2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Fundamentalism in Southern Utah is a three-part series, published on succeeding Mondays in the University Journal, about Mormonism and fundamentalism in southern Utah. This page is a portal to the stories, where readers can comment; a blog published by the series' authors; and a variety of Web sites related to the topic.
Part Two: Latter-day Saint schisms hinge on priesthood, salvation
Part Three: More than disputed belief
Heather Robinson is affiliated with the Apostolic United Brethren or the "Allred Group," a prominent fundamentalist group.
"Writing this story was important to me because I feel that everyone should be educated about different people and issues in their communities," said Robinson, a freshman music major from Cedar City. "My hopes are that this story will help dispel prejudices and misconceptions about fundamentalists."
Marc Dotson is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."Throughout the Western world, Islam has become a topic of concern," said Dotson, a senior political science major from St. George. "That impulse -- to understand people and hence eliminate the fear associated with the unknown -- is healthy for society, regardless of the motivation. It is that same drive, to provide a forum to promote understanding and eliminate fear -- in this case within our own community, that motivated me in this series."
(Posted Jan. 16) Marc Dotson: Our series, introductory as we tried to make it, still required some basic understanding of Latter-day Saint (Mormon) doctrine.
(Posted Nov. 11) Marc Dotson: Since so much of this story is tied up in history, it makes writing an investigative story difficult at best. Journalism is history's rough draft, not history itself, and yet we had to provide enough of the history, disputed as it may be, to put the issues and human struggles in context.
(Posted Nov. 5) This blog provides a forum for continued discussion on the topic just scratched in our three-part series. We, the authors, will provide commentary on writing the series and will field appropriate questions.
