Will I run from the sheep? No. Will I forsake the flock? No. . . . I want you to understand that if I am your earthly shepherd you must follow me, or else we shall be…
Dialogue 57.3 (Fall 2024): 39–80
In what follows, I will suggest that Alma 5, somewhat like Lehi’s dream, begins with an account of the forefathers (men and women) passing through a wilderness only to find a special tree and its fruit; I will demonstrate the allusive presence of the tree of life in Alma 5 and attempt to get at the language’s redemptive implications; and I will demonstrate the allusive presence of the great and spacious building (or its inhabitants) in Alma 5.
Lester Bush’s 1973 Dialogue article is the focus here, as it brought much-needed clarity to the convoluted, deeply entrenched Mormon attitude toward race. We all know the story. Prior to June 1978 the Church of…
