LDS writers addressing the challenges of modern science, ranging from evolution and cosmology to Book of Mormon historicity, have frequently resorted to arguments derived from either the creationist or the postmodern science studies communities. The literature of these two groups, while poles apart on most intellectual and social issues, exhibits characteristics of poor scholarship, including …
Event: Southwest Symposium 2005
PANEL. SPIRITUALITY IN MUSIC, OR THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER, PAUL, AND MARY
Music, and the lyrics connected with it, can express many emotions, moods, and spiritual depths and heights. One part of this session will look at what creates spirituality in music and it will also look at how varied music we define as spiritual can be, from towering peaks of Western classical music to hymns, spirituals, …
COMMUNITY OF CHRIST THEOLOGY AT AN IMPASSE: IS CHRISTOLOGY THE KEY?
In May 2002, the First Presidency of the Community of Christ appointed a twelve-member task force to give attention to the significant theological issues facing the church. The task force’s first statement, “Scripture in the Community of Christ” was published in June 2003. It dealt generally with the issue of the use of scripture in …
DISCUSSION. LDS PERSPECTIVES ON THE STEM CELL DEBATE
The debate revolving around embryonic stem cell research often degenerates into a partisan-style argument over when life begins, or, from a Mormon perspective, when the spirit enters the body. The ethics of stem cell research deserves better, and Latter-day Saint theology and practice provide a framework for a more constructive debate. David Hunter
GOLD RUSH SAINTS: THE CONTEST BETWEEN BABYLON AND ZION IN CALIFORNIA’S NEW EL DORADO
Beginning with the 1846 and 1847 arrivals of the Brooklyn Saints and the veterans of the famed Mormon Battalion, California’s LDS pioneers became centrally involved in events that had great significance not only to Mormonism but also to the broad course of regional and national growth. In this presentation, based on his recently published narrative …
FILM AND DISCUSSION. “BURYING THE PAST: LEGACY OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE”
Park City, Utah; co-director, University of Utah film studies division; director, Burying the Past , winner of the “Best of Festival Award” at the Berkeley Film Festival and “Best of State Award: Utah” 2004, in the video category. Following the showing of Burying the Past, director Brian Patrick will answer questions about the film and …
REVELATION VS. INSPIRATION (Note: only 50% was recording)
(Note: only 50% was recording) Latter-day Saints often claim that they are guided by revelation from on high in a variety of ways, while still holding to a position implied in one interpretation of the First Vision that every other church is directed by the precepts of men. But how accurate is this assessment? How …
LUNCHEON. HUMOR FROM THE TIGHTROPE
Carol Lynn Pearson will share some of her adventures in successfully walking the tightrope between poet-writer-feminist and faithful Latter-day Saint Carol Lynn Pearson
ELLA PEACOCK: PAINTING THE MANTI TEMPLE
First Sight of the Desert: Discovering the Art of Ella Peacock is her first book. Through personal essay, excerpts from First Sight of the Desert: Discovering the Art of Ella Peacock, and a documentary of Peacock as an artist (approximately 15 minutes on DVD), I’ll present a woman who, like the Saints, moved from the …
“TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?” HISTORICAL PATTERNS OF RESTORATION BELIEVERS WITH SERIOUS DOUBTS
Patterns of religious doubt, disbelief, and disaffiliation can be as diverse and interesting as patterns of religious inquiry, faith, and conversion. Both patterns can be temporary, decades-long, or lifelong. Both involve the mind, the spirit, and the emotions. Drawing on decades of research in Mormon / LDS / RLDS documents, this paper discusses patterns of …