SUNSTONED: A word whose time has come?

[_Tal Bachman]

Allow me to coin a word, if it hasn't already been coined: "sunstoned".

Dictionary: Sunstoned

Adj. To be captive to an overwhelming tendency to doublethink with regards to Mormonism; or to be psychologically unable, either by nature or through force of emotional attachment, to finally acknowledge that Mormonism is a fraud. Alternatively, to know it is a fraud but remain unwilling, perhaps because of emotional dependency, to leave it or admit that it is a fraud.

Example:

"John Dehlin (Van Hale, Lavina Fielding Anderson, etc.) just wrote a paper on how to believe that the Book of Mormon is 'an authentic record of ancient Americans', while also believing that Joseph Smith wrote it himself. The guy's completely sunstoned."

If "sunstoned" is already a word, give me a reference. Otherwise, everytime you use it, just say: "OH YEAH, BY THE WAY - MY FRIEND TAL BACHMAN INVENTED THAT WORD". (In return, I'll waive my royalty requirement :P).

Thank you for helping me leave a lasting linguistic legacy,

T.

[_Jason Bourne]

Or how about rather than unable perhaps willingly chooses to remain for a variety of reasons including they like it, they enjoy religion and this one brings them satisfaction and so on.

Just because you conclude one thing does not mean someone else is emotionally flawed because they don't out right reject it like you do. You may be the flawed one for being so rigid that you could use religion in a way that can still bring great satisfaction. So my word for you is this. You and those like you are exmotioned or exmo-tionally flawed.

[_cksalmon]

I've never been to a Sunstone symposium. I have, however, listened to literally dozens upon dozens of Sunstone presentations available via its website. I've even paid for quite a few more recent presentations. When my hard drive crashed, and I lost those paid-for presentations, I hinted via email to, gosh, I think it might have been Carol, that, indeed, I had lost them through no fault of my own...and? No. Apparently there are no technology-gone-bad-derived redos available for the widow's son. Meh. Sunstone needs the money. I paid again for those presentations in which I had an abiding interest.

While I can understand the general thrust of your post, I can't at all agree that your coinage encapsulates all of what I have found to be the "Sunstone Experience."

Given a fair sampling, there are just so many utterly-disparate voices represented at Sunstone (especially at the national conference), that I just cannot agree that the quite-varied participants in toto are engaging in the "tendency to doublethink with regards to Mormonism."

Some are. Some aren't. Many others can't be comfortably placed in either category.

And MDB has for some time sported a poster who has self-styled him- or herself as "Sunstoned." So, yeah, it's already out there.

CKS

[_Tal Bachman]

And MDB has for some time sported a poster who has self-styled him- or herself as "Sunstoned." So, yeah, it's already out there.

--Shoot.

Mods, you wanna delete this thread then?

[_beastie]

Mods, you wanna delete this thread then?

No way, sunstoned will need it as evidence when he takes you to court for trying to steal his idea!!

[_John Larsen]

I've never been to a Sunstone symposium. I have, however, listened to literally dozens upon dozens of Sunstone presentations available via its website. I've even paid for quite a few more recent presentations. When my hard drive crashed, and I lost those paid-for presentations, I hinted via email to, gosh, I think it might have been Carol, that, indeed, I had lost them through no fault of my own...and? No. Apparently there are no technology-gone-bad-derived redos available for the widow's son. Meh. Sunstone needs the money. I paid again for those presentations in which I had an abiding interest.

While I can understand the general thrust of your post, I can't at all agree that your coinage encapsulates all of what I have found to be the "Sunstone Experience."

Given a fair sampling, there are just so many utterly-disparate voices represented at Sunstone (especially at the national conference), that I just cannot agree that the quite-varied participants in toto are engaging in the "tendency to doublethink with regards to Mormonism."

Some are. Some aren't. Many others can't be comfortably placed in either category.

And MDB has for some time sported a poster who has self-styled him- or herself as "Sunstoned." So, yeah, it's already out there.

CKS

I agree. Sunstone tends to be a good mix of believers, NOMs, RLDS, ex-Mormons and outside interested parties. If you can't find something of interest to you at a Sunstone conference, you probably don't really have an interest in Mormonism.

Also, the Sunstone conference is cheaper than the ex-Mormon conference and has about 20 times as many sessions.

[_ajax18]

I'd tend to agree with that definition.

But to be fair, I'm willing to admit that I believe things because I want to. I'm not sure that's always a bad thing. Some would even call it hope. But wouldn't you rather read Sunstone than the last General Conference talks? Just out of curiosity, if one has an interest in existential questions that extend beyond the grasp of contemporary science, where else would you go looking for those answers?

[_Tal Bachman]

But wouldn't you rather read Sunstone than the last General Conference talks?

---Hmm...that's a close one, actually. At least the General Conference talks are funny, though inadvertently so.

Just out of curiosity, if one has an interest in existential questions that extend beyond the grasp of contemporary science, where else would you go looking for those answers?

---For my money, once we're outside the realm of scientific inquiry, anyone's guess is as good as anyone else's...so there IS no one place, no "Delphic oracle". I think all we have in the end is each other.

[_Trevor]

Tal may have a very narrow vision of Sunstone, but he still has a wicked funny sense of humor!

[_Jason Bourne]

Tal may have a very narrow vision of Sunstone, but he still has a wicked funny sense of humor!

Must be the artist in him. I like his music though I like his Dad's better. Sorry Tal. I grew up on the Guess Who and BTO.