Summer 1994
The Summer 1994 Issue explores the themes of motherhood, women's engagement, and feminist expression within the context of Mormonism. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich introduces the concept of "Border Crossings," highlighting the intersections of identity and faith. Janice Allred presents a theological perspective on the concept of God the Mother. Linda Johns shares her personal journey in search of maternal connections. Martha Sonntag Bradley examines women's involvement in early Mormonism, focusing on the notion of "seizing sacred space." Amy Brown Lyman and David Hall reflect on the charitable work of the Relief Society from 1917 to 1945, emphasizing the organization's impact on the community. Helynne H. Hansen investigates the language of women's experiences in Nauvoo, while Newell G. Bringhurst, along with Juantta Brooks and Fawn Brodie, discusses the role of sisters in Mormon dissent, providing insights into the diverse voices and contributions of women within the church.
Dialogue 27.2 (Summer 1994): 69–82
Zina, like many other early converts to Mormonism, was a child of the Second Great Awakening.
Sometimes instead of walking the four blocks home after Sunday school I’d walk the block and a half downtown to the Millard County Courthouse in Fillmore, Utah, where my father worked as the county clerk. I loved the symmetrical purple brick building in the center of Fillmore’s Main Street.
Dialogue 27.2 (Summer 1994): 197–230
I am astonished that it took so many readings and a focus on the question of using gender-inclusive language in the simplified version to discover something that should have been obvious to me from the beginning: females scarcely figure or matter in our sacred books.
Dialogue 27.2 (Summer 1994): 231–245
In the brief essay
which follows, I do not reassert the arguments supporting women’s right
to priesthood, but focus on certain problems raised by the assumption that
women have priesthood authority.
Dialogue 27.2 (Summer 1994): 83–153
Believing that a more
efficient approach could be used to the church’s advantage, he proposed
that the Relief Society organize a social service department where these
new techniques could be tested and implemented.
Dialogue 27.2 (Summer 1994): 15–40
It would seem that Mormons who have believed for over a hundred years in the real existence of the Goddess, the Mother in Heaven, should be far ahead of other Christians in developing a theology of God the Mother. However, our belief in her as a real person puts us at a disadvantage. If the Goddess is merely a symbol of deity, as the male God is also a symbol, then certainly God can be pictured as either male or female with equal validity.
It seems to me that the whole difficulty of our friendship was reflected in our names. It wasn’t that we had feuding surnames—certainly no Capulets and Montagues—but in fact the conflict was more fundamental because…
July twenty-third in the canyon is
almost like hell-fire—sulfurous hot
waves off the powdery earth while
the children play in the trees,
They hatched today. Last night
when I peeked among the apples
they were eggs, four, end to end
among twigs and scraps and a twitch
He says there’s very little truth
in the world
and he can’t wait to go out,
preach, and spread his own—
like he has the corner on it.
They sit in stiff unmatched recliners,
a faint halo of grease smearing
the head rests. The Bishop asks again,
Do you want your names removed?
To escape from pursuers
I flee to the car,
gun the gas down the highway.
They’re on my tail.
The invisible woman is angry.
Boy is she mad.
She took her books to the library last night
and last night she burned the library down.
It is not that I miss you now
but I miss it—when I
swallowed your finger the first night
and restrained myself in deference to
Beautiful naked women turn up all over,
in California they hide behind redwoods,
in Paris they picnic on the grass.
My doctor sends me a postcard of a plump nude
The publication of Women of Covenant, during the Relief Society sesquicentennial year, gives us the first comprehensive history of a remarkable women’s organization. This account is part of the equally remarkable history of the LDS…
Just under the surface of the obvious lie the secrets. Linda Sillitoe sees, hears, tastes them, feels where they lead, trusts them, takes us along. It is never a perilous journey. Rather, it resounds with…
