Bay Area Council for Latter-day Saint Studies

Bay Area Council for Latter-day Saint Studies Encouraging dialogue about Mormonism in the the San Francisco Bay Area The Bay Area Mormon Studies Council sponsors a Speaker Series. October 1, 2015: D.

One of the most significant signs of Mormonism entering the mainstream has been the seriousness with which the academic community both here and abroad has taken the study of Mormon history, doctrine and culture. At present there are established Mormon Studies programs at Claremont Graduate University, the University of Virginia, Utah Valley State University, Utah State University, Graduate Theolo

gical Union, and the University of Utah as well as individual courses at such places as Harvard, Columbia, Yale, University of North Carolina, University of Wyoming, Arizona State University and elsewhere. There are at present three endowed chairs in Mormon Studies (Claremont, University of Virginia, and Utah State University) with others proposed. In order to foster Mormon Studies in the Greater San Francisco Bay Region, we have organized the Bay Area Mormon Studies Council. The hope is that this council will be able to encourage the study of Mormonism at various institutions of learning in the Bay Area. For the past three years courses in Mormon Studies have been offered at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley (the largest and most distinguished school of theology in the United States) and next fall, the first course in Mormon Studies will be offered in UC Berkeley’s Religious Studies Program. In addition to GTU and UCB, there may be opportunities to offer Mormon Studies courses at Stanford, San Francisco State University and San Jose State University and possibly other universities. The Bay Area Mormon Studies Council, patterned after Mormon Studies Councils at other institutions of higher education, is comprised of Church leaders, business people, academics, attorneys, civic leaders, and others interested in encouraging dialogue about Mormonism within the academy and between the academy and the broader religious and secular community. It seeks to elevate discourse about Mormonism while enhancing the image of the Church in the Modern world. Upcoming speakers:

Past speakers:
38: October 26, 2019: Judge Thomas Griffith
37: July 14, 2019: Greg Prince
36: March 31, 2019: "Jane & Emma" Film Screening
35: January 27, 2019: Bob Rees
34: September 29, 2018: "Art + Belief" Film Screening
33: August 19, 2019: Jonathan Stapley
32: June 10, 2018: Laura Allred Hurtado
31: May 5, 2018: "Dove Song" Poetry Reading
30. March 4, 2018: Jana Riess
29. November 5, 2017: Joanna Brooks
28. October 7, 2017: David Holland
27. Michael Quinn
26. August 27, 2017: Richard and Claudia Bushman
25.July 16, 2017: Mason Allred
24. July 11, 2017: Tom Rogers
23. May 7, 2017: Boyd Petersen
22. February 26, 2017: Bob Rees
21. January 29, 2017: Greg Prince
20. October 2016: Carol Lynn Pearson
19. August 2016: Nathan Florence
18. June 2016: Ann Madsen, Barnard Madsen
17. June 2016: Jim Faulconer, Joe Spencer, Adam Miller panel
16. May 2016: Kate Holbrook
15. May 2016: Women's Voices panel (featuring: Kathryn Pritchett, Gabrielle Blair, Meg Conley, Heather Farley, and Hannah Pritchett)
14. January 2016: Paul Reeve
13. August 2015: Bob Rees
12. April 2015: Rosalynde Welch
11. January 2015: Amiee Flynn-Curran
10. November 2014: Warner Woodworth
9. September 2014: Adam Miller
8. March 2014: Fiona and Terryl Givens
7. March 2014: Melissa Inouye
6. January 2014: Sheila Taylor
5. October 2013: Todd Compton
4. March 2013: Kristine Haglund
3. January 2013: Jonathan Stapley
2. October 2012: John Turner
1. July 2012: Trevor Southey

Join us for an evening of music and the spoken word as we celebrate the joy and renewal of Easter. Hosted by the Bay Are...
03/03/2026

Join us for an evening of music and the spoken word as we celebrate the joy and renewal of Easter.

Hosted by the Bay Area Council for Latter-day Saints, this special devotional marks the third of its kind. Featuring talented performers from across the Bay Area, the evening will showcase a rich variety of instrumental and vocal selections, alongside poetry focused on Christ.

