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This Girl Is On Fire: Strength, Faith, and Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops Allison Hong Merrill, Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops: A Memoir

Review: An Excellent Historiography into  the Complexities of Mexican Mormondom Elisa Eastwood Pulido, The Spiritual Evolution of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, and Utopian Founder, 1878–1961

Personal Voices: To Be Young, Mormon, and Tongan

Review Essay: Mormon Poetry, 2012 to the Present

Decolonizing the Blossoming: Indigenous People’s Faith in a Colonizing Church

There’s No Such Thing as a Gospel Culture

Can Mormons be White in America?

Thoughts on Latino Mormons, Their Afterlife, and the Need for a New Historical Paradigm for Saints of Color

Le Train à Grande Vitesse

. . . we are passengers on the train of the Church . . . the luxury of getting on and off the train as we please is fading. The speed of the train is…

Mexicans, Tourism, and Book of Mormon Geography

Dialogue 50.2 (Summer 2017):55–88
Maintaining a conviction of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon
is no easy task in the era of DNA studies, archaeological excavations, and
aggressive attacks by evangelical Protestants. Latter-day Saints cultivate
commitment to the veracity of the Book of Mormon in many different
ways.

LDS Prospects in Italy for the Twenty-first Century

The Dream of a Mormon Colony in the Near East

For almost 130 years, Mormon missionaries have been going to foreign lands. Most of this activity has been in Western European countries where the culture and the political and social institutions were quite similar to…

Middle Buddha

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?  Psalm 137:4 If anybody asks me where I’ve been, I say Utah and China. When I realized that “Southern Far East Mission” didn’t mean…

God and Man in History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sees both God and man in a temporal, that i§^ historical,’ context, but it has developed no authoritative, systematic statement of the philosophical implications of historical relationships. It has no official philosophy of history. What follows, therefore, are simply reflections on some problems which relate to the religious affirmations of the L.D.S. people and a tentative approach to my personal philosophy of history. 

The Reorganization in the Twentieth Century

On April 15, 1972 the Mormon History Association held a notable convention at Independence, Missouri. Some 130 members and friends of the Association visited historic Mormon sites and heard discourses from scholars representing both the…

Revolution and Mormonism in Asia: What the Church Might Offer a Changing Society

Asia is a land of revolution, a land where a complex of revolutions are inter related in such a way that one phase is not understood independent of the others, nor of the traditions from which they stem. These revolutionary trends are creating rapid changes throughout Asian society, one of which is a search for a new stability, and this greatly influences the development of Mormonism in Asia, including the kinds of people it attracts and its relative success or failure in sustaining activity and building a strong organization. 

Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America

For the most part, Mormons have been a socially homogeneous people. True, the initial Anglo-American stock was reinforced from time to time by immigrants from Western Europe, but these converts were quickly absorbed into the Church’s social and cultural mainstream. Although successful missions were established among the Indians and especially among the Polynesians, it was nevertheless the English-speaking white Americans who gave the Church its leadership and set the tone of its culture.

Mormons in the Third Reich: 1933-1945

The experience of the Church in non-American countries has not always been easy. In Germany in the 1930’s, for example, the Hitler regime viewed the Mormon Church as an American institution and therefore open to…

Moderation in All Things: Political and Social Outlooks of Modern Urban Mormons

Perhaps the most difficult kind of analysis that scholars may presume to make is that of presenting attitudes of people toward various ideas. Any poll can be affected by weakness in the sampling technique, by…

Caridad

Typhoon rains were pounding the house for the fifth consecutive night. I was preparing for bed with a candle and a bowl of water when I heard urgent feet on the stairs. Belen Rivera, our…

The Church and la Politica Italiano

We were seated in the chapel of the building serving both as mission headquarters and home of the West Milan (Italy) Branch. Our young gospel doctrine teacher was presenting a lesson on the role of…

The Church in Egypt

My family and I recently spent three years in Cairo where we were much in volved in cooperative education programs with Egyptian counterparts. We became aware of how serious the official attitude toward an outside…

First Indian Convert’s Testimony

My father was a Hindu. He was converted to Christianity by Brethren Missionaries from England about 100 years ago, and he suffered persecutions from his Hindu parents, relatives and villagers for his having accepted Jesus…

Three Cathedrals in Spain

Toledo | Barcelona | León

How International is the Church in Japan?

