L. Jackson Newell

L. Jackson Newell (born October 11, 1938) is an American historian and philosopher of higher education, specializing in the study and leadership of progressive colleges from Antioch College and Berea College prior to the Civil War through the new wave taking root in the early 2020s, including Outer Coast College, Thoreau College, and the Tidelines Institute.Newell has been married to author and artist Linda King Newell for over fifty years. Newell and his wife edited the independent scholarly journal, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought in the 1980s, publishing the work of D. Michael Quinn and championing independent scholarship and freedom of conscience within that religious culture.[17][18][19] Newell chronicled his withdrawal from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in an autobiographical essay published in 2006. [20] A second autobiographical essay in his "En Route" series, about his evolving philosophy of education, was published in Contemporary Philosophical Proposals for the University in 2018.[21]

Personal Conscience and Priesthood Authority

Articles/Essays – Volume 13, No. 4

From the teachings of its founder, Joseph Smith, down to the present time, Mormon doctrine has recognized two complementary, though sometimes competing, sources of authority in personal affairs. Through one source, the priesthood hierarchy, Latter-day…

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The Intellectual in the Service of the Faith?: Some Propositions to Consider

Articles/Essays – Volume 18, No. 1

There are different ways to look at the world; and faith and reason provide contrasting, sometimes complementary perspectives. Faithful people who equate their spirituality with Church loyalty often find themselves at odds with those who…

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The Secular Side of the Saints | Robert Gottlieb and Peter Wiley, America’s Saints: The Rise of Mormon Power

Articles/Essays – Volume 18, No. 4

It wasn’t written primarily for a Mormon audience. And it wasn’t expected to sell well in Salt Lake City. But Bob Gottlieb and Peter Wiley, both outsiders to the LDS Church and to Utah, have…

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An Echo from the Foothills: To Marshal the Forces of Reason

Articles/Essays – Volume 19, No. 1

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. —Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Benjamin Rush, 1800  I offer here a personal response to the increasingly stern demands…

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Dialogue’s Coming of Age

Articles/Essays – Volume 20, No. 1

DIALOGUE: A JOURNAL OF MORMON THOUGHT begins both its twentieth volume and its twenty-first year with the publication of this issue. Launched in 1966 as a daring and earnest effort to transform the serious conversation of…

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Reflections from Within: A Conversation with Linda King Newell and L. Jackson Newell

Articles/Essays – Volume 20, No. 4

After serving five and a half years, Linda and Jack Newell step down as editors of DIALOGUE as this issue goes to press, turning the editorship over to Kay and Ross Peterson of Logan, Utah.…

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Liberal Spirituality: A Personal Odyssey

Articles/Essays – Volume 26, No. 1

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Sterling Moss McMurrin: A Philosopher in Action

Articles/Essays – Volume 28, No. 1

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En Route: A Journey of the Spirit

Articles/Essays – Volume 39, No. 4

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