Sunstone Magazine
Summary: The mission of the Sunstone Education Foundation is to sponsor public forums for expression of views on religion, religious culture and Mormonism. Under the motto, "Faith Seeking Understanding," we examine and express the rich spiritual, intellectual, social, and artistic qualities of Utah’s religious culture as well as contemporary life. We encourage honest inquiry and responsible exchange of ideas in a manner respectful of all people and that which they hold sacred. In this podcast, we will hold weekly interviews with people of interest in alignment with this mission statement.
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Podcasts:
Jesus said, “As a person thinks in her heart, so is she.” Long thought to be just a metaphor, the idea of a thinking heart is now supported by scientific findings revealing that the heart has its own nervous system with an electrical field 60 times greater in amplitude than that of the brain. It generates 5,000 times more electromagnetic energy than the brain, and that sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. What are the implications of such understanding in terms of epistemology, spiritual inquiry, and revelation? http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15124.mp3 Robert A. Rees
Recently, students of Mormonism have written about teachings and policies Joseph Smith introduced (beyond temple rituals and Book of Mormon themes) which have Masonic associations. This paper will discuss these concepts and how these aspects probably reflect Joseph Smith’s “restoration imperative”. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15276.mp3 Michael W. Homer
This session compares and contrast the Protestant “Just War” doctrine with historic Mormon attitudes. How did the Saints go from an essentially pacifist worldview to accepting war-time service in place of a mission and writing torture laws for the president? http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15176.mp3 Brooke Swallow, Kenneth Lines
Join Ordain Women executive board members as we discuss what it takes to recognize and exhibit personal faith and sacrifice in the face of everyday obstacles and institutionalized sexism. We will be exploring topics such as ecclesiastical sexual abuse, hostility towards feminist thought in ward culture, and how defining one’s individual feminism can be your biggest asset. Come join us in understanding what ‘faithful agitation’ means to Ordain Women. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15112.mp3 Danielle Mooney, Mark Barnes, Kristy Money, Lorie Winder Stromberg, Bryndis Roberts, Debra Jenson, Sean Carter, Joanna Wallace, Gina Colvin
This presentation draws on scripture, the teachings of Church leaders (such as President Uchtdorf’s general conference address encouraging diversity), and scholarship (such as Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy) to examine the creative tension between unity and diversity within Mormonism and to propose a model for thinking about a pluralistic unity for Mormonism as it moves forward. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15237.mp3 Christopher Bradford
Six of the twelve contributors to the new book Fresh Courage Take address issues faced by modern Mormon and formerly Mormon women. Authors will speak on ideology, language, motherhood, religious orthodoxy, and more, showing that one heart and many minds can still form Zion. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15156.mp3 Jamie Zvirzdin, Ashley Mae Hoiland,Marcee Monroe Ludlow, Sylvia Lankford, Camille Strate Fairbanks, Rachel Brown
My husband and I didn’t just wake up one sunny morning and say, “Let’s join a polygamist cult.” Over time, a convergence of psychological and social factors ripened us for the picking. Insecurities played a part. So did classic, cultish appeals. So did mainstream Mormonism, not just by laying a doctrinal foundation, but by training members to tolerate cognitive dissonance, and through its own, albeit far less extreme, cultish tendencies. This presentation will examine those factors through my experiences and the work of psychologists such as Frank Sulloway. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15125.mp3 Joanne Hanks
The Mormon theology of a Heavenly Mother has been widely discussed as a transcendent and empowering doctrine, especially among Mormon feminists. While we recognize this can be a valuable paradigm for many, this panel will discuss some of its implications. For example, what does a heterosexual god-couple imply for same-gender couples? Would feminizing some attributes through a goddess figure impair the development of those traits in men? Does eternal gender (and associated eternal attributes) abrogate hopes for egalitarian institutions? http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15224.mp3 Marina N. Capella, Christian Anderson, Janice Allred
This panel will discuss the activities of being a faith organizer in Wyoming, particularly her work leading up to the 2015 legislative session that saw the narrow defeat of the non-discrimination bill in Wyoming. Sara will discuss her interactions with Catholic, Evangelical, and Mormon faith leaders, what she learned about the state of discourse in those denominations, and how her own biases came to bear on the dialogue. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15277.mp3 Sara Burlingame, Troy Williams, Sharon Groves, Jim Dabakis
The policies and doctrines of all groups include tendencies towards psychological manipulation. These persuasion and control techniques function through cognitive dissonance and consonance theory. This talk explores how dogma reinforces itself by boosting cognitive consonance and reducing dissonance. What forms do these “mental gymnastics” take? How do LDS teachings display these forms? This talk is likely to cause cognitive dissonance. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15135.mp3 Luna Lindsey
Brigham Young once called Joseph Smith a poetÑand poets, Brigham continued, “are not like other [people]; their gaze is deeper, and reaches the roots of the soul” Such vision, he said, is akin to having “the searching eyes of angels” with which poets can “catch the swift thought of God and reveal it to us, even at the risk of forgetting their underclothes and their suspenders.” A poet sees differently than others see; and to see differently is to risk mental, emotional, social, and spiritual instability. Come and hear original poems by six Mormons that meditate on these themes. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15173.mp3 Tyler Chadwick, Jessica Dixon, Marianne Hales Harding, Robert A. Rees, Bonnie Shiffler, Alex Caldiero
In the early church, talk of building Zion and becoming a Zion people was everywhere. Then, twenty-five years ago, following the publishing of Hugh Nibley’s essay collection, Approaching Zion, and then an iconic “Plotting Zion” conference co-sponsored by Sunstone the following year, “Zion” seemed poised to once again rise up as a vital and energizing concept. But today, we hear much less about it. Has Zion simply become a vague thought, something we strive to practice only “within our hearts”? Are there arenas in which it still holds relevance for how we organize our lives and communities? http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15155.mp3 Boyd Petersen, Jim Smithson, Rachel Whipple, Ron Madsen, Warner Woodworth
Parents need more help than ever to understand the world their children are navigating. In this presentation, Alisha and Kristin will present strategies for continually talking to your children about healthy sexuality instead trying to cram it into one, dreaded “talk”. What defines comprehensive sex education for toddlers, kids, and teens? http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15177.mp3 Kristin Hodson, Alisha Worthington
Mormonism has a unique relationship with adoption that culminates in the doctrine and ordinance of sealing. While powerful in its eternal implications, many of the root ideas surrounding this doctrine are problematic to the psychological, emotional, and physical health of persons involved in the adoption triangle: adoptee, birth parents and adoptive parents. This paper identifies shame cycles specific to Mormon culture that impact adoption triangle identities and relationships; it also explores current social science theories that can aid and empower individuals, couples, and families to act in wisdom and order. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15225.mp3 Christy Crowe Hughes
The human mind sees everything through four lenses: the WHY (purpose), the WHAT (facts), the HOW (actions), and the WHO (relationships). We sometimes find ourselves struggling with conflicts between these lenses, especially when it comes to religion. This session will provide an overview of how these lenses function in religion and suggestions on how to make them work together more coherently. http://sunstonemagazine.com/audio/SL15141.mp3 Russ Osmond