Robert Mullen writes in The Mormons that “temples are, in a way, measurements of the acceleration”[1] of the rapid expansion of the LDS Church. The Church will have a temple in Tokyo in 1980. Does…

Russian Writers Look at Mormon Manners, 1857-72

The early years of the reign of Alexander II were among the most stirring in Russian history. After the repressive tenure of his father, Alexander brought hopes for innovation and projects for reform which the…

The Church Moves Outside the United States

Mormons of the present generation, with their legacy of tenacity and perseverance as both a guide and a challenge, are attempting to offer “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” an opportunity to hear the gospel…

The Expansion of Mormonism in the South Pacific

Since the first encounter between Latter-day Saint missionaries and the peoples of Polynesia 136 years ago, there have been inevitable changes in both the methods of missionary work and the adaptation of the island members…

Mormonism and Maoism: The Church and People’s China

In a recent address to a Regional Representatives Seminar, President Kimball stated— 

We asked last conference for all members to pray with increased sincerity for peace in all nations and especially China, and that we might make entry with our missionaries. Since then many people have been to China and much interest has been shown. Let us ask our Heavenly Father to grant our petition and permit this great neighbor, China, to join the great family of nations now bowing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Escape from Viet Nam: An Interview with Nguyen Van The

Nguyen Van The, a native of Vietnam, was converted to Mormonism in 1966: “I had no previous religion, although as the son in a Buddhist family, I was expected to worship my ancestors.” In 1968…

Expanding LDS Church Abroad: Old Realities Compounded

In recent decades, the LDS Church has moved out of the security of the “ever lasting mountains” to fulfill its prophetic dream of becoming a worldwide organization. Each year 225 thousand or more Saints are added to the fold. Over seventy percent are converts, recruited by a veritable army of full- and part-time missionaries. As of 1979, the Church numbered over 4.2 million. At a 6.4 percent annual growth rate, it will double every eleven years or so.

Polynesian Origins: More Word on the Mormon Perspective

In few cases is the Mormon Church at such odds with “the learning of men” as in its answers to the intriguing questions of Polynesian origins and migrations. Apostle Mark E. Petersen expressed the Mormon…

Friends of West Africa: An Opportunity for Service

The leadership of President Kimball was usually gentle but generated profound ripples for good. His enunciation in 1978 of the revelation granting the priesthood to the blacks may be characterized as a tidal wave. It has…

From “Zion’s Attic”: The Mormon Presence in Canada

Heloise and Abelard: Letters from Exile, The Correspondence of Martha Hughes Cannon and Angus M. Cannon

The Rise of the Church in Great Britain: Mormons in Early Victorian Britain edited by Richard L. Jensen and Malcolm R. Thorp

Humor and Pathos: Stories of the Mormon Diaspora: Benediction: A Book of Stories by Neal Chandler

My Ghosts

Is There Such a Thing as a “Moral War”?

The Moral Failures of Operation Desert Storm

The Thoughtful Patriot — 1991

Mormonism in the Twenty-first Century

Mormonism in Modern Japan

Between Covenant and Treaty: The LDS Future in New Zealand

Between Covenant and Treaty: The LDS Future in New Zealand

Towards 2000: Mormonism in Australia

Reinventing Mormonism: Guatemala as Harbinger of the Future?

