Sunstone is a forum for examining and expressing the rich spiritual, intellectual, social, and artistic aspects of history and contemporary life across the Mormon movement. We maintain our publications and recordings on this website so that each new generation can explore and interrogate the past’s effect on Mormon communities and cultures. Please be aware that some presenters and historical figures included in this content may have troubling histories of prejudice, criminal activity, violence, and abuse—sexual or otherwise. To ensure the integrity of the historical record and to provide a way for our community to learn from the past, we will not remove problematic content or presenters from our archives.
Issue 176—November 2014
This issue features Tom Kimball who is in violation of our code of conduct. For more info on Tom Kimball and his history, click here for the January 14, 2023 statement.
Theology
The Carpenter's Union: Jesus in the Modern World, By Robert A. Rees
Questing and Questioning, By Philip L. Barlow
Women and the Priesthood, Reviewed by Heather Olson Beal
Fallen Bodies, Eternal Genders, By Ted Lee
Contemporary
Productivity and the Mormon Busyness Ethic, By Roger Terry
The Restoration: A Message of Grand Rescue, By Blake H. Thomas & Peter G. Robertson
Culture
The Blood of Thy Son, Fiction by Larry Menlove
Purple, Reviewed by Stephen Carter
The Epistles of Kishkumen and Gadianton, Humor by Marty Nabhan
History
A Frontier Life, Reviewed by Will Bagley
Mormon Life
Health to the Navel . . . Or Not, The Good Patient, By Dana Cattani
The Mormon Therapist: Navigating a Pornography Disclosure, By Natasha Helfer Parker
Braving the Borderlands: Experiences of a Borderland Bishop, By D. Jeff Burton
Leeds, Personal essay by Tom Kimball
Wisdom of the Elders: Is there Beauty in Your Bucket?, By Elouise Bell
Poetry
Not as the World Giveth, By Javen Tanner
Elm Trees, By Lorraine Jeffery
To Tom, the Ox, By Glen Lassen
Issue 175—July 2014
A Personal History of Sunstone
Memories and Reflections, By Scott Kenney
My Sunstone Experience, By Allen D. Roberts
Stretching Toward the Light, By Peggy Fletcher Stack
Reflections on Peggy, By John Sillitoe
Four Amazing Years, By Susan Staker
Finding My Way with Type, by Connie Disney
We Were All Volunteers, By Dennis Clark
Thinking Is a Social Act, By Elbert Eugene Peck
Finding Myself at Sunstone, By Dan Wotherspoon
Sunstone and Me, By J. Frederick (Toby) Pingree
Wizards and Wands: Coordinating the Sunstone Symposium, By John Hatch
The Eyes of Lorac, By Stephen Carter
Who Turned the Lights Out?: Behind the Scenes at the Symposium, By Mary Ellen Robertson
Growing with Sunstone, By Stephen Carter
The Accidental Reporter, by Hugo Olaiz
Sun + Stone, By Robert A. Rees
Issue 174--March 2014
History
Faithful Disagreement: A Model for the Saints, By William D. Russell
Theology
Mormonism and an Aesthetic Sense of Life, By Robert C. Hunsaker
Mormonism and a Tragic Sense of Life, By U. Carlisle Hunsaker
Why I Stay, By Carol Lynn Pearson
Contemporary
Earth Stewardship: The Earth as Sacrament
Blood and Horror on this Earth, By Gina Colvin
The Mahan Report, By Ron Madson and Joshua Madson
The Dawning of a Brighter Day?: An Analysis of Mormonsandgays.org, By Robert A. Rees
Culture
The Runners, Fiction by Steven L. Peck
Patience and Punishments, By Lia Hadley
A Forgotten Hero, Book Review by Will Bagley
All She Wants Is Art: Doug Himes, By Andi Pitcher Davis
Mormon Life
Health in the Naval . . . Or Not: His Eye Is on the Sparrow, By Dana Haight Cattani
Braving the Borderlands: Are the Borders Shifting? By D. Jeff Burton
The Mormon Therapist on . . . : Approaching Sexual Decisions, By Natasha Helfer Parker
Wisdom of the Elders: Laughter: 'Tis a Puzzlement, By Elouise Bell
Poetry
A Hungry Kitten, Stray, By M. Shayne Bell
Seven Short Stories about Drones, By Teju Cole
On My Return to Utah, By Lorraine Jeffery
Issue 173--December 2013
History
An Agnostic View of Joseph Smith, By Ryan Stuart Bingham
The Appearance and Disappearance of Lourdes Amarille Estrada, By Roger Terry
Theology
Exploring Meditation and Awareness Practices, By John T. Kesler
The Mystical Body of God the Mother, By Edward Jones III
Arrayed in Silence, I Gave Him Nothing, By Jacob Baker
Beyond Hemlines: What Pope Can Teach Us About Modesty, By Deborah Farmer Kris
Contemporary
A Dignified Transition: Emeritus Status for Apostles, By Dana Cattani
Culture
Tyler and the Giant Gumball Machine, By Edward Jones III
Davinho, Fiction by Ryan McIlvain
Mormon Life
Braving the Borderlands: Mysterious Ways, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: The Church as a Wounded Parent, By Michael Farnworth
