Reflections On Mormon Liminality: A Generational Response Dan Wotherspoon’s December 2005 Sunstone editorial speaks of the concept of liminality in relation to the Sunstone community, that as we explore questions within Mormonism, we often find ourselves in the awkward, sometimes dangerous, threshold (limen) between two worlds. Wotherspoon speaks of his own sustained immersion in liminality and talks of a community that is created by like-minded searchers. But, by definition, can liminality be sustained? Is it more likely that someone born into Mormonism will be a liminalist longer than would a convert, especially in evaluating the truth claims of the faith? Is this related to the processes involved in resolving inner conflicts? What role does courage play in the conclusions one comes to? This presentation is from two perspectives: that of a father who is still part of the community Wotherspoon describes, and that of a son who has observed the community from the outside, more as an alien anthropologist.

Bryon Martin, M.A., Eric Martin, Presenters; Dan Wotherspoon, Ph.D., Respondent