From: ACUS10@WACCVM.SPS.MOT.COM (Mark Fuller)
Subject: Re: Mormons are not Christians
Organization: Motorola Inc.
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 18:39:36 GMT

From: bunner@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Dana A. Bunner)
> Dana, trying very hard not to be "orthodox Mormonism's" spokesperson
>
> PS  Interested in hearing "non-traditional" LDS dialogue?  Come to the Chicago
> Sunstone Symposium held at the Hyatt Regency Deerfield, all day on Oct 17th.
> For those in the Northwest, I believe another Sunstone Symposium is to be
> held in Seattle on Oct 24th.  Note -- I am not an employee of Sunstone.

I would'nt advise it, unless you want to be added to the `Strengthening
Members' list. :)

The following article appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune Saturday, August
15th:

by Peggy Fletcher Stack
The Salt Lake Tribune

The packed room at last week's Sunstone Symposium grew quiet when Eugene
England took the podium.  The Brigham Young University professor lashed
out at a little-known committee of the LDS Church: the Strengthening
Church Members Committee, which keeps secret files on Mormons who
criticize the church.

"I accuse that committee of undermining the church," said Mr. England, a
BYU English professor.

Mr. England's accusation was courageous because he--along with dozens of
other BYU faculty--had been warned not to participate in this year's
Sunstone Symposium, an annual meeting of LDS scholars to discuss
contemporary issues facing the church.

"Given the current atmosphere, I would advise against [participation in
Sunstone]," BYU historian Michael Allen was told.

Just two weeks after the 1991 symposium, the LDS First Presidency and the
Quorom of Twelve Apostles issued a statement discouraging assocation with
"symposia" that result in "ridiculing sacred things or injuring the
Church of Jesus Christ, detracting from its mission, or jeopardizing the
well-being of its members."

This year, the First Presidency again issued a statement after the
Sunstone Symposium.  In the unsigned statement released Thursday, the
church confirmed the existence and purpose of the Strengthening Church
Members Committee, citing LDS scripture to justify it as a "resource to
priesthood leaders throughout the world who may desire assistance."

The 1991 church statement triggered a yearlong debate about the validity
of public discussion of Mormon issues.  In October, several Sunstone
participants were questioned by their local ecclesiastical leaders about
their loyalty to the church.

In February, all 20 members of BYU's sociology faculty signed a
three-page letter to President Rex Lee protesting these ecclesiastical
interrogations.

"Such actions must be viewed as a constraint on academic freedom,
especially for LDS Church members whose employment depends on church
standing," the letter said.

An editorial in BYU's student newspaper, _The Daily Universe_, attacked
the Sunstone Symposium as "not an academic forum."

While several professors defended the symposium in the letters column of
the _Universe_, the message clearly took root throughout the campus.  In
a March poll, 42% of the faculty said they would not participate.

Several departments in the LDS Church Office Building threatened
employees with dire consequences if they attended.  (But Public Affairs
Department sent six "observers," as they have for many years.)

Thus, many predicted sparse attendance at this year's Sunstone.  Yet
1,500 people showed up despite the warnings.

The four-day symposium concluded last Saturday at the Salt Lake Hilton
Hotel.  Sunstone is sponsored each year by the Sunstone Foundation, an
independent organization devoted to the study of Mormonism.

"Some BYU faculty chose not to participate this year," said Elbert Peck,
editor of Sunstone.  "Others made a point of participating."

He said most people read the church statement with care and tried to
adhere to its spirit by avoiding topics church leaders deemed
appropriate.

"The overall impact of the statement was to make presenters much more
thoughtful and careful than they have been in the past," said Mr. Peck.