Does It Matter What We Are Called?, By Elouise Bell
Poetry
Bulletin from Vojvodina, By Slobodanka Strauss
Issue 172--August 2013
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Features
Texas Has Its Own View of Polygamists: The Texas FLDS Raids and Trials, By Ken Driggs
Hosannas at Glide Memorial Church, By Robert A. Rees
The Living and the Telling, By Lisa Torcasso Downing
The Curious Case of James Madison Monroe, By Edward Hogan
Adam and Steve and the Empty Sea, a play by Matthew Greene
Still and Small, By J Washburn
Tabernacle of Flesh, Fiction by Eric Freeze
Poetry
Bulletin from Vojvodina, By Slobodanka Strauss
In the Wrong Hands, By Jordan Marshall-Pinegar
Columns
Devotional: Eve's Faith Crisis, By Michael Vinson
Adventures of a Mormon Bookseller: A Fascinating Life, By Curt Bench
Of Good Report: Books of Remembrance, By Jamie Littlefield
A Place for Every Truth: Sacrificing the Lectures on Faith, By James P. Harris
Braving the Borderlands . . . : A Borderlander Comes Out: Part II, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: Understanding the Shadow, By Michael Farnworth
Book Review: Revelation, Resistance & Mormon Polygamy by Merina Smith, Reviewed by George D. Smith
An Olive Leaf: A Joseph Smith Too Small, By Philip L. Barlow
Issue 171--June 2013
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Features
Arriving Where I Started: Disassembling and Reassembling a Testimony, By Boyd J. Petersen
The Widening Tent, By John Hatch
Expiation, new fiction by Richard Dutcher
The Persistent Impermanence of Memory, By Scot Denhalter
Poetry
After the Visit, By Lin Lifshin
Are You Like George Price? Then, By Thomas Dorsett
Columns
Devotional: A Modern Conceit: The Separation of Religion and Politics, By Frances Lee Menlove
From the Editor: On Gratitude, By Stephen Carter
Adventures of a Mormon Bookseller: Title Fights!, By Curt Bench
Of Good Report: Random Acts of Reading, By Dallas Robbins
A Voice of Warning: Believing Is Seeing, By Brian H. Stuy
Every Good Gift: Looking On, By Thomas Kimball
Scripture Notes: Unearthing Abinadi’s Geneaology, By Roger Terry
All-seeing Eye: Mark's Mugs, By Steve Mayfield
Roundtable: The 2013 LDS Scriptures, With Charles Harrell, Gina Colvin, and Dan Wotherspoon
Braving the Borderlands . . . : A Borderlander Comes Out: Part I, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: The Nature of Intimacy, By Michael Farnworth
Update: Changes in women’s church roles, chastity lessons scrutinized
An Olive Leaf: “To Recognize the Genuine,” By Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Issue 170--March 2013
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Features
Passive-aggression among the Latter-day Saints, By Michael J. Stevens
Sharing Vulnerability after a Change in Beliefs, By Adam Fisher and Mary Fisher
Summer Sales and the Protestant Ethic, By Jacob Bender
Suffrage: A Play, By Jenifer Nii
Singer and Saint: An Interview with Jeevan Sidhu, Fiction by James Goldberg
Poetry
Clothespins, By Jacqueline de Weever
Columns
Every Good Gift: Sacred Groves, By Jason Brown
Scripture Notes: Searching for Happiness and Never Finding It, By Michael Vinson
Roundtable: God Does Not Do "Small Talk," An Interview with Fiona Givens
Braving the Borderlands . . . : Borderlanders Share Their Coping Mechanisms, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: Changing the Family System, By Michael Farnworth
An Olive Leaf: Professional Monsters--but Never a Whole Human Being, By Allen E. Bergin
Issue 169--November 2012
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Features
Making Meaning as a Mormon Writer, By Jack Harrell
Fiction: The Opposite of Sound, By Courtney Miller Santo
Fiction: How They Get You, By Josh Allen
Fiction: Name, By Heidi Naylor
Religion is Art: Mormonism after Morals, By David V. Mason (Free)
Fiction: One Glass Ball, By Brett Wilcox
Ancient Fairy Tales: Written for Our Generation, By H. Parker Blount
Fiction: Willing to Work, By Larry Menlove
Poetry
In the Day of the Great Slaughter, By Les Blake
Never Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Limp, By Anita Tanner
The Swing at Orient Point, By Greg Moglia
Before Language, By Richard Schiffman
P-Day at the Sugar Shack, By Dayna Patterson
Columns
Blogwatch: Of Caffeine and Covenants, By Alan Hurst
Scripture Notes: The Crisis of Faith in the Church, By Michael Vinson
Braving the Borderlands . . . : Miscellaneous News and Interesting Items, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: The Hidden Family System, By Michael Farnworth
An Olive Leaf: Gently Down from Pedestals, By Richard H. Cracroft
