Philosophy and Theology
March 2-4, 2017
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA
“Poured Out Upon Us: The Holy Spirit
The Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology invites paper proposals on any aspect of Mormon belief, including its philosophical ramifications. We particularly encourage submissions on this year’s theme.
When Joseph Smith was asked by the President of the United States about the differences between Mormonism and “the other religions of the day,” he responded that “all other considerations were contained in the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Mormons look to the Holy Spirit for both prophetic authority and individual faith, as a source of daily guidance and transformative power. Descriptions of the Holy Spirit in personal terms of speaking, feeling emotion, or acting are sparse in the scriptures, compared with other members of the Godhead. Yet reliance on the functions of this “personage of spirit” (D&C 130:22) is pervasive in Mormon practice.
Topics falling under this theme might include but are not limited to:
gifts of the spirit
scriptural descriptions of the Holy Ghost
the Holy Spirit and the Light of Christ
the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord
the power of the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost
accounts of the Spirit by figures such as Joseph Fielding Smith or Bruce R. McConkie
the body as a temple of the Holy Ghost
the role of the Spirit in the plan of salvation
the baptism of fire
being quickened by the Spirit
the promptings of the Spirit
denying the Holy Ghost
Papers on the conference theme are particularly encouraged, but proposals on any aspect of Mormon belief will receive full consideration.
Authors may submit either a full paper or an abstract. Papers should be suitable for a reading time of 25-30 minutes. (3500 words maximum) An abstract should be 300-500 words in length. It should include both a working thesis and an outline of the reasoning to support it. Descriptions of the topic or methods of the paper are relevant but not complete by themselves.
Please send submissions in pdf, rtf, or MS Word format to SMPT secretary Joe Spencer at [email protected] by email attachment. The email should include the author’s full name, contact information, title and word count for the paper or abstract.
Presenters are not required to be members of SMPT or the LDS church. SMPT welcomes submissions by students. Students should indicate their student status in the submission email
I’m going to see if I can swing this. I have a big chocolate show in San Francisco the 5th. For some reason I thought Claremont was near Berkeley. Much to my wonder it’s near LA! So it might be harder to make it than I thought.
I have a paper I’ve been musing for a while. Since I’d have to have the abstract done by the end of the month I might throw out some ideas in posts here for some feedback.
Yes, Claremont is about 40 minutes NW of LA, right at the county line and by the mountains. It doesn’t feel like LA at all.
Looking forward to this!