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Volume 41, No. 3

Fall 2008

The Fall 2008 issue begins with a look at Dialogue in the late 1980s and early 1990s as it underwent a change of ownership, as is customary at Dialogue every few years. This article highlights some of the challenges faced by Dialogue during this time period, as well as several notable works and advancements. This is followed by Jacob T. Baker reflecting on the theological contributions of Joseph Smith, specifically that of "eternal progression" and the influence this had on the broader Christian community. Finally, we have a look at Ezra Taft Benson's time as the United States Secretary of Agriculture detailing his appointment and early achievements in his time as Secretary of Agriculture. Also included in this issue are several reviews, works of fiction, and a plethora of poetry to choose from.

  • Topics
  • politics, Dialogue, history

Contents

Articles

A History of Dialogue, Part Four: A Tale in Two Cities, 1987-92



The late 1980s seemed like an ideal time to edit an independent Mormon periodical like Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Linda and Jack Newell of Salt Lake City were about to finish their five-year tenure as editors, and anyone taking over the job could foresee an efficient and successful operation ahead by just continuing what their predecessors had established. Crucial to that success was maintaining the tradition followed from the beginning that Dialogue change hands every five or six years, allowing new blood to provide fresh perspectives and ideas to what was, in actuality, a labor of love. When the Newells stepped down in 1987, they, like their predecessors, looked forward to enjoying the intellectual insights in the journal from a standpoint other than that of sheer exhaustion. 



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“The Grandest Principle of the Gospel”: Christian Nihilism, Sanctified Activism, and Eternal Progression



In February 1895, the editors of a small journal known as The Index (an obscure periodical produced by the Mutual Improvement Association of Salt Lake City’s Twentieth Ward) submitted the following inquiry to ten prominent Church leaders: “What, in your opinion, constitutes the grandest principle, or most attractive feature of the Gospel?” The Church leaders’ answering letters were published in The Index and shortly thereafter as a symposium in the pages of The Contributor, one of the many Church magazines in publication at that time. One respondent said that eternal marriage was the grandest principle. Two more replied that love was the most crucial component of the gospel. Another answered, in essence, that all the principles of the gospel were so grand that he could not choose just one. Interestingly, there was a consensus among the remaining six Church leaders (among whom were such well-known leaders as Joseph F. Smith, B. H. Roberts, George Reynolds, and Orson F. Whitney) that the grandest and most attractive feature of the gospel was the doctrine of eternal progression.



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“Rising above Principle”: Ezra Taft Benson as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, 1953–61, Part 1



Contemplating the 1952 U.S. general elections, David O. McKay, lifelong Republican and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, eagerly anticipated a Republican sweep. At the news of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s decisive win as the thirty-fourth American president, McKay was elated. “In my opinion,” the venerable seventy-eight-year-old Church leader recorded, “it is the greatest thing that has happened in a hundred years for our country.”



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Fiction

The Gilded Door



It sat on a quiet end of Main Street, just a block down from the Shore line State Bank and the Sunshine Laundry. Within its dark cavern, you could lose yourself in fantasy. It was…



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Letters to the Editor

Personal Voices

In Memory of Dr. Bill



Dialogue—and, indeed, the world of Mormon literature and history—have lost a loyal friend and critic in William Mulder, who died quietly in his sleep in March 12, 2008, in his ninety-third year. The influence of “Dr. Bill,” as his former students affectionately call him, continued long after his retirement as a professor of English at the University of Utah. When my fellow classmate Fred Buchanan phoned me with the news of his death, saying, “The light has gone out. Our mentor has left us,” I thought, “No, the light will not go out until we stop hearing his voice in our heads.” Whenever I write anything, I hear his wise voice, speaking of the introduction to my M.A. thesis as “wooden and flatfooted” and advising me to put it aside until “You have something to introduce.” (I took his advice; and my introduction to Virginia Sorensen’s work, written after I finished the work, was much better.) 



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Poetry

Always with Us



Years later, at a high school reunion, 
a girl gave a tribute to a classmate who had died. 
Not knowing another way to end 
her remarks, she did so 
“in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” 



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Reviews

Volume Art

About the Artist: Sharon Alderman



Sharon Alderman has been weaving cloth by hand since 1969, specializing in apparel fabrics, upholstery, and color studies. Her work has won many awards, and she lectures, gives keynote addresses, acts as a juror, and…



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