MORMONISM and the CREATIVE ADVANCE INTO NOVELTY 26 Robert A
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00a_working cover:Cover.qxd 6/29/2010 11:37 AM Page 2 SUNSUNSTONESTONE MORMON EXPERIENCE, SCHOLARSHIP, ISSUES, AND ART MormonismMormonism andand thethe December 2008—$7.50 CreativeCreative AdvanceAdvance intointo NoveltyNovelty 01_TOC:01_toc.qxd 6/29/2010 11:50 AM Page 1 SUNSTONE MORMON EXPERIENCE, SCHOLARSHIP, ISSUES, & ART DECEMBER 2008 Issue 152 FEATURES 21 Rebecca Buchert . MORMONISM AND THE CREATIVE ADVANCE INTO NOVELTY 26 Robert A. Rees . HOW MORMONS COULD HELP END THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR 30 Emily January Petersen. I LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT 34 Rebecca Davis Stevenson. I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND WHAT DID I SEE?: A Narratological Analysis of LDS Ritual Experience 40 H. Parker Blount . THE FAMILY UNDER ATTACK: By Whom? 46 John-Charles Duffy . MAPPING BOOK OF MORMON HISTORICITY DEBATES—PART II: Perspectives from the Sociology of Knowledge 70 Johnny Townsend . NANNY PRINCESS: 2007 Brookie & D. K. Brown SUNSTONE (ISSN 0363-1370) is published by The Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation with no Fiction Contest Starstone Winner official ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Articles represent the opinions of the writers only. POETRY SUNSTONE is indexed in the Index to Book Reviews in Religion 25 Beth Paulson . ENCOUNTERING ANTELOPE and Religion Indexes: RIO/RIT/IBBR 1975–on CD-ROM. 29 Rebecca Lilly. HAIKU Submissions may be by e-mail attachment or on IBM-PC 39 Nancy Compton Williams. THE UNEXPECTED compatible computer discs (MS Word or WordPerfect format). Submissions should not exceed 8,000 words and must be 45 Michael R. Collings . NECTARINE accompanied by a signed letter giving permission for the 61 Garland Strother. BASQUE CARVING manuscript to be filed in the Sunstone Collection at the University of Utah Marriott Library (all literary rights are 73 Jerry Hauser . THE BEST OF PREDATORS retained by authors). Manuscripts will not be returned; authors will be notified concerning acceptance within ninety days. COLUMNS SUNSTONE is interested in feature- and column-length articles 4 Various Authors . REFLECTIONS ON PROPOSITION 8 relevant to Mormonism from a variety of perspectives, news stories about Mormons and the LDS Church, and short reflections and commentary. Poetry submissions should have one poem per page, with the poet’s name and address on each page; a self- CORNUCOPIA addressed, stamped envelope should accompany each 14 Bryce Kirton Petersen. WORDS OF WISDOM: Folgers and the Sacrament submission. Short poems—haiku, limericks, couplets, and one- Cup liners—are very welcome. Short stories are selected only through the annual Brookie and D. K. Brown Memorial Fiction Contest 15 Rory Swensen . BLOGWATCH: Confessions of a Shopping Mall (next submission deadline: 30 June 2008; $5 fee per story). Santa Letters for publication should be identified. SUNSTONE does not acknowledge receipt of letters to the editor. Letters addressed 17 Chrystal Vanel . AROUND THE WORLD: The Kolob Order to specific authors will be forwarded, unopened, to them. 19 Michael Vinson . SCRIPTURE NOTES: Smoke Signals for Sojourners SUNSTONE will not provide subscriber addresses 20 Bishop Higgins . THE SUGAR BEET: News from the 3rd Ward to mail list solicitors without permission. Send all correspondence and manuscripts to: SUNSTONE MAKING SENSE OF SOCIAL 343 N. Third West CONSTRUCTIONISM Salt Lake City, UT 84103-1215 (801) 355-5926 62 Stephen C. Taysom. THE ORTHODOXY OF UNCERTAINTY fax: (801) 355-4043 63 Janet Garrard-Willis . MY BOOK CLUB WITH GOD email: [email protected] website: www.sunstonemagazine.com 65 Dan Wotherspoon. RICHER THAN YEA OR NAY NTANGLEMENT United States subscriptions to SUNSTONE are $45 for 6 issues, 66 E. George Goold . E $76 for 12 issues, and $106 for 18 issues. International subscriptions are $58 for 6 issues; $100 for 12 issues; $138 for 18 issues. All payments must be in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. 67 D. Jeff Burton . BRAVING THE BORDERLANDS. : Two Paths, bank. All international subscriptions will be sent via surface mail. One Marriage Bona fide student and missionary subscriptions are $10 less than the above rates. A $10 service charge will be deducted from 74 Mark Brown . FINDING ITS LEGS: Best of LDS Film Festival refund amount on cancelations. All subscription prices subject 2007, compiled by Christian Vuissa to change without notice. UPDATE Printed by 76 . The effects of Proposition 8 on Mormons. Gay Mormons hold press conference. Imbibing elder Copyright © 2008, The Sunstone Education Foundation. All rights reserved. removed. A quick sampling of recently noted Printed in the United States of America. members of the kingdom. Cover art by SR Carter 02-03_letters.qxp 12/7/2008 4:39 PM Page 2 SUNSTONE YEA, YEA NAY, NAY MUSINGS ON 8 life of the Church, without demanding that they become who they are not, would seem “I MY GAY MORMON to reflect