Mormonism in Latin America: Towards the Twenty-first Century

Ethnization and Accommodation

Feeding the Fleeing Flock

Science and Mormonism: Past, Present, Future

Dialogue 29.1 (Spring 1996): 80–97
Will the church be able to retain the essence of its theology in the faceof challenges from science? Will the church’s discourse on scientific topicsbe marked by fundamentalism, isolationism, or progressivism? Will the church be able to retain its large contingent of professional scientists?

Thinking About the Word of God in the Twenty-First Century

Membership Growth, Church Activity, Missionary Recruitment

Membership Growth, Church Activity, Missionary Recruitment

The Uncertain Dynamics of LDS Expansion, 1950-2020

The Uncertain Dynamics of LDS Expansion, 1950-2020

Guest Editor’s Introduction

Cordoba

Mom moved up to Santa Barbara, and Dad started having girlfriends over. Ladyfriends, he called them. When I stayed home sick from school, I saw the ladyfriends leave for work. “How cute. Is this yours?”…

Evidence Without Reconciliation: The Creation of the Book of Mormon: A Historical Inquiry by Lamar Petersen

Bringing Balance to Our Historical Writing: From Mission to Madness: Last Son of the Mormon Prophet by Valeen Tippetts Avery

Missionaries, Missions, Converts, Cultures: Mormon Passage: A Missionary Chronicle by Gary Shepherd and Gordon Shepherd

Building Cultural Bridges: Asian American Mormons: Bridging Cultures by Jessie L. Embry

Mission Complexities in Asia: From the East: The History of the Latter-day Saints in Asia, 1851-1996 by R. Lanier Britsch

The LDS Sound World and Global Mormonism

Dig

The Dynamics of LDS Growth in Guatemala, 1948-1998

Gethsemane and Calvary in LDS Soteriology

Place, Time, and Family in Mormonism

Mormon Studies in a European Setting

The Diverse Sheep of Israel: Should the Shepherds Resemble Their Flocks?

A Marvelous Work and a Possession: Book of Mormon Historicity as Postcolonialism

Dialogue 38.4 (Winter 2006):45–82
the original text, unfortunately, no longer exists on this earth, and we are left only with the assurances of a “translator” that the testimony contained in the record is “true,” although we do not, in fact, have even the complete text as it left the hand of the translator/scribe.

Mormon Europeans or European Mormons? An “”Afro-European”” View on Religious Colonization

Thinking Globally: Explorations into a Truly International, Multi-Cultural Church

Yesterday’s People

Perseverance amid Paradox: The Struggle of the LDS Church in Japan Today

How Missionaries Entered East Germany: The 1988 Monson-Honecker Meeting

Latter-day Saints under Siege: The Unique Experience of Nicaraguan Mormons

“The Other” in the Limelight: One Perspective on the Publicity Surrounding the New LDS Temple in Finland

Dialogue 40.4 (2007): 70–105
The purpose of this article is to begin filling that gap by discussing some of the publicity accompanying the recently built Helsinki FinlandTemple, located in the southern Finland city of Espoo.

Hands Raised Up: Corruption, Power, and Context in Bolivian Mormonism

The Scholarly Study of Mormonism in Finland: An Overview of Literature, Research Ideas, and Sources

In Taiwan but Not of Taiwan: Challenges of the LDS Church in the Wake of the Indigenous Movement

In a Better Country

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly home . . . Heb. 11:16 “You don’t have to go,” she whispered, the morning grogginess in her voice betraying an urgency that was…

Realissimo

At nineteen, a Mormon missionary in Brazil, I felt foreign in every part, torn from language.  “Boy, it’s cold out,” I’d quip to the natives.  “No, Elder, hot” they’d say. “The word is hot.”  At…

El Problema del Dolor/The Problem of Pain

“An American Enterprise”: An Interview with Massimo Introvigne

Review: Hugh J. Cannon. To the Peripheries of Mormondom. Edited by Reid Neilson

Review: Kim Östman. The Introduction of Mormonism to Finnish Society, 1840–1900

Review: Armand L. Mauss. Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic

Comparing Mormon and Adventist Growth Patterns in Latin America: The Chilean Case

