For many people, no matter if they are speaking geographically or culturally, Robert Kirby
Event: DC Symposium 2003
DIGITAL RITUAL: The Emergent Digital Identity of the Mormon Church
The biographer Fawn Brodie emphasized Joseph Smith’s audacity in utilizing a communications technology–the printing press–to disseminate a new religious identity: [He] dared to found a new religion in the age of printing. After Smith’s martyrdom in 1844, the Mormon Church continued his technological audacity, progressively adopting the telecommunications technologies of the late nineteenth and early …
DID MORMON MUMMIES FIND A HOME AT THE CARLOS MUSEUM IN ATLANTA? On the Trail of the Missing Joseph Smith Mummies and Papyri
In 1999, the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta purchased a collection of Egyptian artifacts, including ten coffins and nine mummies, formerly owned by The Niagara Falls Museum and Daredevil Hall of Fame. Recent research confirms four of these mummies had apparently been purchased by the Niagara Falls Museum from the Wood’s Museum in Chicago …
A PLACE CALLED LITTLE UTAH
My experiences growing up in a small rural LDS branch in Georgia differ greatly from what I see and experience in the Church now. These differences might be compared to a Parker Blount
LDS PRAXIS: Integrating Gospel Teachings with Social Action
This session will demonstrate how many Latter-day Saints are changing the world by fusing core gospel principles with personal acts of humanitarian service. Values such as stewardship, consecration, and sacrifice are having global impacts and empowering the poor. Individuals, families, neighbors, church groups, and businesses are creating new social-purpose ventures to bless those who suffer …
RAISING OUR MIDDLE EAST I.Q.: What? Why? Who? How Can I Help?
Israel and Palestine. Egypt and Jordan. Gaza, the West Bank, and the Settlements. The PLO, Labor, and Likud. Arafat and Sharon. We hear these terms and names but often only vaguely understand what they mean. We know we should understand why the Holy Land and events in the Middle East are important but often don’t. …
SPEAKING IN A PROPHETIC VEIN: Hugh Nibley as Social Critic
Eugene England has called Hugh Nibley the finest lay (in contrast to officially called) prophet of the Latter-day Saint people, and has argued that Nibley most perceptively describes our sins, most courageously and persistently calls us to repentance, and most accurately predicts our future if we will not repent. England may be guilty of hyperbole, …
THE LIBERAL RELIGIOUS TRADITION IN MORMONISM: A Personal View of Developments in the Late Twentieth Century
Liberal religion believes in a limited God, holds an optimistic view of human nature, and values reason as a source of religious information. Mormonism emerged in the nineteenth century primarily as a liberal religion. This tradition in Mormonism has been strong but has coexisted also with strong conservative elements. Recently, however, Mormonism has clearly become …
DO WHAT IS RIGHT: Activism in Today’s World
Whether we choose to stand up for the protection of the environment, human rights, civil rights, or love of country, it is a courageous act to become active in todays world. Today’s activist is no longer just the public extremist or (mostly) long-haired protester we see arrested on the evening news. Todays activists are just …
REFLECTIONS ON WAR: Competing Loyalties, Commands, and Impulses
War, perhaps more than any other circumstance, forces us as thoughtful persons to confront important philosophical, ethical, and religious questions. It demands that we recognize our moral outrage over unthinkable crimes and squarely face that part of ourselves that wants to lash out and punish evildoers. For others, the call of Christianity—that we love our …