Welcome to SunstoneBlog, the official blog of the Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc.

As an organization, Sunstone has been an interested observer of the burgeoning LDS Bloggernacle, watching conversations in an effort to get the pulse of contemporary Mormonism and occasionally publishing interesting or fun postings in a “Blogwatch” section of Sunstone magazine. But despite fielding regular queries for the past couple of years about Sunstone’s hosting its own blog or sponsoring message-board conversations through our website, we’ve balked on joining in on this kind of cyberfun. Some of our hesitation came out of the Sunstone staff’s already feeling a bit overstretched, but much arose out of our wondering what new niche Sunstone might fill that wasn’t already being handled in the Bloggernacle.

With the recent advent of podcasting, our thinking began to change. Spurred on by the infusion of energy and “techie” expertise by new Sunstone board member John Dehlin, along with Sunstone’s ongoing efforts to digitize the recording from every past Sunstone Symposium session, we have become convinced that we have ready-made resources for making an important new contribution to LDS-themed discussions online.

John convinced us how easy it would be to launch weekly podcasts. The first, which we’ve given the extremely creative name of SunstonePodcast, will each week feature an interview or roundtable discussion with prominent LDS and non-LDS authors, artists, speakers, humanitarians, or others with interesting takes on Mormonism or contemporary life.

The second, SunstoneClassic Podcast, will feature a past symposium session on a topic with broad appeal or which marks a milestone of sorts in Mormon intellectual history or that introduces or highlights issues in contemporary LDS life and experience.

With the podcasts ready to launch, it was natural that Sunstone also add this blog. Our hope for SunstoneBlog is that its focus will remain firmly rooted in the foundation’s mission statement, which is “to sponsor open forums of Mormon thought and experience. Under the motto, ‘Faith Seeking Understanding,’ we examine and express the rich spiritual, intellectual, social, and artistic qualities of Mormon history and contemporary life. We encourage humanitarian service, honest inquiry, and responsible interchange of ideas that is respectful of all people and what they hold sacred.”

In alignment with this mission statement, SunstoneBlog will encourage posting that is constructive in nature–that assumes, baseline, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its theology, practices, leaders, and members are deserving of respect and our best reflections. As the spiritual home for many adherents, including most participants in the discussions hosted here, it is an integral and important part of spiritual, personal, and family lives. In saying this, however, the Sunstone organization and the bloggers at SunstoneBlog recognize that Mormonism does not always feel as welcoming and comfortable to many as the word “home” ideally suggests, and some of the discussions here will certainly reflect that. If the Church or LDS teachings or culture have become a bit less homey for you, please still feel free to join in on the various SunstoneBlog conversations. We trust that in so doing, you’ll be bringing your honest reflections and full self to the discussion table, and those will always be welcome.

SunstoneBlog is also designed to be in partnership with the Sunstone podcasts, Sunstone magazine, and our various symposiums. Thus, you may expect a thread or two on every new podcast, as well as conversation about recent magazine articles and symposium sessions. Our bloggers will also be on the lookout for interesting books, movies, and other media that relate to Mormonism and/or talk about important religious themes.

In addition, we’re also very interested in seeing SunstoneBlog become an important clearinghouse and integral part of Mormon- and Sunstone-related projects. For example, we encourage use of this forum to analyze, plan, and execute new entries on LDS subjects for the Wikipedia, to create short video projects, or to form study groups. The possibilities are endless! Welcome!

Dan Wotherspoon
Editor, Sunstone