Dec 08, 2024 11:00 AM —  12:30 PM Humanism —  Parker Theatre Studio, North Building @ 3601 South State Street

Musician: Leo Cody Jensen

Main Talk: Humanism

Come engage with Oasis in person. We look forward to building community together.

Speaker: Wayne Wilson

Bio: Wayne Wilson was gobsmacked with an epiphany on a spring morning in 1968, the year he graduated from high school.He was walking to school from his just-completed seminary class. He wondered to himself if there might be alternative ways of understanding the physical world, other than Mormon dogma. It was a true dilemma to which Wayne had given much thought to over the years.

Then came the infamous draft lottery of December 1,1969. He drew #21, which because of his foolishness in not maintaining his 2S deferral, meant he would have to serve either in the military or choose an LDS Mission, something he had planned on all his life prior to the light-bulb moment. Wayne joined the Air Force.

By this time, he was convinced that religious dogma in general was deficient in many ways. Wayne studied and read until one day in the mid-1980s, he came across a description of humanism. It was a very satisfying experience for him, but he doubted that such a movement could be found in Utah. But then Wayne came across an article in a January 1992 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune describing a new group, the Humanists of Utah! He attended their next meeting, joined that very evening, and has been an active member ever since!