Multicultural Mormonism

2017 Mormon Studies Conference

Multicultural Mormonism
Religious Cohesion in a New Era of Diversity

Like the early Christians, Mormons are admonished to “go into all the world to preach the gospel.” This requires the American-born religion to “translate” its faith and practices into many different cultural contexts. This has led to debates about how to distinguish between core doctrines and rituals and the cultural particularities of Utah-based Mormon culture. How does a religious body promote cohesion and unity while at the same time allowing for cultural inclusivity and diversity? To what extent is it possible for multiple cultures to work with authenticity in a single religious community? Can these cultures thrive within a common “Gospel Culture” and maintain their unique identities, languages, and customs? To what extent are they vulnerable to cultural assimilation, alienation, and spiritual and religious colonization? This conference explores multicultural and intercultural interactions within Mormonism, focusing on issues surrounding ethnicity, race, and class, and look toward the future of Mormonism as a global religion. 

 

Schedule of Events 
click title link for video

 

Wednesday, March 29th 

  

UVU Classroom Building Fifth Floor (CB-511) 

  

  

  

7:00 p.m. 

  

Keynote address 

  

"Latinos in Utah:Theology, Ethnicity, and Religion"  (video)

  

Armando Solorzano 
Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies & Family and Consumer Studies,  
University of Utah 

  

Author of We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe, Recuerdo, Celebración, Y Esperanza: Latinos in Utah  

 

  

Thursday, March 30th  

  

Classroom Building Fifth Floor (CB-511) 

  

  

  

8:30 - 8:45 a.m.  

  

Welcome 

  

  

  

8:45 - 9:45 a.m.  

  

"Decolonizing the Blossoming: Indigenous People's Faith in a Colonizing Church"  (video)

  

Moroni Benally 

  

Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Relations, Diné College 

  

Former Executive Director for the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources 

  

  

  

"Don't You Know You Can't Go Home Again?: 
Shifting Contexts and Competing Authenticity among Indians and Mormons"  (video)

  

Matthew Garrett 

  

Professor of History, Bakersfield College 
Author of Making Lamanites: Mormons, Native Americans, and the Indian Student Placement Program 1947-2000  

  

 

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. 

  

Keynote Address 

  

"There’s No Such Thing as ‘A’ Gospel Culture"  (video)

  

Gina Colvin 

  

School of Educational Studies & Leadership, University of Canterbury, New Zealand 

  

Host of A Thoughtful Faith podcast; author of KiwiMormon blog  

  

  

  

11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  

  

Panel Discussion (video)

  

  

  

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.  

  

Lunch 

  

  

  

1:00 - 2:15 p.m. 

  

The Black 14 film screening 

  

  

  

2:00 - 2:50 p.m. 

  

"Finishing the Business of Civil Rights: Black Athletes in the Age of Social Unrest"  (video)

  

Darron Smith  

  

Assistant Professor of Public Health Services, Wichita State University  
Co-editor of Black and Mormon and White Parents, Black Children 

  

  

  

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. 

  

Panel Discussion 

  

  

  

 

  

Friday, March 31st 

  

UVU Classroom Building Fifth Floor (CB-511) 

  

  

  

9:00 - 9:50 a.m. 

  

"A Balm In Gilead: 
Reconciling Black Bodies within a Mormon Imagination (video)

  

Janan Graham-Russell 

  

Writer and Womanist scholar; contributor to The Atlantic and Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings, and A Book of Mormons 

  

 

  

“Mormons, Immigration, and Whitness” (video)

  

Paul Reeve 

  

Professor of History, University of Utah 
Author of Religion of a Different Color: Race & the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness 

  

  

  

10:00 - 10:50 a.m.  

  

Keynote Address  

  

"Thoughts on Latinos, the Mormon Afterlife & the Need for a New Historical Paradigm" (video)

  

Ignacio Garcia 

  

Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western & Latino History,  
Brigham Young University 
Author of Chicano While Mormon: Activism, War, and Keeping the Faith  

  

  

  

11:00 - 12:00 a.m. 

  

Panel Discussion (video)

  

   

  

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

  

Lunch 

  

  

  

1:00 - 1:50 p.m. 

  

"To Be Young, Mormon, and Tongan"  (video)

  

Anapesi Ka'ili  

  

Instructor, Department of Education Culture and Society, University of Utah  

  

Specializes in Pacific Island history, native languages and cultural identities.  

  

 

  

Moana Ulave Hafoka  

  

Community Liaison, Salt Lake City Mayor's Office 

  

Gates Millennium Scholar 

  

  

  

2:00 - 2:50 p.m. 

  

"The Lamanite Dialogue: Further Discussion on Latin Communities and 
Indigenous Identities in Mormonism"  (video)

  

Agustin "Tino" Diaz 

  

Program Director, Educational Opportunity Center, Utah Valley University 

  

  

  

The Lamanite Dialogue: A Contemporary Conversation Regarding Indigeneity,
Oceania, and Borderlands in Mormonism (video)

  

Daniel Hernandez 

  

Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland, New Zealand 

  

  

  

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.   

  

Panel Discussion 

 

the conference is free and open to the public 

for more information, contact  

Boyd Petersen at [email protected] or Brian Birch at [email protected]