Mormon Stories Announces Boise Conference to Discuss Mixed-belief Communities, Releases Survey Results on Why Mormons Question Faith

BOISE, Idaho, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mormon Stories, a nonprofit support community for Mormons navigating faith crises and their families, friends and church leaders, announces the inaugural Boise Mormon Stories Conference on March 17, 2012 at the Center for Spiritual Living located at 10464 West Garverdale Court in Boise, ID from 12 noon – 5:30 p.m.  Please visit MormonStories.org to register.

"Whether you are a believing Mormon, a fundamentalist, an atheist or agnostic, you are equally welcome and will have an equal voice at our Boise Mormon Stories conference," says John Dehlin, Executive Director of Mormon Stories and host of the Mormon Stories podcast.  "Your level of belief does not matter to us.  Our goal is not to promote or discourage activity in the Mormon Church, but to create a safe space where community members can explore their beliefs and express their feelings about Mormonism authentically."

Several keynote speakers will highlight the conference, including Joanna Brooks, author of the recently published The Book of Mormon Girl.  Brooks writes for ReligionDispatches.org and is a regular commentator on CNN.com and the Washington Post, and was named one of the "50 Politicos to Watch" by Politico.com.

Also speaking is Maxine Hanks, the editor of Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism, the groundbreaking compilation of essays that diagnoses the history of Mormon priesthood authority and women's role in exercising priesthood. Hanks was excommunicated in 1993 as part of the Mormon Church's inquisition and excommunication of several intellectuals known as the "September Six."

John Dehlin, Executive Director of the Mormon Stories podcast and its associated support communities, including the Boise Mormon Stories Community, will also speak on the necessity of creating safe supportive communities for people in faith transition due to the accessibility of information about Mormonism on the Internet. Dehlin is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling Psychology at Utah State University.

In conjunction with the conference, Mormon Stories will release unprecedented survey results of over 3,400 participants titled "Why Mormons Question." The survey, conducted in the fall of 2011, shines new light on why Mormons struggle with faith in the Internet age, what questions lead to their struggles, and the family and social costs of faith crises.

Press Contact: Anne Peffer                               
Mormon Stories
(617) 489-2913
[email protected]
 

SOURCE Mormon Stories