IV Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference

Annual Conference of the ABEM

(Associação Brasileira de Estudos Mórmons)

Theme

“The Relationship between Headquarters and Periphery in the LDS Church”

January 19, 2013

São Paulo, Brazil

Call for Papers

In 1830, Joseph Smith organized the Church of Christ in Manchester, New York State, when the movement had only three distinct congregations: one in Manchester / Palmyra, another in South Bainbridge (NY) and third in Harmony (PA). In just over a year, Smith consolidated the three congregations in the area of a fourth and new congregation, directing all his followers to move to Kirtland, Ohio. A few years more and Smith founded another congregation in Missouri, and began to gather new converts to both of these two sites. Adverse events forced them to abandon Ohio, and then Missouri, and Smith founded a new city to which all Mormons would migrate, Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1847, after the murder of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young Saints relocated the Saints and founded a new territory in Utah.

Throughout the nineteenth century, Mormonism displayed a unique feature: centralization and migration. Members were encouraged to migrate to “Zion”, the gravitational center of the Church, or as some authors call it, “headquarters.” During the first half of the twentieth century that policy evolved into a more congregational concept, where the Church established congregations in different locations, eventually spread throughout the world, without migratory pressures and without an emphasis on a focal point.

Nevertheless, this policy of centralization left a deep cultural and institutional mark. Much has been discussed about the differences and distinctions between the characteristics of Church “headquarters” and those outside, i.e., in the periphery. Brazil has never belonged to the “headquarters” and never participated in the institutional processes represented in the “headquarters”, which leads to several questions:

– What are the differences between the Church headquarters (e.g., Utah or the U.S.) and Brazil?

– What is the impact of these differences on Brazilian LDS Church members?

– What are the advantages and benefits of these differences? What are the disadvantages? What are the consequences?

– How do these differences impact LDS Church members in Brazil?

– How do these differences affect leadership styles in Brazil? Cultural practices? Beliefs?

– What are the differences between Mormons and other denominations in Brazil or Latin America?

The organizing committee of ABEM would like to invite you to submit proposals for panels, roundtables, work, and academic presentations that explore the idiosyncratic consequences of experiencing Mormonism in the periphery of the Mormon movement and of the Church. Literary and artistic performances are also requested and encouraged. Those interested in submitting articles or organizing roundtables should send an abstract of 250 words by October 31, 2012. Applicants will be notified whether or not the jury has accepted their proposal by November 30. Full versions of accepted papers should be sent by January 1, 2013. The final work should be sufficient for a presentation of 20-25 minutes in length (approximately 3000 words), which will be followed by a question and answer period.

Send proposals of up to 250 words, along with a short, one page CV to the following e-mail by the 31 October 2012 deadline: BMSC10@gmail.com

The IV Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference will be held at Av. Eng. Armando de Arruda Pereira, 345 (mezzanine floor), in São Paulo, SP.

The organizers of the Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference seek papers and other presentations for the initial Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference, to be held January 23, 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil. The conference will be presented in Portuguese, Spanish and English, with interpreting for those who do not speak one of those languages.

We invite those interested to submit proposals for scholarly papers, panel discussions, interviews, personal essays, sermons, films, dramatic performances, literary readings, debates, comic routines, art displays, musical performances and other expressions of the Mormon experience. While this conference is to be academic in nature, we encourage submissions from students, non-academics and from amateurs who have interesting and well-expressed presentations to make. Submissions may be on any subject, as long as they involve Mormonism, its history, people or institutions in a significant way. Fields of study might include History, Philosophy and Theology, Sociology and Anthropology, and all expressions of culture, including art, music, literature and film.

The theme of this conference is The Latin American Influence on Mormonism, and presenters are encouraged, but not required, to choose topics that reflect that theme. Topics on this theme might include:

• Reactions to Mormon Missionaries in Latin America
• The Relationship of Mormons to established Churches in Latin America
• The Perception of Mormonism as a U.S. religion
• The history of  LDS public relations efforts in Latin America
• etcetera

Because the majority of the audience for this conference has not experienced a similar conference, we will accept submissions that have been presented or published elsewhere.

Those who would like to present or organize a session for the conference should submit either a full paper or a description of their proposed session by December 1, 2009 (we would also love to hear from those interested as soon as possible). Those seeking approval of their paper topics before they write, should send a proposal before November 1, 2009. Full papers should be suitable for a reading time of 25-30 minutes (approximately 3,500 words). Proposals should be approximately 1 page in length (250 words). All submissions should be accompanied by a brief description of the author’s background, or a résumé or CV.

Send submissions to the conference organizers at BMSC10 [at] gmail [dot] com