“Mormonism” must surely be the only major religious movement whose founder was fascinated by archaeology and whose members are imbued with a mystique based upon archaeological findings.[1] Because of this element of faith, scientists who are not Mormons have…
A few years ago on a cross-country trip, my brother Paul and I detoured from Interstate 70 in western Missouri for some site-seeing. After stopping at the Far West temple site and the town square…
When one travels to Israel, it soon becomes clear that most of the traditional sites for events in the New Testament represent locations selected by religious sentimentality, not scientific archeology. Too many publications of holy…
In a spiritual crisis of the individual, the truth and authenticity of the person’s spiritual identity are called into question. He is placed in confrontation with reality and judged by his ability to bring himself…
In his 1955 classic work, Tristes Tropiques, French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss recorded a story of unintended social impact evoked by his introduction of writing to the illiterate Nambikwara of tropical Brazil. Several days after Levi-Strauss…
In early June 1998, Sheridan Gashler, president of the Russia Samara Mission, felt moved to place missionaries in a small village called Bogdanovka. This was an exciting change in policy. Early LDS missionary work in Russia had been concentrated in large urban areas where most missionaries could enjoy such civilized luxuries as paved roads, frequent public transportation, telephone lines, and running water. In recent years missions branched into smaller cities, but the Russian village was an altogether new frontier. Bogdanovka, although it is only 100 miles or so from the large regional capital city of Samara, is a world apart.
The year was 1983. Sister Mercedes Pico de Coello was dying of tuberculosis, coughing up blood. A frail and thin 43-year-old mother of twelve, her life could probably have been saved for $200. As a missionary, I had baptized her in 1980. As a BYU student, I had just spent $850 for this return visit to Ecuador. Neither of us was aware that her illness could be fatal if untreated. With an annual family income of $1200, she could not afford the treatment she needed. I considered giving her the $200, but ultimately I did not do so. Three years later she died from the disease.
Anxiety and frustration have accompanied my resistance to the second Bush war on Iraq. I feel such discontent partly because the Roman Catholic Church in Utah tends to be ultraconservative in theology and politics. While…
We are thrilled to announce a new online resource for the work of Dialogue’s founding editor, Eugene England. Below is the announcement from the Eugene England Foundation: On what would have been Eugene England’s 77th…
The 22nd Dialogue podcast features Eric D. Huntsman Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU, Coordinator for Near Eastern Studies, Kennedy Center for International Studies, and Affiliated Faculty, Classics and Near Eastern Studies. In this engaging talk, Huntsman looks at “The Search for the ‘Real’ Jesus of Nazareth:The Jesus of Faith, History, and Revelation.”