Issue 168--September 2012
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Features
The Roots of My Faith, By Eric Samuelsen
Hindering the Saints: Taking Away the Key of Knowledge, By Philip G. McLemore
Lessons in Mormon Modernism: Or, How I Learned to Love the Provo and Ogden Temples, By Alan Barnett
Five Fish in a Barrel: Phineas and His Wives, By Deja Earley
In the Mountains, No One Can Hear You Swear, By Michael Stubbs
Jon McNaughton: Mormon Artist, Right-wing Propagandist, By Robert A. Rees
Theologizing in the Presence of Burning Children: From Theodicy to Lament, By Jacob Baker
Poetry
The Legacy of Lazarus, By Jerome L. McElroy
Columns
Scripture Notes: Korihor and the Struggle with a Lost Testimony, By Michael Vinson
Adventures of a Mormon Bookseller: "Thy Virgin Paths," By Curt Bench
Mormon Musings: The BYU Meme-ery
A Place for Every Truth: Discerning a Spirit, By James P. Harris
Roundtable: Abuse and Forgiveness, with Tresa Edmunds, Natasha Helfer Parker, and Dan Wotherspoon
Braving the Borderlands . . . : Mormonism for Borderlanders: A User's Guide, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: A Feminine Approach to Moral Reasoning, By Michael Farnworth
An Olive Leaf: In Defense of "Passionate Conflict" By Eugene England
Issue 167--June 2012
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Features
Reverencing Creation, By Steven L. Peck
The Eleven Percent Solution, By Dana Haight Cattani
Remember the Revolution: A Mormon Manifesto, By James Goldberg
Practicing Stewardship in a Consumer Culture, By Rachel Mabey Whipple
The Last Palm Tree: Mormonism and Sustainability, By Mark Thomas
L'hakshot: Fiction, By PD Mallamo
Sacred Space, Strong Women, and Climbing Vines: Finding Religion in Brazil, By Kate Maryon Herrick
The Word of God: A Tale of Two Paradigms, By H. Parker Blount
Poetry
Since He Was Weaned, By James Goldberg
The Olive, By Harlow Soderborg Clark
Thorns and Thistles and Briars, By Jonathon Penny
Columns
From the Editor: In Memoriam: Paul Swenson, By Stephen Carter
Scripture Notes: The Brazen Serpent and Psychological Epiphany, By Michael Vinson
Adventures of a Mormon Bookseller: Book Exchanges, By Curt Bench
Mormon Musings: To Invite God's Presence, By Tom Kimball
A Place for Every Truth: Of Doormen, Pencils, and a Prophet's Secret Talent, By James P. Harris
The Family Forum: What Is Really Motivating Us?, By Michael Farnworth
An Olive Leaf: "With Reverence and Care!" By Hugh Nibley
Issue 166--March 2012
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Buy Art from this Issue
Features
Guest Editor's Foreword, By Holly Welker (free)
Choice and Accountability, By Dana Haight Cattani
An Almost Invisible Tragedy, By Jenni Brighton
Transitioning, By Tiffany Singer
Rediscovering the Legacy of Mormon Midwives, By Jenne Erigero Alderks
The Sisterhood: Fiction, By Emily Belanger
A Testimony Birthed of Pain and Hope, By Rachel Mabey Whipple
Parenting After Abuse: From the Profane to the Sacred, By Tresa Edmunds (free)
The Gift Inside the Trauma, By Kendahl Millecam
Being the Stepmom, By Karen Pellett
The One Who Never Left Us, By Janice Allred
Heavenly Motherhood: Silences, Disturbances, and Consolations, By Margaret Toscano
Guest Editor's Afterword: In Our Prayers and In Our Lives, By Holly Welker
Poetry
Innocence, By Richard Dinges, Jr
Remembrance, By Melanny Eva Henson
Issue 165--December 2011
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Features
Grove Street Extension, By David G. Pace
An LDS Rationale for a Human Immigration Policy, By Jen Smyers
The Literary Concerns of My Church: Copyright and Control in Mormonism, By Stephen McIntyre
Is the Rameumptom Just a Rameumptom?: A Freudian Approach to the Sugar Beet, By Mathew N. Schmalz
Poetry
The Louisiana Heron: Poetry by Dennis Ross
Another Sky: Poetry by James Cushing
The Mandelbrot Set: Poetry by S. M. Noah
The Motions: Poetry by John Grey
Golden: Poetry by Paul Swenson
For Love of Words: Poetry by Anita Tanner
Cornucopia
Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is, By Curt Bench
The Elder Daughter, By Kelly Quinn
Where is that Darn Lamanite DNA?, By Michael Vinson
A Vision Becomes Scripture, By James P. Harris
Columns
Devotional: Trusting Smallness in an Infinity-squared Universe, By Frances Lee Menlove
Braving the Borderlands:Traits of the "Successful" Borderlander, By D. Jeff Burton
The Family Forum: An Introduction to Quantum Parenting, By Michael Farnworth
An Olive Leaf: "Truth Is Neither Black nor White," By Stephen L Richards
Issue 164--October 2011
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Cornucopia
How Much does Jesus Care about Doctrinal Purity?
