For the last several years Sunstone has organized a symposium with presenters that introduce typically undiscussed topics related to the LDS faith.
Mary Robertson studied Journalism at BYU and has been the Director of Outreach and Symposia for five years.
She has organized 6 symposia and describes it as “a place where people can openly explore ideas outside of the mainstream and what you might hear at church.”
Hosted by the University of Utah, the symposium starts Wednesday, ends Saturday and is full of presentations, panelist interviews and engaging discussions.
The theme of this year’s symposium is “Mormon Bodies: Literal, Physical, Metaphorical”. Even though Sunstone has no official ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a majority of attendees are members.
Many presenters and attendees are like Dr. William Bradshaw and have strong ties to BYU. Bradshaw worked at BYU’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology and served as a mission president in Hong Kong. He is well known for a lecture he gave at BYU in 2010 titled “The Evidence For A Biological Origin For Homosexuality”.
“I enjoy the people here. It’s like coming to a family reunion when I attend the Symposium,” Bradshaw said.
Robertson finds Sunstone Symposiums benefit the LDS Church.
“Even though some people feel very uncomfortable with the topics others say Sunstone has been their connection to the church and helps them keep going faithfully,” Robertson said.
