Summer 1986
The Summer 1986 Issue features a range of articles and personal reflections on themes related to Mormonism, history, and individual experiences. Robert E. Paul explores Joseph Smith's concept of the plurality of worlds, while Garth N. Jones examines the Ahmadis of Islam and their interaction with Mormon perspectives. C. Robert Mesle discusses the relationship between restoration and New Testament Christianity, and Richard S. Van Wagoner delves into the life of Sarah M. Pratt, focusing on her evolution into an apostate. In the personal voices section, Kenneth E. Eble shares experiences "Among the Mormons," while Richard J. Cummings reflects on his journey as a liberal in the faith. Margaret Rampton Münk recounts her two years of service as a Relief Society President under challenging circumstances. And much more!
Joseph Smith was not the first person to use the plurality of worlds concept. In the early seventeenth century, natural philosophers began speculating on the idea of multiple world systems. By the eighteenth century, Protestant…
As the Church moves into societies and culture never a significant part of its historical past, it will encounter new configurations of religion that it must understand to achieve its prophetic promise. Countries that have…
The Restoration movements have tended to elevate historical claims to the level of theological dogma. But in our defense of historical beliefs we have often denied the reality of historical process by asserting that ideas,…
I am the wife of Orson Pratt .. . I was formerly a member of the Mormon church. . . . I have not been a believer in the Mormon doctrines for thirty years, and am now…
Dust-whitened sandals kicked dirt into Miguel Aju’s mouth as he lay by the side of the road. He spat it out and groped for his bottle. Clutching it to him, he closed his eyes and…
Section 82 of the Doctrine and Covenants, dated 26 April 1832, guided the formation of a united order in the Joseph Smith era. Until recently, code names were shown for the nine participants: Ahashdah (Newel…
Depression is a common problem in Western societies; various studies have reported that between 3.2 and 9.3 percent of the population suffers from clinical depression. Women seem to be at least two times more likely…
Thoreau wrote in the beginning of Walden, “I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.” I can roughly paraphrase Thoreau and say, “I have lived some thirty years among the Mormons and have yet to record the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice about how I have managed to do it.”
As I look back over the years at my own perspective on the Mormon experience, I find that the most compelling doctrines of Mormonism can all be subsumed under the heading of “eternalism,” that felicitous…
3 September 1984
Today my youngest child went to school all day for the first time. Every mother approaches this milestone with both anticipation and dread. I reached this point once before, six years ago, before the adoption of our third baby swept me suddenly back to square one. If it was a setback, it was the happiest one imaginable. Now, however, poised between treatment for a serious illness and hope for a plunge into a new phase of life, I would like to use the gift of uninterrupted time, a scarce commodity for fourteen years, for some written reflections.
Some of us stood together
on your star-gray lawn,
sang you Christmas carols
in the warm California air.
David Riesman, in his landmark study of American higher education entitled The Academic Revolution (1969), was fascinated by BYU and insightfully observes: “Despite academic upgrading, Brigham Young has not lost its sectarian character nor even…
