Chris Smith reminds us that the due date is fast approaching for presenter proposals at this year’s SLC Sunstone Symposium! The theme this year is Zion’s Sisterhood: Celebrating Mormon Women’s Contributions to Church and Culture. I’m dying to go myself — since for once I’ll actually be in the U.S. at the right time of year. Unfortunately, my proposal seems to be a little bit stuck in limbo and the moment, and I’m hoping I can get it ready in time. Let’s just say I’m planning to do whatever I can to get there, and I’m very much looking forward to meeting all of my Utah-based and/or Sunstone-attending Internet friends!!!
In honor of the symposium, let’s highlight some research-based posts from Outer Blogness from the past week:
On the topic of “Zion’s Sisterhood,” Runtu found an interesting story about how the Relief Society got suspended because Emma Smith was using her bully pulpit to “support virtue” at the expense of certain secret celestial teachings. On a related note, Pixelfish was reading a modern evangelical sermon on how women should shut up and couldn’t help but feel reminded of D & C 132.
On the topic of family history, Journey Gal has made a book about WWII, and especially the Battle of the Bulge, based on her own grandfather’s letters! And, in the realm of practical, hands-on research, Louise has optimized her chemical-free weed-killing technique. And since a book report is almost like research (and this one is funny) see Thank God I Had a Gun: Embracing Our Inner Frightened Bunnies.
And, getting back to blogspace’s specialty (commentary on the news), we have three pieces (from very different places on the belief spectrum) who all think it’s cool that the Governor of Utah will be using his mission-acquired Mandarin skills as ambassador to China. This same governor has apparently also eliminated the “Zion Curtain”:
The “curtain†ensured that a bartender in a restaurant could not serve a drink across a bar, and INSTEAD had to walk it around.
So there was a wall separating the bartender from the people at the bar? Does anyone have a picture of what this thing looks like??? It completely baffles me. A lot of people in Outer blogness have mentioned this thing, and every description is more puzzling than trying to figure out how a breastplate could have spectacles on it…
What’s your proposal about and why’s it in limbo? Anything I can do to help?
Chris — Thanks! It’s just that I’ve decided to try to do a panel, and it’s tricky to make sure everyone is on the same page via email. But it looks like we’re going to make the deadline. I hope it gets accepted! (I hesitate to announce the topic on the Internet unless it’s accepted…)
Ooh… very cool! Panels are always fun!