Past Events
Thur, Nov 20 (8:00-(9:30pm): Marlin Jensen, Church Historian, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a a public lecture that provided a historical overview of “The Role of the Church Historian”. (Location: Mudd Auditorium, CST)
Thur, Nov 20 (3:30-5:00pm): Marlin Jensen, Historian and Recorder for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with students and faculty members for an open conversation about various issues related to historical research in and about the Church. (Location: Burkle 16, CGU) [more information]
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (4:00-5:30pm): Michael Quinn, prominent historian of Mormonism, presented a lecture entitled "The Ambiguous History of Us-Versus-Them in Early Mormon Experience". Quinn's lecture was followed by a very engaging question and answer session surrounding the insider/outsider dilemma, facing the religious "other," etc. (Location: Academic Computing Bldg 211, CGU) [more info]
Thursday, October 9, 2008 (8:00-9:30pm): Richard Mouw, President, Fuller Theological Seminary, presented a public lecture entitled “An Evangelical Perspective on Joseph Smith”.
Robert Millet, professor at Brigham Young University, gave a brief response, after which the two entertained questions from the audience..
(Location: Mudd Auditorium, CST)
Thursday, October 9, 2008 (3:30-5:00pm): Robert Millet, former Dean of the College of Religious Education and now Abraham O. Smoot University professor at Brigham Young University join students for an open conversation about his efforts in interfaith dialogue with Evangelical Christians, as well as the prospects for future dialogue with other religious communities.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 (8:00-9:30pm): Ronald Walker Co-author of Massacre at Mountain Meadows, and author of Wayward Saints: The Godbeites and Brigham Young, gave a public lecture that explored how the early decades of Brigham Young's life served to shape his more well-known years as the leader of the Latter-day Saints.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 (3:30-5:00pm): Ronald Walker, co-author of the recent Massacre at Mountain Meadows, and author of Wayward Saints: The Godbeites and Brigham Young, joined us for an afternoon discussion of his perspective on the complexities and challenges involved with co-authoring a book on the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
May 12, 2008 - Michael McBride, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California Irvine & Dustin Eaton, Master's student at Claremont Graduate University, concluded CMSSA's 2007-2008 season of scholarship more information
May 5, 2008 - Confronting the Sacred Texts of Mormonism: Exegetical Challenges & Strategies: James Faulconer, Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University, presented some general reflections on hermeneutical issues relative to Mormon scripture, as well as some specific considerations of his commentary on Romans 1 [more info]
April 19, 2008 - “May These Principles Be Established”: Mormonism in the Political Arena - The Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association (CMSSA) held a conference for graduate students addressing the theme of Mormonism in the political arena. Papers from all social scientific and humanities disciplines were invited, as this topic invites exploration from many perspectives, individual, organizational, historical, contemporary, theological, ethical and even international. Similar conferences on additional topics relevant to Mormon Studies are expected to be held biennially. read more...
April 1, 2008 - Restoration Christianity: Commonality and Divergence in Latter Day Saint Movements - The Religious Studies Program at Utah Valley State College held their eighth annual Mormon Studies Conference. The conference explored the relationship between the traditions that trace their history and teachings to the revelations of Joseph Smith. visit website for more details...
March 24, 2008 - Philosophical Theology in Mormonism: CMSSA held a lunch discussion with philosopher and Brigham Young University professor, David Paulsen. Paulsen led a discussion exploring the place of philosophical theology in Mormonism. The event was held in the IAC Library at the CGU School of Religion.
March 20, 2008 - The Future of Mormon History Panel Discussion: CMSSA presented a panel discussion with Richard E. Turley, Jr., Claudia L. Bushman, and Richard Lyman Bushman on the future of Mormon history. The panel was held at CGU in the Burkle building. [more info]
March 20, 2008 - Richard Turley Lecture: The Mormon Studies Council and the School of Religion at CGU invited Assistant Church Historian Richard E. Turley, Jr. to deliver a public lecture in the Mudd Auditorium at 8 p.m. Turley spoke on "Approaching Mountain Meadows: How Latter-day Saints Respond to the Worst Event in Mormon History." Approximately 150 people attended the lecture.read more...
March 14-15, 2008 - Sunstone West Conference: Sunstone will host its annual conference at CGU. visit website for more details
February 21, 2008 - Truman Madsen Lecture and Panel Discussion: The School of Religion at CGU invited distinguished LDS scholar and philosopher Truman G. Madsen to deliver a public lecture in the Mudd Auditorium at 8 p.m. He spoke on the topic, "Mormonism and Philosophy." Over 400 people from throughout southern California attended the lecture. [read more] Ealier in the afternoon from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., Richard Bushman moderated a panel discussion with Madsen, John B. Cobb, and CGU student Richard T. Livingston on the question, "Does Religion Need Philosophy?" [read more] CMSSA students had the privilege of meeting privately with Dr. Madsen for an informal discussion on Wednesday, February 20th.
February 11, 2008 - Reading Scripture: A Comparative and Critical Approach: Dr. Vincent L. Wimbush met with CMSSA members and others interested in exploring approaches to reading scripture at the School of Religion's IAC Library on Monday February 11th, 2008 from 12:00 – 1:30pm. Dr. Wimbush is professor of religion and director of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures at CGU.
February 2, 2008 - CMSSA Opening social Students and faculty members interested in Mormon Studies at CGU kicked off an exciting semester of CMSSA events with a potluck dinner at the IAC Library on Saturday from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Families and friends of CMSSA were also invited.
December 6, 2007 - Student Research Presentation Jacob Baker, a Master's Student at Claremont School of Theology, discussed his paper on "Evil and Suffering in the Book of Mormon: Alma 14: A Challenge to or an Asset of a Mormon Theodicy?" which explores the possiblity and challenges of a Mormon theodicy. read more....
November 6, 2007 - Moromonism & Blood Atonement - Based upon an article that is to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Mormon History, Dan Sharp presented several theses that challenge some of the common understandings about the origins and history of the doctrine, as well as its most popular interpretations. Dan's presentation prompted a fascinating discussion of one of the tradition's least known, most obscure, and often controversial teachings. read more...
October 19, 2007 - A Mormon-Muslim Conversation A discussion of two rich and vibrant faith traditions. Claremont Graduate University’s Dr. Hamid Mavani and Brigham Young University’s Dr. Daniel C. Peterson explored topics of mutual interest between their two faith communities. Their discussion was moderated by Dr. Richard L. Bushman, currently a Research Fellow at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. [more info]