Wheatley Institute sponsored a 2-day BYU conference focused on The Family: a Proclamation to the World in celebration of its 30th anniversary. Speakers included Wheatley Institute Family Initiative Director Jason Carroll and fellows Jenet Erickson, Shima Baradaran Baughman, Brian Willoughby, Loren Marks and Justin Collings.

I hope that these small steps for each of us individually, will move us forward to a different kind of politics, where we can live out our commitments across deep and genuine differences, and rediscover the common ground that makes so much of life possible, and sometimes even beautiful.

Wheatley Institute hosted a special screening of the National Museum of American Religion's second film in the "Religious Thought During Times of National Crisis" series: We Are Not Afraid. This film explored religion's role in Americans' response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with a focus on New York City.

"The Convention’s rules assumed that if you brought people together and had them listen to one another, they’d change their minds...The Framers became friends who were willing to engage in good faith negotiations and seek mutual accommodations for the sake of unity."

Utahns have a long tradition of showing up with compassion and caring for each other. We each have a role and a responsibility here. We can choose dignity over division. We can disagree better. We can heal together.

A recent article in The New Yorker investigated various AI companion websites, citing a Wheatley Institute report on how dangerous and widespread the use of romantic chatbot services is.