Summary: This three-part episode features a wonderful discussion about some of the peculiarities about the LDS Mormon experience in Brazil, as well as the many ways that LDS experience seems universal. In doing so, it introduces Antonio Trevisan and Marcello Jun de Oliveira, two Brazilians who are leading the ABEM--Associação Brasileira de Estudos Mórmons (Brazilian Mormon Studies Association)--a fledgling group modeled somewhat after Sunstone as a similar effort to explore Brazilian Mormonism through historical inquiry, scholarship, and other mediums, including an annual conference. It also features a terrific young scholar moderator, Rolf Straubhaar, who served his mission to Brazil and has returned several times as a graduate student doing ethnographic work in comparative education. In many ways, the first two parts of this episode will feel much like Mormon Stories episodes as we explore the lives and faith journeys of our two panelists. The final part features an exploration of the Brazilian Mormon experience, paying close attention to those intersections between the wider, largely North American, church and the particularities of Brazilian culture. It touches on everything from congregational dynamics to doctrinal issues, and attitudes about sex and bodies to certain aspects of the Word of Wisdom. One other major focus is the reasons Brazilian Mormons drop out of the church, in which one factor is the lack of resources for these saints to discuss the issues that trouble them. For that reason, it’s with great admiration that we celebrate and advertise the ABEM and its blog, VozesMormons.
