Fiona & Terryl Givens
FRIDAY | APR 9, 2021 | 7:30-9:00 pm MST
The Latter-Day Saint religious vocabulary is largely inherited from the Protestant Reformation, and has imported a range of presuppositions and concepts that created the woundedness—and often disaffection—that plague the Church’s culture.
GATHERING AT:
Your home or hang out of choice via Zoom.
Thanks to Jana Spangler hosting us via Zoom. Below is some helpful info for being part of a Zoom convo. I will also note below the Zoom address so that you can connect. If you are not on my email list then either join at the bottom of this site’s home page or text or call me at 801-695-5036.
THE CONVERSATION:
“Language does not just register experience,” Robert MacFarlane wrote. “It produces it.” As prophesied, Jesus came “with healing in his wings.” And his invitation to all, as to the Nephites, is to “be converted that I may heal you.” In Fiona and Terryl Givens most recent book, All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between, they share the ways in which Latter-Day Saint religious vocabulary—from “sin” to “salvation”—bears the traces of woundedness but can furnish the seeds of healing. The best news of all, the one which caused the sons (and daughters) of God “to shout for joy” in a primeval moment, was the assurance given before the first mortal ever took breath that Heavenly Parents had all power and wisdom to bring to accomplish what they set out to do: and foremost in this regard was their self-designated project to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of every one of us
As always, there is no pressure to participate in the actual conversation, but we welcome your thoughts and contributions. If you do choose to speak, please be respectful of uncomfortable ideas, the good intentions of others, and remember to share air time. You can find guidelines for productive conversations here).
ABOUT TERRYL AND FIONA
Terryl Givens did graduate work in intellectual history at Cornell and in comparative literature at UNC Chapel Hill, where he received his Ph.D. He is Professor Emeritus of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond, and the Neal A. Maxwell Senior Research Fellow at Brigham Young University. His writing has been praised by the New York Times as “provocative reading,” and his numerous books include a history of Latter-day Saint theology, Wrestling the Angel and Feeding the Flock, a survey of the idea of premortal life in Western thought, When Souls Had Wings, and several studies of LDS scripture, culture, and history.
Fiona Givens was born in Nairobi, Kenya, educated in British convent schools, and converted to the LDS church in Frankfurt, Germany. She earned degrees in French, German, and in European History while co-raising six children. She is a frequent speaker on podcasts and at conferences from Time out for Women to Sunstone. She works now as an independent scholar, having published in Womens Exponent II, Dialogue, and Sunstone. With her husband, she is the co-author of The God Who Weeps, The Christ Who Heals, The Crucible of Doubt, and most recently, All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between. She and Terryl and teachers in their Midway, Utah ward.
LISTEN TO THE RECORDED ZOOM CONVERSATION
PLEASE READ THESE ZOOM TIPS:
- Please mute your microphone before entering and when you are not speaking so noises are not heard by everyone else.
- Rather than have the whole group watch you try to get your camera or screen positioned, feel free to get that figured out prior to when we meet.
- Resist the urge to multitask—be with us, people. Knitting is still allowed though. But…
- If you are going to multitask, please turn off your video and make sure you are muted. No one wants to be distracted by you eating or using the loo.
- If you are having difficulty with the technology, don’t hold up the meeting by distracting other participants for solutions. Try Googling your problem. I do that with most of life’s problems.
- Speaking of distractions—just as when we used to meet in person in the good old days, let’s be cautious about using the chat for side conversations that may distract others. You can always ask for people’s contact info and continue your conversation—I’d love that to happen. Or, let me know, and I’ll do my darndest to give you a chance to share to the group.
- Please share air time and follow the guidelines under “Intentions” on this website.
To enter the Zoom conversation:
- Click on the Zoom link above.
- The link Zoom should open, and you should be able to see and hear other participants. Or wait until the host opens the meeting. Please make sure that you muted and that your video is on if you choose to have it on. (Love to see and hear you live, but we’ll take curious lurkers also.)
- If you can’t hear the host, me, or others, find your settings and make sure you have a working microphone and speaker selected. Also, make sure you have your volume up.
