Obi-Wan Kenobi, that ancient warrior, knight of the Jedi, resembles in many ways Don Juan, the hunter and warrior (and sorcerer) of Carlos Castarieda’s books. Even their names are similar, and both live in the…
The States and the Nation Series is a set of histories of each state and the District of Columbia “designed to assist the American people in a serious look at the ideals they have espoused…
Today there are more than 1,700 daily newspapers in the United States, many of which have circulations of several hundred thousand. Yet once a particular day’s news is superseded by the next, what remains is…
In October 1978, Dialogue interviewed Edward L. Kimball, youngest son of President Spencer W. Kimball and co-author of the popular biography Spencer W. Kimball. Dr. Kimball is a law professor at Brigham Young University. Dialogue:…
Social scientists have frequently remarked on the proliferation of religious denominations, sects and cults in the United States. Since its early history, Mormonism has spawned a large number of sects directly or indirectly. At least…
In a recent issue of Dialogue, Clifton Jolley described the personal essay as a good way to confront the “beast.” I usually confront the beast in the shower. It is not that it lurks there…
As the story goes, and as countless Mormon preachers and teachers have told it, embellished it and retold it for generations, it was a classic confrontation between a conspiracy of falsehood and the heroism of…
Following the phenomenal success of his book-turned-TV mini-series, Alex Haley described his work Roots as “faction,” a careful combination of history and fiction. Using what names, dates and places he could find in the records as a skeleton, he proceeded…
That last bastion of privacy—our personal diaries—has now been turned into a “program.” From the pulpit, we are admonished to keep diaries; we are treated to snatches of personal diaries in sacrament meeting, we are…
We Mormons put a lot of stock in the Local Boy Makes Good syndrome: we’re proud of our Osmonds, our Marriotts, our Jack Andersons, and we’re anxious to let people out there know that we…