the radical inclusiveness of Jesus. Founded in 1974 HUSBAND: SAY NO TO H8” This love would lead us to ask forgiveness of Editors Emeritus SCOTT KENNEY 1974–1978 our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters ALLEN D. ROBERTS 1978–1980 HESE WORDS, HAND-PRINTED ON A whom we have persecuted, excluded, called PEGGY FLETCHER 1978–1986 ELBERT EUGENE PECK 1986–2001 Tlarge protest sign and held high for the ‘sinners,’ and sought to hinder in the creation DAN WOTHERSPOON 2001-2008 crowds by two grad students, (dentistry and of lives rich in self-respect and covenant rela- Publisher Emeritus DANIEL H. RECTOR 1986–1991 law), are the focal point of a prominent pho- tionship. Editor tograph in the Sunday Oregonian Newspaper Perhaps after a few years, we will look STEPHEN CARTER Publisher (16 November). The accompanying article back at this and be appalled and dismayed, WILLIAM STANFORD about the Portland rally, decrying California’s just as the old screeds against interracial mar- Associate Editor CAROL B. QUIST ban on same-sex marriage, features the story riage leave us appalled and dismayed today. Section Editors of these two men, together for five years, wed FRANCES LEE MENLOVE PHYLLIS BAKER, Fiction Contest SCOT DENHALTER, “Cybersaints” in California last June (with the marriage cer- Depoe Bay, Oregon ALAN AND VICKIE EASTMAN, “Righteous Dominion” tificate to prove it!) and now—because of the JAMES P. HARRIS, “A Place for Every Truth” HUGO OLAIZ, News/Update Church’s role in the Proposition 8 DIXIE PARTRIDGE, Poetry BOYD PETERSEN, Mormonism and politics campaign—ex-Mormons. A MARRIAGE MORMONISM MARY ELLEN ROBERTSON, Women’s studies For me, this story puts a human face on MICHAEL SCHOENFELD, “Sunstone Gallery” COULD ABIDE? BRIAN H. STUY, “The Rest of the Story” the pain and dismay that is the outcome of ALISON TAKENAKA, “Margin Notes” the Prop 8 train wreck. I am saddened and ONG BEFORE THERE WAS A MICHAEL VINSON, “Scripture Notes” disheartened. LProposition 8, I heard from a gay, celi- Editorial Assistants It seems to me like deja vu. I remember bate, temple-recommend-toting Mormon JOHN-CHARLES DUFFY, REBECCA ENGLAND, HUGO OLAIZ Contributing Columnists the controversy about the definition of mar- friend why and how Mormonism could D. JEFF BURTON, MICHAEL NIELSEN, JANA RIESS riage around the 1950s and 60s. Then it was abide gay (even temple) marriage. While I re- Cartoonists JEANETTE ATWOOD, JONATHAN CLARK, GWEN DUTCHER black intermarriage, miscegenation laws. main unconvinced that it should (at least at JONNY HAWKINS, RYAN WAYMENT Much-Appreciated Volunteers Apostle Mark E. Peterson told us “God has present), Christopher Bigelow’s reasoning in ADRIANE ANDERSEN, SUSAN ANDERSEN, commanded Israel not to intermarry,” the October 2008 SUNSTONE reminds me PHYLLIS BAKER, LES AND SHANON GRIPKEY DON AND LUCINDA GUSTAVSON, Apostle Bruce R. McConkie told us “caste that it could. ANN M. JOHNSON, LLOYD PENDLETO, systems have their root and origin in the Bigelow writes: “In order for same-sex MARY BETH PENDLETON, SHERRI PENDLETON KATY SEPPI, SHARI THORNOCK, KATHY WILSON gospel itself,” and both were very vocal op- marriage to be accepted by Mormons, we ponents of interracial marriage with blacks. would need to become convinced that God The year I graduated from high school in himself could conceivably engage in such a Salt Lake City, Apostle Peterson called inter- union, including its sexual implications.” His marriage with Negroes “spiritual death” and argument relies upon the Mormon perfor- THE SUNSTONE EDUCATION opined at a BYU convention, “We must not mance of “posthumous sealings for any and FOUNDATION allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must all couples ever married on this earth” and The mission of The Sunstone Education Foundation is to we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open the “procreative purpose” of marriage. These sponsor open forums of Mormon thought and experience. Under the motto, “Faith Seeking Understanding,” we ex- our arms and embrace them with everything are the fundamental premises of Bigelow’s ar- amine and express the rich spiritual, intellectual, social, and artistic qualities of Mormon history and contempo- we have. Remember the little statement that gument. The first is wrong, the second erro- rary life. We encourage humanitarian service, honest in- quiry, and responsible interchange of ideas that is we used to say about sin, ‘First we pity, then neous because it is incomplete. respectful of all people and what they hold sacred. endure, then embrace.’” For years, Mormonism made no objection Board of Directors I cringe as I recall these words even as I to the marriages of men or women beyond MICHAEL J. STEVENS, RORY T. SWENSEN, co-chairs BILL BRADSHAW, LAURA L. BUSH, LAURA R. COMPTON try to remember that most white Americans climacteric. Such marriages have no procre- DOE DAUGHTREY, NADINE R. HANSEN, KIM MCCALL in the 1950s were opposed to interracial ative purpose. Instead, they have social, emo- J. FREDERICK (TOBY) PINGREE; JANA BOUCK REMY J.