Ongoing Dialogue
Linda King NewellSince accepting the editorship of DIALOGUE last spring, we have had a num ber of close friends ask with an air of incredulity, “I think it’s wonderful, but why would you take on such an…
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Volume 15, No. 3
Fall 1982
The Fall 1982 Issue highlights influential figures and pivotal themes in early Mormonism, spanning pamphleteering, science, and social services. Peter Crawley’s piece on Parley P. Pratt and David J. Whittaker’s study of Orson Pratt explore the pioneering roles these brothers played in early Mormon pamphleteering. E. Robert Paul’s response considers their intellectual contributions. William P. Collins provides an outsider’s perspective on Joseph Smith’s inspiration for Mormon scriptures. Gary Smith recounts the events surrounding the martyrdom of church leaders, while Loretta L. Hefner examines the Relief Society’s Social Services Department during the transformative decade of 1919-1929. Edward L. Kimball and Steven H. Heath explore the reconciliation of faith and science through the lives of Harvey Fletcher and Henry Eyring. Poetry by Jeanette Clough and Lowell L. Bennion adds emotional and philosophical depth, while Ronald W. Walker’s piece on Rachel R. Grant reflects on the enduring legacy of feminine ideals in Mormon thought. And more!
Contents
Articles/Essays
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Parley P. Pratt: Father of Mormon Pamphleteering
Peter CrawleyA few years back fifty LDS academics were asked to list the most eminent intellectuals in Mormon history. B. H. Roberts and Orson Pratt were most frequently nominated. James E. Talmage and John A. Widtsoe…
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Orson Pratt: Prolific Pamphleteer
Gary James BergeraThe most prolific and perhaps most influential early Mormon pamphleteer was Orson Pratt. From his conversion in 1830 to his death in 1881, he authored over thirty works on both religious and scientific topics. Influential…
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Early Mormon Intellectuals: Parley P. and Orson Pratt, A Response
E. Robert PaulParley P. and Orson Pratt were, with the exception of Joseph Smith, the most significant of the Mormon thinkers to emerge during the early years of the Restoration. Not only did the Church develop complex…
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Thoughts on the Mormon Scriptures: An Outsider’s View of the Inspiration of Joseph Smith
William P. CollinsHow is the Mormon Church viewed by those who are not members? One view is that Mormons are successful and prosperous, that they “take care of their own,” that they live good lives, and that…
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This Decade Was Different: Relief Society’s Social Services Department, 1919-1929
Loretta L. HefnerFor much of its history, the Relief Society has been primarily concerned with educating and providing compassionate service to its own members, carrying out instructions passed on from priesthood leaders, keeping its own organization running…
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Harvey Fletcher and Henry Eyring: Men of Faith and Science
Edward L. KimballThe year 1981 saw the deaths of Harvey Fletcher and Henry Eyring, men of great religious faith whose superb professional achievements placed them in the first ranks of the nation’s scientists. (See Steven H. Heath’s…
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The Reconciliation of Faith and Science: Henry Eyring’s Achievement
Steven H. HeathFew men in Mormon history have exemplified the unity of science and religion better than Henry Eyring. A devout student of science for over sixty years, a brilliant chemist who was internationally renowned, and at…
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Thoughts For the Best, the Worst of Times
Lowell Bennion“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . . It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”[1] This was Charles Dickens’s appraisal of life…
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Rachel R. Grant: The Continuing Legacy of the Feminine Ideal
Ronald W. WalkerWe can imagine ourselves visiting Aunt Rachel Grant, long-time president of the Thirteenth Ward Relief Society and one of the Mormon Church’s “leading ladies,” at her home on Salt Lake City’s Second East Street. In…
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Letters to the Editor
Poetry
Persephone
Jeanette CloughThe trees are making white
buds. Shrunken heads,
last year’s berries, hang
on leafing branches. I do not
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The Old Penitentiary, Boise
Jeanette CloughA plain table big enough for a few chairs faces the plate glass execution room, light and airy with ample space to die. Below, not so close to heaven, Rows of stiff cells carry the pall. Did the rose garden,…
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Response
Early Mormon Intellectuals: Parley P. and Orson Pratt, A Response
E. Robert PaulParley P. and Orson Pratt were, with the exception of Joseph Smith, the most significant of the Mormon thinkers to emerge during the early years of the Restoration. Not only did the Church develop complex…
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Reviews
A Mormon Perspective — Cockeyed | Glenn L. Pearson, The Old Testament: A Mormon Perspective
Melodie Moench CharlesGlenn Pearson begins his book by denning good LDS scholars as “scholars in the best priesthood sense” (p. 1). Because he doesn’t explain this term, I’m not certain what he means, but because I am…
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A Beloved Apostle | Lucile C. Tate, LeGrand Richards, Beloved Apostle
Claudia L. BushmanThis triumphant biography is very much what we would expect the official story of a beloved General Authority to be. It is the story of the good boy who grew better and better, of the…
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No Diplomatic Immunity | Frank W. Fox, J. Reuben Clark: The Public Years
Michael C. RobinsonTo members of the Mormon Church, J. Reuben Clark holds an exalted place in the organization’s history. For nearly three decades (1933-1961) he was an influential, innovative, and charismatic member of the Church’s First Presidency in…
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