conferences and symposia

Sunstone 2010 – A Feminist Recap

August 17, 2010
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Sunstone 2010 – A Feminist Recap

I really enjoyed the last day of Sunstone, since I was able to attend all day, rather than a session here or there.  Don Bradley gave a presentation titled “Dating Fanny Alger”, a bit of a play on words.  I remember he gave a funny line to the effect of “By all accounts, she was hot!”  Anyway, Bradley tried to pin down when the “affair” happened.  Apparently, Emma discovered Joseph and Fanny late at night in the barn.  According to Bradley, Alger appeared pregnant.  Emma threw a fit, and threw Alger out of the house.  (Apparently Alger had been...

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Hanging Out with Apostles at Sunstone

August 6, 2010
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Hanging Out with Apostles at Sunstone

Sunstone has been going on since Wednesday here in Salt Lake City.  It ends tomorrow, and I thought I would give a few words about the conference.  I have been blogging here at Mormon matters for about a year and a half, and have never met any other bloggers here….until this week!  It has been nice to nice BiV and Stephen Marsh.  I hope to meet others tomorrow.  It was also nice to meet with a few apostles.

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The Moral Panic Causes Trouble in Zion

July 27, 2010
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The Moral Panic Causes Trouble in Zion

Kenny Ballantine is in the process of producing a documentary called Trouble in Zion.  The documentary discusses the events leading up to the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri.  It highlights the Extermination Order and Haun’s Mill Massacre, as well as events leading up to these terrible events.  Kenny showed a pre-release version of the film at the Mormon History Association in Independence, Missouri in May, and he is also showing the film at Sunstone here in Salt Lake City in August.  I really enjoyed the film, and highly recommend it.  I thought Kenny was pretty even-handed, and had experts discuss reactions...

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A Schismatic End to the Mormon History Association meetings.

June 1, 2010
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A Schismatic End to the Mormon History Association meetings.

I attended the Mormon History Association meetings in Independence, Missouri this past week.  I thought I’d share some pictures.  If you’d like to read more about the conference, here are some links to my posts from Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. CoC Independence Temple at Sunset

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The Relational Definition of Sin

March 17, 2010
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The Relational Definition of Sin

One of my favorite experiences at the BYU Studies Symposium was listening to a set of two talks on the subject of sin.  That might not usually be such a fascinating topic!  But these had a twist which captured my interest — sin and its effect upon human relationships.

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Bombshell at the BYU Studies Symposium

March 13, 2010
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Bombshell at the BYU Studies Symposium

A small crowd at the BYU Studies Symposium yesterday was on hand to receive Richard Holzapfel’s self-proclaimed Mormon history “bombshell.”  He presented the morning plenary session on Wilford Woodruff’s 1897 recorded testimony, the first sound recording made of an LDS General Authority.  The audience was treated to hearing parts of this recording, which is also available at the BYU Studies website.

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