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Kevin Barney gives his personal experience with “Coming to Terms with Folk Magic in Mormon History” in this post at By Common Consent:
Those of you who know me personally know that I have a very laid back personality. I don’t let much bother me too much, and that includes claims made against the Church. Things roll off my back pretty easily. That may be because I never had to drink from a fire hose; I learned the adult version of Church history, scripture, doctrine and practice slowly, incrementally, over time, and I just don’t remember being particularly bothered by any of those things I learned along the way, with one conspicuous exception: the Salamander Letter….
…This is one reason why I’m flummoxed at the semi-official disapproval of Dialogue. That article is simply outstanding, and anyone who had read only that one piece would not have been surprised in the least by the recent photographs of the seerstone.

Over at Pathoes, find the Mormonism: Future of Faith in America online symposium featuring many friends of Dialogue including

• Armand Mauss, who provides “Seven Predictions” as Mormonism enters its third century. One prediction:  “The Church will continue to increase the nature and extent of female participation and leadership in important ecclesiastical roles but will stop short of actual priesthood ordination for women in the foreseeable future. Member advocacy for ordination, when it takes the form of mobilizing political or civic pressure on the leadership, will continue to be met with official resistance, including church discipline.”
• Patrick Mason looks at the “Influence Beyond the Numbers.” He explains “As we consider the future of Mormonism in America, the first fact we must take into consideration is simple demographics: Mormonism is not growing…
  

Mark your calendars for October 8 & 9 for a special conference exploring “Black, White, and Mormon: A Conference on the Evolving Status of Black Saints within the Mormon Fold.” First, on October 8, Lester Bush will be giving the Sterling McMurrin Lecture on “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine 42 Years Later.” He will “reflect on the 42 years since his seminal article was published in Dialogue which undermined the standing historical narrative that the LDS Church’s priesthood ban began with Joseph Smith. Bush will consider the past forty years: what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what steps are yet necessary to bring about change.”

Check out this preview of “Voices for Equality: Ordain Women and Resurgent Mormon Feminism” including this chapter by Dialogue editor Kristine Haglund and Dialogue contributor Courtney L. Rabada “The Great Lever: Women and Changing Mission Culture in Contemporary Mormonism.”
Here is a snippet:
“Since then, policies about length of service, age requirements, and the number of sisters in the field have changed in response to circumstances, seemingly quite pragmatically, without expressed concern about a need to provide doctrinal warrant. This may be, of course, because a requirement for scriptural warrant would almost certainly exclude women from proselytizing efforts—the scanty record of women’s lives in scripture offers no precedent for female missionaries.

Wow. This may be the most tangibly useful episode of a Mormon-related podcast I have ever heard. The vulnerability present in this conversation is incredible. I think this is so useful to listen to.

This comment on the new Mormon Matters podcast titled “Mutual Respect: Creating Healthy Relationships When Loved Ones Choose a Different Faith Path” featuring Chelsea Shields Strayer in dialogue with her parents Eric and Heidi Shields.

Cross posted to By Common Consent.
By Emily Jensen
Taking a cue from Doctrine and Covenants 6:28, I thought I’d pull together and transcribe some of the recent discussions about whether or not members can support same-sex marriage and still remain in good standing.
And, if you need it, here is a temple-recommend, wallet-sized printable that you may want to laminate for easy reference:

Now for the longer versions of the answer to the post title.

Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote about the upcoming editor changeover in the Salt Lake Tribune. In “Longtime scholarly Mormon publication names a new editor” she quotes Editor Kristine Haglund as saying “I’m absolutely delighted that Boyd will be taking the reins. He is so smart — a fine scholar, a wonderful writer, and a skillful diplomat, all skills that will serve him well. But most of all, he brings a gloriously huge heart; his warmth and generosity and openness to ideas and to people embody all of the best things Dialogue is and hopes to be.”

She also quoted Morris Thurston, who said. “While there were many outstanding applicants for the position of editor, we are absolutely thrilled that the process has produced a scholar of Boyd Petersen’s caliber.”

The board believes Petersen is the right editor, Thurston said, “to lead Dialogue into its second 50 years.”