Come experience a night of inspiration and hope expressed through music. All are welcome.

The Deseret News published today a profile and extended interview with Susana Silva, an Argentine artist and Latter-day ...
10/28/2025

The Deseret News published today a profile and extended interview with Susana Silva, an Argentine artist and Latter-day Saint. If you are in the Bay Area, you have a unique opportunity to see an exhibition of her remarkable work in person, at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) library, in Berkeley.

The GTU is located at 2400 Ridge Road in Berkeley, and the exhibit is accessible when the library is open. See here for hours and directions: https://www.gtu.edu/library/information/hours-and-directions The exhibit will be open until December 12, 2025.

How Susana Silva’s artistic journey — which has taken her art to New York and California — has enabled her to integrate her roles as an artist, mother and woman of faith.

10/12/2025

We’re looking forward to hosting Jenny Reeder tomorrow night at the Presidio Chapel. She knows more about Emma Smith and Eliza Snow than anyone on the planet. Come join us.

Don’t miss the first ever Bay Area event hosted by the NYC-based Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. They are partnering w...
09/25/2025

Don’t miss the first ever Bay Area event hosted by the NYC-based Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. They are partnering with our friends at GTU in Berkeley to host two events: a symposium on LDS Art (featuring scholars such as Mason Allred, Glen Nelson, and Amanda Beardsley); followed by the opening of an exhibition by Gonzalo Silva and Susana Silva – brother-and-sister Latter-day Saint artists from Argentina. The show, which first opened to a packed reception at Sargent’s Daughters gallery in New York City earlier this year, explores the connections between music, memory, and technology through multimedia works. The body of work was commissioned by the Center as part of the Ariel Bybee Endowment visual art prize, which was awarded to the Silvas in 2023.

Click the link in our bio to register.

Don't miss the first ever Bay Area event hosted by the NYC-based Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. They are partnering w...
09/17/2025

Don't miss the first ever Bay Area event hosted by the NYC-based Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. They are partnering with our friends at GTU in Berkeley to host two events: a symposium on LDS Art (featuring scholars such as Mason Allred, Glen Nelson, and Amanda Beardsley); followed by the opening of an exhibition by Gonzalo Silva and Susana Silva – brother-and-sister Latter-day Saint artists from Argentina. The show, which first opened to a packed reception at Sargent’s Daughters gallery in New York City earlier this year, explores the connections between music, memory, and technology through multimedia works. The body of work was commissioned by the Center as part of the Ariel Bybee Endowment visual art prize, which was awarded to the Silvas in 2023.

08/20/2025

Save the Date — on Friday, October 10, the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts and the Graduate Theological Union will be presenting an exhibition entitled “Instrumentos de Silencio” by LDS artists Gonzalo Silva and Susana Silva. This will be preceded by a a panel discussion titled “Critical Tensions: Latter-day Saint Arts, Devotion, and Design.” Clear your 10/10 calendar for an incredible afternoon in Berkeley!

We had our Palm Sunday Musical Devotional last week. So much inspiring music and poetry. You can check out the recording...
04/17/2025

We had our Palm Sunday Musical Devotional last week. So much inspiring music and poetry. You can check out the recording here:

A special evening of music and the spoken word, making Palm Sunday a truly memorable beginning to Holy Week.

This looks like an amazing event: McArthur Krishna will be in Berkeley on Saturday April 12 at 7pm. Krishna is an artist...
03/31/2025

This looks like an amazing event: McArthur Krishna will be in Berkeley on Saturday April 12 at 7pm. Krishna is an artist and the author of 18 books, including the acclaimed “Women Who Choose God” series and “The Girl’s Guide to Heavenly Mother,” published by Deseret Book.

Join us for a Palm Sunday Musical Devotional. April 13, 7PM, Berkeley Ward Chapel.
03/27/2025

Join us for a Palm Sunday Musical Devotional. April 13, 7PM, Berkeley Ward Chapel.

Address

Berkeley, CA
94701–94710, 94712, 94720

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bay Area Council for Latter-day Saint Studies posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category