Thomas D. Parkes, Margaret Blair Young, Clay Whipkey, Lorie Winder, Kaimipono (Kaimi) Wenger, Tom Kimball, Mark England
SL09151 A Price Far Above Rubies vs. Eight Cows: What’s a Virtuous Woman Worth?
Produced by BYU in 1969, the short film Johnny Lingo is often cited as a wise, compassionate story of male sensitivity to female identity, a positive demonstration of how to foster female self-worth. But the story hinges on the idea that a woman’s self-esteem is based on the price she commands in a financial transaction …
SL09215 Church Historical Sites and the Construction of Testimony
I embarked on my own Mormon pilgrimage in an effort to understand religious declarations of faith as expressed in Church historical sites, particularly in Vermont, New York, and Missouri. First, I will examine how, in their attempt to restore Mormon historical sites, the LDS Church creates simulacra, sites where the representations have only a tangential …
SL09263 The “LDS” Purity Myth [Partial]
The LDS Church has long advocated virginity and sexual abstinence until marriage. Has virginity become a type of cult? This paper will also explore the connection between chastity and pornography for both men and women. What happens when a woman’s primary value is sexual, through motherhood, wifedom, and chastity? Is there a way to defend …
SL09324 Tradition and Progress: Elaine Cannon
This presentation focuses on the contributions made by Elaine Anderson Cannon to the lives of LDS women, to their understanding of their worth and duty, and to the broader Church’s conceptual grasp of woman’s divinity—including our relationship with the Divine Feminine. I will touch on both her life-long career as a writer, propelled by her …
SL09363 The Treachery of the Heretic
Conflict within religions is often far more potentially damaging than disagreements between them. At the heart of intra-religious conflict is the feeling of betrayal. The heretic is a member of the family who has chosen to destroy the family from within. This treachery is personal. But it feels different for the heretic, who feels she …