Exmormon Foundation 2007 Conference
Transitions — Unlocking The Secrets to a Post-Mormon Life
Audio Archives of the 2007 conference are now available. Our several years of conference archives are the most popular items on the site, and new visitors to the conference almost inevitably have listened to some of the previous years' archives. We think you'll enjoy them. They are available under the "Report with audio" links as you open the conferences in the menu to the right.
Please join us for our annual weekend of education, enlightenment, personal stories and a chance to mingle with a group of interesting and brave people who are exploring life and the world after Mormonism. This weekend has proven to be life-changing for many who come, and you will be energized and healed by the people you meet and the presentations you hear. It's a weekend of shared experiences, and a chance to meet some incredible people. You do not have to be a Foundation member to attend, but Foundation members do get a discount on the registration.
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Embassy Suites Hotel 110 West 600 South Salt Lake City, UT 84101-2701 Telephone: (801) 359-7800 Fax: (801) 359-3753 |
Our block of rooms at the Embassy Suites Hotel has been filled, but it may be possible to still get a room by calling the conference manager, Susan Townsend, at the hotel. If there's anything available, she will personally look for any openings that may become available. Call 1-801-359-7800 and ask to speak to her directly. Do not ask for "Reservations". You should also try the internet by going to the Embassy Site directly, or to the various travel booking sites. Staying at the hotel, and being there for the entire conference, really does enhance your experience for the weekend!
Following is our agenda for the weekend. See below for more detailed information about our presenters and our first art exhibit.
Agenda
Conference Presentations
Featured Speakers and Panelists
Bob McCue will be returning for his 2nd presentation, as last year he left everyone hungering for more of his stellar scholarship and philosophy regarding the Ex-Mo experience. He has titled his presentation “Damage Control, Healing and Growth in Post-Mormon Relationships: Sisyphus, Icarus and the Holy Grail”.
Since it is the 150th anniversary of the darkest moment in Mormon history – the Mountain Meadows Massacre – we have asked U. of U. Film Studies Professor Brian Patrick to return to talk about his experiences filming the first documentary made about the MMM, and to show us his film, Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. With the release of September Dawn and the non-Mormon community finally beginning to find out about this horrible event, hearing about Brian's experiences with church authorities and the Fancher family while filming his documentary should be especially interesting.
Art Vanick is one of the authors of “Who Wrote the Book of Mormon?: The Spalding Enigma”. Art has been interviewed many times on radio programs about his book, and has lectured to groups about the research that was done for this book. F.A.R.M.S. has taken the time to write a 130-page rebuttal to the book — must have pushed SOME buttons!! This presentation should prove to be very, very interesting.
Our dinner speaker will be Dan Fischer, D.D.S., former member of the FLDS church. While maintaining his dental practice, along with research and development of dental materials and procedures, he has created Smiles for Diversity, a nonprofit foundation committed to preventing hate crimes by promoting diversity and multicultural awareness. As a child, Dan was raised in a third-generation polygamous home. Eleven years ago, he left the FLDS religion, and as part of his dedication to promoting understanding among diverse cultures, he has become deeply involved in helping the young boys (some as young as 13) who are literally kicked out of their polygamous communities and abandoned by their polygamous families. Known as The Lost Boys, they find themselves on the streets of Salt Lake without education, without money, and without hope.
On Sunday we will have a presentation by Bill Gardiner, former CES employee, and two “liberated ladies”: Bill's wife Mel Gardiner, born and raised in a Mormon family of 13 children, and Janet Jacobson, convert at 18, divorced mother of 5. They will be talking about the way we can learn to leave guilt behind and find passion for life again after Mormonism. A significant amount of time will be given to involving the audience in questions, discussion, and interaction with the presenters and each other.
Janet Jacobson grew up on Mercer Island, Washington. In her Junior year of High School, she met the Mormon missionaries. When they found out her mother has died when she was 9, they asked if she “would you like to know how you can be with your mother forever?” Of course she would, and after listening faithfully to the lessons, Janet agreed to be baptized. Because of her father's objections, she had to wait a year until she was 18. After baptism, Janet headed off to BYU, then married and reared five children. Many Sundays were spent serving in Primary, Relief Society and Young Women leadership positions. In 2004 Janet began to question the church. A few weeks later she informed her Bishop she would not be returning, and later ended her marriage. Janet attended her first Ex Mo Conference in 2004, and is happy to report that one will live through the pains of leaving the church. After navigating through the rough waters of leaving the church, she is learning to live a “joyful” life outside the mind, soul and body control of Mormonism. She is thrilled that several of her children have also left the church. Janet now resides back near her childhood home on Mercer Island, and is a Realtor.
Raymond A. Hult is a retired FBI Special Agent (1971-1998) and former Mormon bishop. A fervent follower for most of his adult life based primarily on unquestioning faith, he finally determined to subject Joseph Smith to the same objective credibility standards afforded the suspects of his numerous criminal investigations. The result so far is the publication of the first two volumes of a series entitled “An Agnostic View of Bothersome Mormon Doctrine”, and “An Agnostic View of Bothersome Christian Doctrine. He now contends that not only was Smith a charismatic charlatan, but that the Christian concept of an eternal judgment is totally indefensible. A view of his current agnostic tendencies can be viewed on his homepage at http://agnostic-ray.tripod.com/agnosticity.
Nannette Duryea Martin was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and investigated the Mormon Church for over two years before her baptism at age 16. This decision cost her family relationships and financial support for college, cutting short her attendance at UW and BYU. She married in the temple, had six children and was a dedicated church member for over 27 years. Suffering severe depression and health issues after trying to live the gospel and jump over the “ever raising bar,” she began a process of healing to restore her mental, physical and spiritual well-being. In May 2007 she used the Internet in an attempt to find other Mormons on similar paths. This process led her to discover the REAL history of Mormonism. She shared the painful and shocking information she had found with her husband and children, along with her intention to leave the church. Her husband soon followed the same path, and they quickly determined to go to their son in the mission field to tell them of their discoveries. Nanette will tell you the rest of the story!
Art Show
We will also be sponsoring a “first” for the conference. During the weekend, we will have an Exmormon Art Show, displaying works from our very own Exmormon community. If you're a visual artist, and would love to share your art with all of us, stay tuned for more information on this event.