"Unscrupulous or Misguided Adventurers"
Poetry
Birthday Party, Poetry by David Lawrence
Painting, Poetry by Anita Tanner
My Sister wants Me to Come and Read through Thirty Years of Diaries, Poetry by Lyn Lifshin
Features
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith's Mormonism, By D. Michael Quinn
The Monitoring of BYU Faculty Tithing Payments: 1957–1963, By Gary James Bergera
Return of the Native, Fiction by Levi S. Peterson
Your Old Women Shall Dream Dreams, By Sara Burlingame
Columns
From the Editor: I Will Go; I Will Play
Roundtable: Pornography, Masturbation, Sex, and Marriage in Mormonism
Braving the Borderlands: Strange Tales from the Borderlands
In Memoriam: Marion D. Hanks and Chieko N. Okazaki
Issue 163--June 2011
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Cornucopia
In Defense of Polygamy--Well, Sort Of
Jesus and Nietzsche on "Becoming a Child"
Touchstones
Features
Approaching the First Vision Saga, by Stephen C. Taysom
The Returning Missionary: Only a Dream? By Kenny Kemp
The Saga of Beef Gone Bad, By Lisa Torcasso Downing
A Season in the Wilderness, Fiction by Larry Menlove
Mormon Stay-at-home Dads Tell All
Raised by Ice Cream Truck Drivers, By Ken Gerber
Playdate with President Benson, By Stephen Carter
Gay-at-home Dad, By John Gustav-Wrathall
Staying at Home in a Daddly Fasion, By Michael Stubbs
A Stay-at-home Dad's Guide to French Sociology, By A. Joseph West
Columns
Braving the Borderlands: Bits and Pieces from the Inbox
The Family Forum: The Kid: An Awakening Metaphor
Singled Out: One Goal of Young Mormon Singles--Get Married!
Painting Up Controversy: The Work of Jon McNaughton
Issue 162--March 2011
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Cornucopia
Touchstones: A Window Opens
Features
Borderlands: A Play, by Eric Samuelsen
The Pros and Cons of Writing Confessional Memoir in the Mormon Milieu, By Phyllis Barber
The Prophet Claude: Fiction by Jack Harrell
Sacred Sci-Fi: Orson Scott Card as Mormon Mythmaker, By Christopher C. Smith
"Success" and the Body of Christ, By Bob Mesle
Poetry
Columns
Braving the Borderlands: Protecting and Strengthening Your Marriage
The Family Forum: Passing On the Shame
Issue 161--December 2010
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Cornucopia
The Bible, 140 Characters at a Time
Touchstones
Features
Written by the Finger of God? Claims and Controversies of Book of Mormon Translation, By Don Bradley
Fully Invested: Taking Stock in Utah County's Dream Mine, By Kevin Cantera
Angina, Fiction by Helen Walker Jones
In Memoriam: Linda Sillitoe, By Levi S. Peterson, Paul Swenson, and Phyllis Barber
Poetry
Fact of My Life, By Linda Sillitoe
In Riverdale, By Linda Sillitoe
an early elegy in lower-case, By Linda Sillitoe
Columns
Braving the Borderlands: Conducting a Self-assessment
The Family Forum: Sanctuary Trauma
Reviews
Faith and the "As If" Factor: Review of Doug Thayer's "The Tree House," By Levi S. Peterson
OK, Mormon: Review of Doug Thayer's "The Tree House," By E. George Goold
Interviews
Making Ourselves Visible: A Conversation with Author Johnny Townsend
Faith By Proxy: A Conversation with Author Brady Udall
in 1970. Issues published between 1840–1900 available online at Brigham Young University, issues published between 1901–70 available online at Archive.org