EMSA Conference 2008, Programme and Instructions
May 9, 2008 Kim
The European Mormon Studies Association
Annual Conference: 21-22 August 2008
Organized together with the Department of Comparative Religion
at Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
“Mormonism and the Christian Tradition”
General Information
Registration: Registration is now available on this website. Scroll down and fill-in the registration box. Please register before June 30 in order to help with the conference planning, although it will be possible to register also after that.
Venue: Åbo Akademi University, Faculty of Arts building Arken, Tehtaankatu / Fabriksgatan 2, 20500 Turku / Åbo (due to the bilingual nature of the city, the street and city name are given in Finnish / Swedish). The university is located close to Turku cathedral, one of the main landmarks. See the map of Turku (press the British flag for service in English) and a map of the university campus.
The conference will be held in the Armfelt auditorium on the first floor of the Arken building, shown as Å22 in grid D3 of the campus map. Use the entrance to the building shown just above the circled Å22.
Travel: You can arrive in Turku by air, train, bus or sea. The conference venue is located within walking distance (about 15 minutes) of Turku city centre. For intra-Finland train or bus travel (in case you fly to Helsinki and decide to continue by land from there), see http://www.vr.fi (train) and http://www.expressbus.com (bus).
Accommodation: There are plenty of hotels and hostels in Turku. You can find a suitable place for example through here (hotels) and here (hostels).
Food: There is a cafeteria with lunch and snack services available in the Arken building. The possibility for a social event on the evening of Thursday 21 August, involving dinner, is currently being probed.
Conference fee: Costs are covered through a fee of 5 Euros per participant. You are requested to pay when arriving at the conference venue. No lunches or dinners are covered by the conference fee.
Contact: Kim Östman, Conference coordinator (kim.ostman@abo.fi, +358-40-829 6192).
Register: Please register using this form:
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Preliminary Programme
Thursday, 21 August
9:30 – 11:30 Mormons and Christians – Tutorial Session
Brian Birch (Utah Valley University, USA)
On Being Christian: Doing Justice to the Tradition
Grant Underwood (Brigham Young University, USA)
Mannermaa, Mormonism, and the Question of Imparted v. Imputed Righteousness
13:00 – 15:00 Keynote Session
Heikki Räisänen (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and the Bible
Panel discussion: Brian Birch, Douglas J. Davies, Heikki Räisänen and Grant Underwood (Walter van Beek, moderator)
15:15 – 17:15 Mormon Doctrine and Identity
Graham Stott (Arab American University, Palestine)
The Martyrdoms at Ammonihah and the Sacrifice of Christ
Risto Räty (Åbo Akademi University, Finland)
The Challenges of Latter-day Saint Identity
Stephen J. Fleming (University of California at Santa Barbara, USA)
Mormonism and the Christianity of the Folk
Douglas J. Davies (Durham University, United Kingdom)
The Holy Spirit in Latter-day Saint Thought
Evening program: Possibilities for a social event including dinner are being probed.
Friday, 22 August
9:30 – 11:30 Comparative Perspectives
Ronan James Head (Johns Hopkins University, USA / United Kingdom)
Mormon Children in the British Classroom: A Survey of Attitudes Towards School-Based Statutory Religious Education
Reid L. Neilson (Brigham Young University, USA)
Convicted Civility: Mormons and Evangelicals in Dialogue
Johnnie Glad (University of Stavanger, Norway)
Proclaiming the Message: A Comparison of the Mormon Missionary Strategy with Other Mainstream Christian Missions
Richard Sherlock (Utah State University, USA)
Mormonism in a Comparative Christian Context
13:00 – 15:00 Historical Perspectives
David M. Morris (University of Chichester, United Kingdom)
Hunters and Gatherers: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Leadership in the British Isles
Kim Östman (Åbo Akademi University, Finland)
Reactions of Lutheran Clergy to Mormon Proselytizing in Finland, 1875–1889
Fred E. Woods (Brigham Young University, USA)
George Ramsden, the Guion Line and the Mormon Immigration Connection
Ron E. Bartholomew (Brigham Young University, USA)
Nineteenth-Century Missiology of the Bedfordshire Conference and its Interrelationship with other Christian Sects
15:15 – 17:15 Contemporary Perspectives
Dustin J. Eaton (Claremont Graduate University, USA)
European Mission, European Baptisms? The Changing Face of Mormon Baptisms in Europe
Walter van Beek (Tilburg University, The Netherlands)
The Gideon Syndrome in European Mormonism
Michael W. Homer (Utah State Historical Society, USA)
The Mormon Factor in the Romney Presidential Campaign: U.S. Perspectives
Massimo Introvigne (Center for Studies on New Religions, Italy)
The Mormon Factor in the Romney Presidential Campaign: European Perspectives
Closing of the Conference
