Sunstone: An Overview of the Annual Summer Symposium

by CHRISTINA ROSETTI

“When you come here, you’re living the Mormon identity as you are and as authentically as you can with no judgement. It’s an act of resistance toward harmful thinking patterns that restrict and prohibit faith,” said Lindsay Hansen Park, Executive Director of the Sunstone Education Foundation, as she stood in the South Town Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, awaiting arrivals to the annual Sunstone Symposium. As she shared her vision for the organization, people began trickling in to register, set up vendor tables, and prepare for a full weekend at the Sunstone Symposium. As he set up for a weekend representing Benchmark Books, Chris Bench said, “I like Sunstone for the diversity of individuals and great conversations.” This sentiment is reflected by many who attend the symposium and celebrate the space as one where members of the LDS Church, ex-Mormons, fundamentalist Mormons, independent Mormons, and others, come together for an open forum and space to talk about all things Mormon.

It all began with a vision for a new publication in Mormon studies. Beginning in 1975, Scott Kenney and Keith Norman began a journal targeting Mormon students, named after the famed stone image on the Nauvoo temple. Two years later, Orson Scott Card decided to shift the publication from a journal to a magazine, which was later edited by Peggy Fletcher Stack. “The magazine has been a lifeline for alternative Mormons for almost 45 years,” said Stephen Carter, the editor of Sunstone. “With the advent of the Internet, we’ve made a lot of changes, like starting a podcast where we do professional readings of our articles.”

Only a couple years after the launch of the magazine, in 1979, Sunstone began an annual summer symposium, drawing scholars and community members alike to engage Mormon topics related to Mormon doctrine, culture, and history. However, in the late 1980s, LDS Church leadership began speaking out against “alternative voices” in Mormonism. The Church also published a negative “Statement on Symposia” in 1991. Following these events, and others, participation declined. “The symposium’s relationship with the LDS Church usually reflects the larger issues of Mormonism,” said Grace Pool, Office Manager of the organization. While the organization’s relationship with the institution is not without complications, the current growth and momentum are indicative of the needs of many members of the Mormon community.

This year, Sunstone is back like never before, with an expected 2,100 attendees and larger venue! This comes in light of new leadership and a renewed purpose of incorporating a range of perspectives. Speaking to the vision of the organization and symposium, Lindsay Hansen Park shared, “I want to live in a community where people don’t just perform their Mormonism. They live in their Mormon identity every day. We all know how to perform Mormonism; we go to church, we put on the costume, and we know what to say. We know the script. And then, we all go home and live our lives. At Sunstone there is no costume or script.” The mission of encouraging dialogue and a variety of perspectives is embodied in Sunstone’s tagline “More Than One Way to Mormon."