Fall 1977
The Fall 1977 Issue explores various facets of Mormon history, theology, and culture. Stan Larson examines textual variations in Book of Mormon manuscripts, while John L. Sorenson delves into the "Brass Plates" in relation to biblical scholarship. Lester E. Bush, Jr. revisits the Spalding theory—a controversial hypothesis about the origin of the Book of Mormon—with Charles H. Whittier and Stephen W. Stathis adding perspectives on the enigma of Solomon Spalding himself. Ronald W. Walker’s piece focuses on the Liberal Institute as a case study in cultural assimilation. K-Lynn Paul discusses passive aggression within religious belief. The collection also includes fiction by Margaret R. Münk and poetry by Dawn Baker Brimley, Estaleah Harmsen Baker, and Esta Seaton, capturing personal and cultural moments within Mormon life.
Dialogue 10.4 (Winter 1977): 10–45
A great value of these early manuscripts is that for the most part they substantiate the correctness of the present Book of Mormon text—fully 99.9% of the text is published correctly. In textual criticism, however, evidence should be weighed, not counted, since a unique reading in a reliable source may be better than any number of readings in less reliable sources.
One of the notable intellectual activities of the 19th and early 20th centuries was development of the view that the Old Testament was a composite of ancient documents of varied age and source. Although the…
Late in the summer of 1833 one Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, recently excommunicated from the Mormon church for “unchristianlike” conduct toward some of the sisters,[1] learned of a manuscript written some twenty years before by the late Reverend Solomon Spalding which was similar to the Book of Mormon. His interest piqued, he set out to investigate this story, principally through interviews with former residents of Conneaut, Ohio, where Spalding once had lived.
“Every man’s life,” wrote Emerson, “is a secret known only to God.” Certainly this must be said of Solomon Spalding, much of whose story remains obsure. The events of his life suggest a pattern of…
In a time of the Chautauqua and the public meeting hall, when cultural values were established and reinforced by pulpit and lectern, there stood in the very heart of Brigham Young’s Zion the Liberal Institute,…
A Priesthood group of six was contemplating an activity proposed by the group leader. One member objected, but the remaining five supported the proposal so enthusiastically that it was scheduled for the following Saturday. When…
Eleven years ago, Dialogue and Ralph W. Hansen began an association which would last a decade and produce nearly forty Among the Mormons columns. His painstaking contribution stands as a monument to dedication and diligence.…
Typhoon rains were pounding the house for the fifth consecutive night. I was preparing for bed with a candle and a bowl of water when I heard urgent feet on the stairs. Belen Rivera, our…
It will come as news to all Latter-day Saints that after many years of deep scholarly research the Hill Cumorah has finally been located—at the north end of Bird Island in Utah Lake. Those familiar…
The following excerpts, from the Preface and Chapter 1 of the first edition, are also found in almost identical form in the commended 1910 edition.
Dialogue 10.4 (Fall 1977): 130–132
MacMurray cautioned against people labelling themselves or others “homosexuals.” He argued that it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy and that it was an impediment to a cure. This would become a major theory of Elder Boyd K. Packer and others who instituted a cultural taboo on the term that lasted until the early 2000s when self-labelling became somewhat more tolerated. This doctrine has its roots in reparative therapy theories.
Three brass-skinned boys of Box Creek Reservation
in new Grass Valley Mercantile pants
black hair cut straight above their wary eyes
moved soft as any hunted cottontail
“Since we became civilized,” she said
in her British voice,
as we gazed on the artifacts
of the last King—
The little fish of life
Came unready to the land
His lungs unequal to the task
Of elemental air.
In 1831 Joseph Smith announced the Law of Consecration and Stewardship. This law was revealed, according to the Prophet, to establish the social and economic basis of the Restoration on the same scriptural foundations as…
Since its 1922 publication, Joseph Fielding Smith’s Essentials in Church History has been regarded by Mormons as the standard one volume account. Even though it was continually expanded and updated through 28 editions (most recently…
Edited by Claudia Lauper Bushman, founder of Exponent II, Mormon Sisters covers sizeable ground: articles about women as mystics and healers, midwives, schoolteachers, politicians, feminists; selections dealing with individual women (like Eliza Snow and Susa…
Dialogue 10.4 (Winter 1977): 139–143
Most Latter-day Saints probably would be surprised to learn the Book of Mormon is available in modern English and has been for over a decade. More recently the 1966 RLDS “reader’s edition” has been republished in paperback by Pyramid Publications and is now turning up at local bookstores.
These five short stories and twenty-four poems are marked by talent, self-consciousness and unevenness. The stories are more consistently accomplished than the poetry, with one exception I will discuss later. I began at the beginning…
A serious novel about children usually is fascinating to adults. Emma Lou Thayne’s first novel, Never Past the Gate, is a zestful story with a mature theme. Ostensibly a lighthearted, nostalgic narrative of a family’s…
