Spring 1966
The very first issue of Dialogue Journal presents a diverse array of articles, essays, and reviews focused on Mormonism. It opens with an editorial preface by G. Wesley Johnson and features Eugene England’s exploration of the potential for meaningful dialogue within faith contexts. Significant contributions include Leonard J. Arrington's overview of twentieth-century scholarly studies on Mormonism, along with a chronological list of relevant Ph.D. dissertations. R. A. Christmas reflects on the literary and historical significance of Parley P. Pratt's autobiography, while Frances Lee Menlove discusses ethical considerations in faith in "The Challenge of Honesty." And so much more!
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Paul the Apostle These words are an obvious place to begin to consider the possibilities of dialogue about a Christian religion and its cultural heritage. The…
Although reared in a Mormon home in Idaho and although my family were devout members of the Mormon faith, I was first introduced to Mormon studies as a graduate student in economics at the University…
I suppose by this time the reader has either forgotten the circumstances in which he took leave of myself, or else is somewhat weary with the winding of the narrative and impatient for it to…
Both the Protestant and Catholic communities are being swept by a passion for honesty. They are scrutinizing centuries-old suppositions and re-examining current attitudes and goals. In the Protestant world, the writings of Bultmann, Bonhoeffer, Tillich,…
In 1933 James Leuba[1] conducted a survey of the beliefs in deity held by scientific and professional men. He found that only ten per cent of the psychologists surveyed admitted to a belief in God.…
If there is to be any honest dialogue whatsoever between educated members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and outsiders, the question of the historical origins of Mormonism must ever remain…
In an attempt to encourage wider reading about issues raised in a class discussion, I once suggested that the students read an article which I referred to as a philosophic analysis of the subject. After…
Mormons have long remained isolated from their neighbors by choice and by necessity. Today is not the past, however, and most Mormons live outside of Utah. Los Angeles and New York are as important subsidiary…
Dear Sirs: …. The genius of your plan lies in the title, for I think that at present many of us are engaged in a dialogue. Perhaps when we have better defined our position we…
Many of our subscribers have asked to have a bibliographical column included as a regular feature of Dialogue. The first of such columns has been written by our assistant book review editor, who is the…
Notes and comments are not merely short articles or long letters; they are varied, informal glimpses of Mormon thought and life. The Editors welcome news, profiles, opinions, accounts, speeches and other items that seem appropriate.
God, forgive my pen its trespass, And I forgive thee the sweet burning That drives it on through thy dominion. God, if what it might encompass, If shapes of love, thy face, or being Itself are challenged in its…
Bowed in the sacred ark on knees Of ophiolatry I have burned a virgin candleTo the desert flatness of my forehead and in curiousAttrition bent, arms stretched With spread palms down, leaving In the yet warm hardening seal Of…
“Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent,” except that in this story all are innocent—innocent, and lovable, and representative of a tradition that is dying. Like Virginia Sorensen’s Where Nothing is Long…
This book will satisfy an intellectual need which has long existed in the L.D.S. Church and among all those who wish to investigate the “apostasy” from the Early Christian Church and the course of religious…
Any volume with “fifteenth annual” in its title requires placement in historical and sociological context before it can be evaluated properly. Sponsor of this symposium is the 800-member University Archaeological Society. (The name was changed…
Columbia Records, that national giant of a record company, has beat someone to the punch. To prove that not all good things about Mormons must originate in the West, Goddard Lieberson has produced another of…
To the non-Mormon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is usually a very mysterious entity. His knowledge of Mormonism is roughly the following: (a) Utah is the center of the Mormon universe,…
The reader of Theological Foundations will see for himself that Mormonism is a religion of intellectual adventure. Joseph Smith reported divine instructions not to rely on traditional theologies, and Professor McMurrin shows how radical are…
The appearance of Sterling McMurrin’s new book The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion will be regarded as an event of first importance by anyone who has a serious interest in this subject. Mormon readers…
My brothers and sisters, today we reach into a realm that is subtle and intricate, all intertwined with feeling. More than usual I pray that you will be forgiving if my own feelings are apparent.…
