Fall 1989
The Fall 1989 Issue explores diverse interpretations of Mormon beliefs and social issues. Donlu Dewitt Thayer discusses the concept of the "Mormon race" and the pursuit of celestial rewards, while Eugene England examines Nephi's controversial actions in the Book of Mormon, exploring themes of truth and morality. Stephen C. Clark and Richard A. Van Wagoner propose a framework for a uniquely Mormon approach to law, merging constitutional principles with religious values. Karen Coates and Alleen Pace Nilsen provide insights into the political career and controversies surrounding Arizona politician Evan Mecham. Personal voices in this issue, including reflections by Ehab Abunuwara and Dian Saderup, address varied experiences with faith and relationships, alongside William Cottam’s exploration of love. And more!
It was a Saturday, but it was someone’s birthday, and so against my better judgment I went shopping with several of my children at Price Savers in Provo, Utah. The parking lot was crowded, almost…
Until recently, attempts to vindicate the central claim of the Book of Mormon—that it is a divinely inspired book based on the history of an ancient culture—have focused mainly on external evidences. Such attempts have…
In 1987 Americans celebrated the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution. Topics previously confined to legal and philosophical journals became the subject of more common discourse. Nowhere was this development more evident than in…
While I am not a political scientist, sociologist, or historian, I am one of many Arizona Latter-day Saints who will never forget Evan Mecham or the “Holy War” of public opinion that surrounded his governorship…
Through the spring and summer of 1987, Arizona residents had a wonderful time laughing about their newly elected governor, Evan Mecham. Mon day mornings were brighter because people brought to work new jokes they had…
For the first nineteen years of my life I defined myself as a Christian Palestinian-Israeli-Arab. I inherited this religious-racial-political affiliation in several ways. Culturally and linguistically I am an Arab. My family’s Chris tian Arab…
For a Mormon boy steeped in the taboos of religious purity and small town morality, nothing is so frightening yet so inviting as the wedding day. It was early morning, the first of September. From…
These are apples picked by the pure
In heart, end of the harvest apples,
Juice apples — but apples.
And if a worm, or mold or frost
With the heat at the end of August,
I am glad I sleep alone
And roll over on your side of the bed
Where the sheets are still cool.
Here, rock has a soft face
and wind moves above like spirit.
I listen down the long slant
of switchback trails, steps carved
where red rock accordions through the canyon.
Today I saw near a barn
the bed and crossbar of an old hayrack,
sunk into earth like the hull of a boat,
a dying thistle bloom grown out
While Gene Campbell lived through much of the twentieth century (1915-86), the focus of much of his historical research and interest was the nineteenth century. His earlier research and writing on Brig ham Young, Fort…
The attitude of nineteenth-century Latter-day Saints toward lawyers and the legal process is well documented and has been widely discussed ever since Joseph Smith studied law hoping to be admitted to the bar. What has…
Each year first-class presses add to the growing number of excellent Mormon monographs. Twenty-nine major studies appeared in 1988 alone. These two volumes from the University of Missouri Press and the University of Oklahoma Press…
Comparisons, they say, are odious, yet I find it difficult to comment on Larry E. Morris’s new novel, The Edge of the Reservoir, without referring to Anne Tyler’s latest novel, Breathing Lessons (New York: Alfred…
Introduction So we do not lose heart, though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. (2 Cor. 4:16) I come from a religious tradition that does not celebrate…
