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Dialogue Reconsidered 

I received a letter in the mail recently soliciting donations for the support of your journal. It included a well-written message from Hardy Redd and Levi Peterson to which I would like to refer. The first line of their letter read, “Who would have thought it possible—a serious scholarly journal responsibly examining religious faith and practice from a friendly yet independent point of view?” (emphasis mine). 

I was a regular subscriber to Dialogue for many years—up until eight or nine years ago. It then achieved for me what I understood to be the fundamental goal of the publication, which was to provide thoughtful, sincere submissions that “enlightened our minds, encouraged our spirits and blessed [me] in both [my] individual and institutional faith,” to again quote from the Redd-Peterson letter. I found that the majority of the articles accomplished that goal, and I also decided that, as long as at least some of the articles were friendly and positive, I would happily overlook the other half. 

But over a period of two or three years, I sensed a subtle movement of the tone of the articles from “friendly” to cynical/critical. I would open some issues and not find a single article that I felt “enlightened my mind” or strengthened my faith. And I ultimately decided that the publication was no longer worth my time. 

Through the years, I have saved numerous Dialogue articles that I knew I would want to refer to again and again. They were articles that “spoke” to me in special ways and, indeed, strengthened my faith and resolve to draw closer to my Heavenly Father. They were articles that I knew would never be published in the official Church magazines but that were, nevertheless, uplifting and supportive of the cornerstones of my faith, which are the existence of a loving Heavenly Father, the life and mission of the Savior, Jesus Christ, the restoration of the gospel of the Jesus Christ in our time through a newly called prophet of God, the veracity of the Book of Mormon as scripture, and the heavenly mission of the Church in our day accompanied by the priesthood of God. 

I can be accurately described as a fairly “party-line” member of the Church. But I looked forward to receiving Dialogue when I perceived it as “friendly.” 

I’m going to resubscribe now after these many years. You will receive my subscription in the mail in the next several weeks. And I will send along some additional money to further support your efforts. But it will only be for one year—just enough time to discover if things have changed in the last several years since I stopped receiving your journal. 

I don’t send this letter in a threatening spirit, but rather to confirm to you that there are members of the Church who are very interested in receiving a Dialogue that is challenging yet friendly and that if the publication will focus on enlightening our minds and encouraging our spirits in a way that does not criticize nor seek to cast doubt on the fundamental tenets, I, for one, will subscribe and read.

Richard Ward
Eden Prairie, Minnesota

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A Note to Jiro Numano from a Nisei American

This is a note to Jiro Numano in regard to his recent article in Dialogue (“Perseverance and Paradox: The Struggle of the LDS Church in Japan Today,” 39, no. 4 [Winter 2006]: 138–55). I am Nisei, a U.S. citizen, and non-LDS. I am seventy-one years old and have associated with many members of the LDS Church during and after WorldWar II in Ogden, Utah. I have worked for a Japanese company for ten years and have associated with a Japanese company for three years in the Human Resources Management. I am presently retired.

My mother and father were baptized in a Protestant church in Japan, my mother in an American mission, my father in an English mission. Here are my thoughts about my mother’s belief in Christianity. She believed in a superstitious way and, more often than not, resorted to her earlier Japanese beliefs. She participated with a Protestant church because of her love of music. My father was more on the neutral side, participating inconsistently.

My observations of the Japanese way of life are the following: They follow the crowd and try not to stick out in a group or crowd. They are very sensitive to the opinion of others. They follow many built-in cultural obligations, observing births, birthdays, and deaths. Public image is very important. They are very stoic. They do not complain to friends or relatives and do not involve others in their predicaments. Traditions are very important even though they may not understand their origins. Their ability to inquire and their ability to express healthy skepticism are not very highly developed. Academic achievement is very important. They feel insecure when change is suggested. Buddhism and Shintoism are formalities and may not be totally understood by the majority. Vocational image and positions are critical. A well-established relationship is the ultimate requirement before trust is developed.

I write all of the above because I feel that Japanese culture has to be better understood before there can be growth in spiritual areas. I am reminded about why the United States may not be successful in the Middle East. We Americans, as a country, do not understand many cultures. I just felt compelled to write to Jiro to give him my input. I hope that it will be taken as thoughts for future consideration and not taken as preaching to the choir.

Yukio Shimomura
Morgan Hil, Califronia

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Jiro Numano Responds

Thank you so much for your frank comments on my article, “Perseverance and Paradox: The Struggle of the LDS Church in Japan Today.” Your observations of the Japanese way of life are correct and are still observed among Japanese society. I agree with you.

I suppose your comments are based on your lifelong personal experiences as you must have gone through various predicaments both in American society and Japanese organizations for a long time. I appreciate your complimentary note very much.

You will be interested to know that, in my former articles in Dialogue, I described some of the Japanese characteristics like hon-ne and tatemae, respect for order and authority (29, no. 1 [Spring 1996]), and passivity in communication (13, no. 1 [Spring 1980]).

I wish you good health.

Jiro Numano
Hiroshima, Japan

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Erratum: The name of Kristen Carson, author of the short story “Follow Me, Boys,” was misspelled in the table of contents of Dialogue 40, no. 2 (Summer 2007).