7:12 a.m., MDT

Good morning, friends!

I’m on the FrontRunner now, headed down to Utah Valley University in Orem, to observe the “Firm Foundation Expo” to be held there today through Saturday. (Please note that this expo is not sponsored, supported, or endorsed by Utah Valley University – or the Church – but is merely being held in a space that is rented to community organizations.)

The expo, its presumed spin, and the objections of legitimate scientists at BYU, are describe in this article in the Salt Lake Tribune. Please read that for background to save my having to type that much more on this swaying train. I tried to find the letter to the Daily Universe mentioned by the Tribune, but it appears that the Universe has a considerable lag between print publication and online posting. If any reader has access and is willing to type significant extracts for quoting here, you get extra brownie points.

I am not attracted to this conference by its topics or its “alternative facts.” I am interested in Mormon culture, though, and am intrigued by the size and scope of this meeting. Who goes to such a thing? How many? Why? How is this nonsense received? I want to find out.

I will attend as many sessions as possible, as an observer, not as a student. I don’t even pretend to be open-minded – I am not a candidate for conversion to belief in a 6,000-year-old earth, much less to the nonsense idea that the earth is filled with water around an icy core. I long ago passed the stage of skepticism regarding alternative medicine (an aunt used to try to persuade me to pay oddball practitioners to perform oddball “treatments” by saying, “Doctors don’t know everything!” No, they don’t – their incomplete knowledge is a basic tenet of science – but the fact that a doctor doesn’t know everything is no support for the notion that an essential oils salesman knows anything, either.) And I am religiously opposed to the claim that some nobody from nowhere can lay out the timeline for the Second Coming when even the Lord said he did not know the day nor the hour of his return.

My plan is to blog about the sessions (not liveblogging, but post-session reports) and post as often as I can, depending on internet connections and whether I can keep up with events – the schedule allows only 5 minutes between sessions – not time enough to move from one room to another, much less visit the restroom or type a post. If I can find some seat where my typing won’t disturb others, perhaps I can write during sessions.

I make no claim to objectivity – I reject the premises of this conference from the outset. There will undoubtedly be some snark. (How could there not? You may know what I think of Timothy Ballard as a historian, and Jon McNaughton as a commentator on American life – and they are both scheduled to speak!) But snark gets old fast, and I’ll limit it.

What I’m looking for instead, beyond observing those who speak and attend, is how they present, more than what they present. Do they attack accepted science and religion in a logical way, so that a religious person and a generally educated but non-scientist like me can make sense of their claims? Or do they ignore any takedown of the establishment and focus on presenting their own views? Do they explain those views cogently? Do they assume from the outset that their notions are established truth?

I’ve borrowed this list of sessions – a small sampling of the 36 hours of scheduled presentations – from a friend to avoid squinting at the online program now:

“Teaching the New Millennial Science to Children”
“Anasazi Ridge Petroglyphs Testify of Christ”
“The Gift of Dissociative Identity Disorder”
“Positively Overcome Pornography and Conquer Other Deviant Behaviors”
“Plan for Any Pandemic: 48 Survival Plants that Heal”
“Guaranteed Weight Loss–The Miracle of the Body?”
“Doterra Essential Oils A -Z”
“What the Scriptures Say about Donald Trump–How Long Will He Last?”
“Why the Constitution Matters in the First Place”
“Can All State and Local Taxes and Fees Be Eliminated?”
“Best Off-Grid Cooking Methods”
“The Michigan Tablets: How to Read Reformed Egyptian”
“Problems with Science in Our Public Schools”
“The Secrets to Reversing Diabetes (and Cancer Cells!) in Weeks”
“Basics of Emergency Preparedness: Why Most 72 Hour Kits Will Kill You”
“Tent Stoves: What, Why, and How?”
“The Most Affordable Firearms and Self Defense Training”
“Herbal Wound Management”
“Experience Book of Mormon Lands, Israel, Church History, Knights Templar, and Humanitarian Vacations!”
“Deep Emotion Release Through the Eyes”
“Don’t Can it and Kill it, Store it Alive! Easy Fermenting for Food Storage”

I’m more interested in the scientific and directly religious topics than the politics and survivalist ones, but I’ll try to take in a little of everything.

More anon.

Meanwhile, if you’re in the Salt Lake area and you see this soon enough, a far better use of your time would be supporting Isabel and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, at the Salt Lake airport. Don’t let her go without knowing that we object to her being driven out, and don’t let the world think we (Mormons, Utahns, Americans) don’t care.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT– On Thursday, April 6, 2017, Mormon women and other concerned citizens will gather at the Salt Lake City Airport in a show of solidarity for an area woman, “Isabel,” who has been ordered to leave the United States by ICE agents who will be on hand to escort her onto a flight bound for Columbia. Isabel is a single mother and is the sole caretaker for her disabled son and her 86-year-old mother. ICE will not provide her with a reason why her request for an extension was denied. We are currently seeking the intervention of members from our congressional delegation.

“It is our intent to gather at the Salt Lake City Airport to show solidarity for our sister and to pray that these inhumane orders that tear apart families and strike at the very heart of our democratic values will end,” said Sharlee Mullins Glenn of Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

As women of faith, we echo the words of Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: “Immigration questions are question dealing with God’s children. I believe a more thoughtful and factual, not to mention humane, approach is warranted, and urge those responsible for enactment of . . . immigration policy to measure twice before they cut.”

We call upon President Trump and Congress to fix our broken immigration system.

When: Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 9:30 AM
Where: Salt Lake City Airport – Terminal 2. Lower level, near baggage claim. (776 N. Terminal Dr.)

Back to your regularly scheduled history on Monday.