CELEBRATING 160 YEARS BYU Conference: “Icelanders and their connection to and the West”

DATE: September 9–13, 2015

PURPOSE: To commemorate the first Icelandic settlers in North America who arrived in Spanish Fork, Utah, in September 1855, and to educate the public about the Icelanders who immigrated and settled in Utah and the West.

SPONSORS: BYU Religious Education’s Religious Studies Center, Icelandic Association of Utah, Icelandair, Icelandic National League (Iceland), Icelandic National League (North America), Mormon Historic Sites Foundation.

LODGING: Marriott Hotel, 101 West 100 North, Provo, Utah, 84601; 801.377.4700; ($129 per night)

REGISTRATION FEES: Only $39, which includes costs of the conference and banquet. Online registration is available at Icelander.byu.edu or by calling 801-422-8925.

SCHEDULE:

September 9 (Wednesday)—Attendees arrive in Utah in the late afternoon and have a welcoming reception at the BYU Conference Center (room 2258–60) from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Cheese, crackers, and juices will be served. Name tags will be passed out. There will be a welcoming speech and recognition of special visitors.

Note: BYU shuttle service between the Marriott Hotel and the BYU Conference Center will be available from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Participants can also access the complimentary Marriott Hotel shuttle.

September 10 (Thursday)—Conference papers will be presented at the BYU Varsity Theatre in the Wilkinson Student Center (WSC) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meals will be on your own. (The BYU Cougareat Food Court has 10 different dining options and is only a one-minute walk.) At 7:00 p.m., entertainment will be provided in the Varsity Theatre by Mark Geslison, his family, and BYU student performers. Refreshments will be served after the performance in room 3224 WSC.

September 11 (Friday)—At 9:00 a.m. a bus tour of sites in begins, including a visit to the Family History Center, Humanitarian Service Center, LDS Conference Center, , This is the Place Heritage Park Monument, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum, and the . Box lunches will be provided. Dinner will be on your own at 5:00 p.m. at the Lion House. Take the bus back to Provo. Meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hall of BYU’s Hinckley Center for a cultural presentation by Andy Geslison, who will show his documentary film Of Icelandic Ancestry. Refreshments will follow. A return shuttle will be available to guests staying at the Marriott Hotel.

September 12 (Saturday)—The day will begin with a trip to Spanish Fork, including a bus tour of early Icelandic historical sites. Spanish Fork Mayor Steve Leifson will welcome us, followed by a lunch at noon at the Ponderosa Banquet Hall in Spanish Fork sponsored by the Icelandic Association of Utah. Next is a visit to the Spanish Fork Family History Center. At 6:00 p.m., a banquet will be held in BYU’s Wilkinson Student Center Main Ballroom, followed by a program that includes the documentary film Fire on Ice: The Saints of Iceland, the sharing of highlights of the “Icelanders to Utah” project, and several short addresses.

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS: Papers are 20 to 25 minutes each, followed by a question-and-answer period. The conference will commence at 9:00 a.m. and break at noon for lunch. It will reconvene at 1:30 and go to 4:00 p.m.

Lectures from 9:00 a.m. to noon

Matthew K. Heiss, archivist in the Church History Department, Salt Lake City—“The Translation of the Book of Mormon into Icelandic”

Fred E. Woods, BYU professor of religious education, and Kári Bjarnason, head librarian at the Vestmannaeyjar Folk Museum—“The First Three Icelanders to Settle in Utah”

Inga Lára Baldvinsdóttir, photo curator at the National Museum of Iceland—“Photos of 19th Century Iceland”

Guðmundur Hálfdanarsan of the History Department, University of Iceland—“Setting for Second Half 19th Century History of Iceland”

Steven L. Olsen, senior curator for Historic Sites, Church History Department—“Recent Museum Exhibits on Mormonism in Iceland”

Sunna Olafson Furstenau, independent researcher—“Icelandic Roots: Connecting Our Shared Stories”

Lunch from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Lectures from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

Richard Williams and Lacey Neilson, president and vice president of the Icelandic Association of Utah— “History of Iceland Days in Spanish Fork, Utah”

Markús Þ. Þórhallsson, graduate student at the University of Iceland—“First Civil Marriage in Iceland”

Halldor Gudmundsson, author—“Halldor Laxness and his book, Paradisarheimt as viewed through an Icelandic lens”

Mark Mendenhall, J. Burton Frierson Chair of Excellence in Business Leadership, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga—“An Ambivalent Expatriate: The Life of Runólfur Runólfsson”

Kristján Geir Mathiesen, Icelandic LDS Church member—“The re-emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Iceland, 1975-2015.”

September 13 (Sunday)—All conference attendees are invited as special guests to view the live broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word, which features the Mormon , from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. This will conclude the conference and commemorative events.