Spring 1998
The Spring 1998 Issue explores themes of education, cultural intersections, personal journeys, and ethics within Mormonism. David Knowlton addresses the relationship between education and orthodoxy in Mormonism, questioning how rigid beliefs influence intellectual freedom. Boyd Petersen reflects on the respected scholar Hugh Nibley’s experiences with the Hopi people. J. Todd Ormsbee’s essay, "Tying Flowers into Knots," examines Mormon identity and social expression, and Roger D. Launius explores decision-making dynamics in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints during a pivotal decade. Teresa Whiting offers a personal account connecting her experiences with those of psychologist Alice Miller, examining familial and religious influences. David G. Pace shares his journey towards what he calls "Ethnic Mormonism," exploring cultural identity after a "second fall." And more!
I begin with a paradox. Sociologists of religion have found that religious orthodoxy tends to decline with educational attainment. However, among Mormons religiosity actually tends to increase with education. This is paradoxical because Mormonism apparently…
I have often heard of the lesson with the milk and the ink drop: Sister Smith drips, almost tenderly, the midnight blue ink into the whiteness. I have never seen it done, but I think…
Hugh Nibley lives in a world of serendipity. As his son-in-law and intended biographer, I have discovered that, time and time again, he has miraculously avoided some catastrophe or dropped in on some fortunate eventuality.…
Mirrors tell only the truth, or so they say. And tonight as I stare at my image in the glass, I think I look the same as always: for the past five years I’ve worn…
Dialogue 31.1 (Spring 1998): 47–65
In this essay I intend to build on my earlier work on the Reorganized Church and the decade of decision it faces in the 1990s.
In the past twenty years much has been written about unhealthy family dynamics and their later manifestation in adult dysfunctional behavior. One of the pioneers in this field is Alice Miller. Miller worked for more…
When my first marriage ended in divorce in 1991, what I describe as my current spiritual life seemed to begin. It is the first of three seminal moments in the past three years that I…
“Why would you ever want to get involved in politics? Politicians are nothing but self-serving sleazeballs who will do anything to win. Nothing’s ever going to change that!” That was the sort of wisdom I…
The editors of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought graciously invited me to write about Utah’s 1996 Second District Congressional race after deciding to publish an essay by my opponent, Ross C. Anderson. I am…
When I was first asked to speak on the subject of ethics in law and life, I questioned my authority to address the issue. I still question my authority. Being a judge does not give…
Except for still being an official member of record, I severed all links with the LDS church in 1982. No residual attachments did I cultivate—no LDS-related literature, forums, alliances, or associations. One reason for my…
I. Introduction My previous essay on the historical Jesus in the winter 1997 issue began with the famous cry of Hebrews 13:8 (“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever!”) and proceeded to focus on…
You know, what constipates her, really, is all those folks peering over her shoulder, not only looking for their names or themselves on her Mac screen or on the pages between the grainy covers of…
I They left that morning without being told where they were going. Daltridge was surprised when, instead of flying high and north toward Hanoi, they stayed level and curved west. As the flight commander offered…
Was he improving,
or just too tired to sin?
Regardless, it was pretty clear
that where his broken heart and contrite
So now you sit with a black eye
by a glass wall on the sixteenth floor.
Already I see our talk in paragraphs
I can’t read, topics in the margin,
one clear sentence about clutter.
When the semicircle is complete,
each pedestal placed aesthetically
on stage, the girls enter.
Thirty earnest seraphs
O Yama, God of Death, wield not your arrogant power!
Shield me from your wrath and dark terror.
You well know that you’ll succeed.
Zion-building as the formation of social institutions based on principles purportedly underlying Mormon United Orders has repeatedly captured the attention of scholars, re formers, practitioners, and church leaders over the past 150 years. The variety…
