Eugene England
The Eugene England Foundation is committed to honoring the life and work of a remarkably influential teacher, activist, and writer. A tireless advocate of what he called “great books and true religion,” England (1933-2001) co-founded Dialogue, the first independent Mormon scholarly journal, championed Mormon literature, and helped launch the first Mormon studies program. His personal essays explored belief, peace, poverty, race, gender, academic freedom and community. England’s life and work reveal a faithful scholar and loyal critic who followed the admonition of Apostle Paul: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
The Firegiver
Articles/Essays – Volume 01, No. 1
God, forgive my pen its trespass, And I forgive thee the sweet burning That drives it on through thy dominion. God, if what it might encompass, If shapes of love, thy face, or being Itself are challenged in its…
Read moreThe Possibility of Dialogue: A Personal View
Articles/Essays – Volume 01, No. 1
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Paul the Apostle These words are an obvious place to begin to consider the possibilities of dialogue about a Christian religion and its cultural heritage. The…
Read moreThat They Might Not Suffer: The Gift of the Atonement
Articles/Essays – Volume 01, No. 3
A deep feeling of estrangement haunts modern life and literature and thought. The feeling is not at all new to human experience, but in our time we seem especially conscious of it. More men seem…
Read moreThe Tragedy of Vietnam and the Responsibility of Mormons
Articles/Essays – Volume 02, No. 4
Are Mormons Christian?
Articles/Essays – Volume 05, No. 4
One day last fall as I was getting acquainted with a student who was particularly interested in my Mormon background, the student told of being informed by a religion professor that Mormons weren’t Christians. This…
Read moreMaturity For a New Era
Articles/Essays – Volume 06, No. 1
This issue begins Dialogue’s sixth year of publication. It was, in fact, exactly six years ago that a group of us—some close friends, some mere acquaintances—committed ourselves to each other in a common venture, the…
Read moreResponses and Perspectives: The Mormon Cross
Articles/Essays – Volume 08, No. 1
Dialogue 8.1 (Spring 1973): 78–86
Responding to Bush, Eugene England compared the story of Abraham which is uncomfortable for him calling it a cross, to the church wide policy of denying anyone who has black ancestry the priesthood and temple blessings which even though he is uncomfortable with it he does trust in continuing revelation by our prophet.
Faithful Fiction: Greening Wheat: Fifteen Mormon Short Stories
Articles/Essays – Volume 18, No. 4
On Fidelity, Polygamy, and Celestial Marriage
Articles/Essays – Volume 20, No. 4
Dialogue 20.4 (Winter 1987): 138–154
England shares his reasons for why Joseph Smith introduced polygamy and then removed it as one of the commandments. England argues that polygamy was a faith testing experience which lead them to in his words “worthy to build God’s kingdom.”
Twenty Years with Dialogue: On Building the Kingdom with Dialogue
Articles/Essays – Volume 21, No. 2
Why Nephi Killed Laban: Reflections on the Truth of the Book of Mormon
Articles/Essays – Volume 22, No. 3
“No Respecter of Persons”: A Mormon Ethics of Diversity
Articles/Essays – Volume 27, No. 4
Dialogue 27.4 (Winter 1994): 79–100
Eugene England addresses issues of inclusion and exclusion reflecting on what it means that “God is no respector of persons.”
Danger on the Right! Danger on the Left! The Ethics of Recent Mormon Fiction
Articles/Essays – Volume 32, No. 3
Anhedonia
Articles/Essays – Volume 33, No. 3
Note: The Dialogue Foundation provides the web format of article as a courtesy. Please note that there may be unintentional differences from the printed version. For citational and biographical purposes, please use the printed version…
Read moreOn Fidelity, Polygamy, and Celestial Marriage (vol. 20, no. 4, Winter 1987)
Articles/Essays – Volume 35, No. 1