Genuine Mormon Relationships: Houston, TX – January 20th-22nd, 2012

“Maintaining Positive Relationships Through Empathy and Dialogue”

Friday Evening, January 20th, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
4807 Yorkshire Street, Sugarland, TX, 77479

Dinner and a LIVE! John Dehlin Mormon Stories interview of Houston’s Bill Prince. Bill will tell the story of his family’s experiences when they learned about the connection between Mormonism and Masonry while he was serving in his stake presidency during the 80s. Ice cream sundaes will be served.

Saturday, January 21st, 2012, 11:00 a.m
Grace Lutheran Church
2515 Waugh Drive
Houston, TX

A traditional Mormon Stories conference featuring keynote speakers, TED-like talks, a panel discussion, a Mormon Stories testimony or “Story Sharing” meeting and a light dinner (included in the cost of registration). Plan to hear from Dan Wotherspoon, John Dehlin, Heather Olson Beal, Brent Beal, Jason Moore, Lee Prince, Matthew Nokleby and a few other Texas locals.

11:00 a.m. Meet and Mingle

12:00-1:15 p.m. Opening Session
Conducting: Ashley Merback
Opening Prayer:
Musical Number:
Speaker: John Dehlin
Keynote Speaker: Dan Wotherspoon

1:15-1:45 p.m. Break/Mingle

1:45-3:15 p.m. Mid-afternoon Session
Conducting: Amanda Nokleby
TED-like talk: Lee Prince – I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken
TED-like talk: Matthew Nokleby – It gets better: navigating a mixed-faith Mormon marriage
TED-like talk: Jason Moore
Panel: Heather Olson Beal, Brent Beal, Jacob Brown – Conversations with our children

3:15-3:45 p.m. Break/Mingle

3:45-5:00 p.m. “Story Sharing” Meeting
Conducting:
Musical Number: Amanda Nokleby, Erin Hill, Kim Cooper Johnson
Story Sharing
Musical Number:
Closing Prayer:

5:15 p.m. Barbeque Dinner

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
A late-morning meet-up at either Discovery Green Park, pending weather.
1500 McKinney St, Houston, TX, 77010

___________________________________________________

Registration:

The standard registration price of $37 will cover the cost of attendance Friday and Saturday as well as Saturday’s dinner.  The price of Friday night’s dinner is not included.  If your budget prevents you from paying $37, please select $10, $20 or $30 from our drop-down menu.  If you feel you can afford to pay more and would like to help subsidize others’ registrations, you may select $50, $75, or $100. Conference registrations are not tax-deductible. Anyone who does not have $10 may email Anne Peffer at MormonStories@gmail.com to request free admission.  Again, please choose the price that you feel best reflects your own ability to pay.  We want to have you there.  Your participation is more important to us than your pocketbook.  Please come.

Admission for Friday and Saturday:

Option 1 – $10.00 USDOption 2 – $20.00 USDOption 3 – $30.00 USDOption 4 – Standard Price – $37.00 USDOption 5 – $50.00 USDOption 6 – $75.00 USDOption 7 – $100.00 USD

If you would prefer, instead, to make a tax-deductible donation, please use the button below. Admission to the conference will be gifted to conference donors. No minimum donation necessary.

To request childcare during Saturday’s conference, please contact Jennifer Parrish Livingston at jenniferpl@yahoo.com. All other questions can be directed to Ashley Merback at ashleymerback@gmail.com.

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Mormon Stories Conferences Statement of Purpose:

Mormon Stories conferences seek to be safe spaces where community members can express themselves authentically regardless of activity level in the Mormon Church or belief in any particular ideology. They do not attempt to persuade attendees to subscribe to any specific belief system or to make any specific life decisions. Rather, they intend to be places where community members of disparate beliefs can gather together to share personal life experiences. Traditional believing members, fundamentalists, apologists, atheists, agnostics, community members who adhere to other religions, women, men and people of all sexual orientations are equally welcome and have an equal standing in the community.

Conferences are convened in the spirit of the Mormon Stories Shared Values:

1. We acknowledge the richness of Mormon heritage, teachings, and community in all of its diversity.
2. We believe that one can self-identify as Mormon based on one’s genealogy, upbringing, beliefs, relationships, and other life experiences, regardless of one’s adherence or non-adherence to the teachings or doctrines of any religious organization.
3. We seek spaces where we as Mormons can live lives of intellectual and spiritual integrity, individual conscience, and personal dignity.
4. We acknowledge and honor different spiritual paths and modes of religious or non-religious truth-seeking. We respect the convictions of those who subscribe to ideas and beliefs that differ from our own.
5. We recognize the confusion, distress, emotional trauma, and social ostracism that people on faith journeys often experience. We seek constructive ways of helping and supporting people, regardless of their ultimate decisions regarding church affiliation or activity.
6. We affirm the inherent and equal worth of all human beings. We seek spaces where Mormons (and all people) can interact as equals regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. In this spirit of egalitarianism, we prefer non-authoritarian and non-hierarchical means of organization and affiliation.