What Does Kashi Have to Do With Salt Lake?: Academic Comparisons, Asian Religions, and Mormonism

Crossing the Planes: Gathering, Grafting, and Second Sight in the Hong Kong China International District

Review: Confident Interpretations of Silence David Conley Nelson. Moroni and the Swastika: Mormons in Nazi Germany

The Righteous Road

My mom held her hand over the phone. “It’s Reed,” she whispered. I took the phone and leaned against the countertop. “Hello,” I said. “Hello.” “What, Derrick? No call?” Reed asked. “I didn’t know you…

This Girl Is On Fire: Strength, Faith, and Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops Allison Hong Merrill, Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops: A Memoir

Review: An Excellent Historiography into  the Complexities of Mexican Mormondom Elisa Eastwood Pulido, The Spiritual Evolution of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, and Utopian Founder, 1878–1961

Personal Voices: To Be Young, Mormon, and Tongan

Review Essay: Mormon Poetry, 2012 to the Present

Decolonizing the Blossoming: Indigenous People’s Faith in a Colonizing Church

There’s No Such Thing as a Gospel Culture

Can Mormons be White in America?

Thoughts on Latino Mormons, Their Afterlife, and the Need for a New Historical Paradigm for Saints of Color

Le Train à Grande Vitesse

. . . we are passengers on the train of the Church . . . the luxury of getting on and off the train as we please is fading. The speed of the train is…

Mexicans, Tourism, and Book of Mormon Geography

Dialogue 50.2 (Summer 2017):55–88
Maintaining a conviction of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon
is no easy task in the era of DNA studies, archaeological excavations, and
aggressive attacks by evangelical Protestants. Latter-day Saints cultivate
commitment to the veracity of the Book of Mormon in many different
ways.

LDS Prospects in Italy for the Twenty-first Century

The Dream of a Mormon Colony in the Near East

For almost 130 years, Mormon missionaries have been going to foreign lands. Most of this activity has been in Western European countries where the culture and the political and social institutions were quite similar to…

Middle Buddha

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?  Psalm 137:4 If anybody asks me where I’ve been, I say Utah and China. When I realized that “Southern Far East Mission” didn’t mean…

God and Man in History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sees both God and man in a temporal, that i§^ historical,’ context, but it has developed no authoritative, systematic statement of the philosophical implications of historical relationships. It has no official philosophy of history. What follows, therefore, are simply reflections on some problems which relate to the religious affirmations of the L.D.S. people and a tentative approach to my personal philosophy of history. 

The Reorganization in the Twentieth Century

On April 15, 1972 the Mormon History Association held a notable convention at Independence, Missouri. Some 130 members and friends of the Association visited historic Mormon sites and heard discourses from scholars representing both the…

Revolution and Mormonism in Asia: What the Church Might Offer a Changing Society

Asia is a land of revolution, a land where a complex of revolutions are inter related in such a way that one phase is not understood independent of the others, nor of the traditions from which they stem. These revolutionary trends are creating rapid changes throughout Asian society, one of which is a search for a new stability, and this greatly influences the development of Mormonism in Asia, including the kinds of people it attracts and its relative success or failure in sustaining activity and building a strong organization. 

Three Myths About Mormons in Latin America

For the most part, Mormons have been a socially homogeneous people. True, the initial Anglo-American stock was reinforced from time to time by immigrants from Western Europe, but these converts were quickly absorbed into the Church’s social and cultural mainstream. Although successful missions were established among the Indians and especially among the Polynesians, it was nevertheless the English-speaking white Americans who gave the Church its leadership and set the tone of its culture.

Mormons in the Third Reich: 1933-1945

The experience of the Church in non-American countries has not always been easy. In Germany in the 1930’s, for example, the Hitler regime viewed the Mormon Church as an American institution and therefore open to…

Moderation in All Things: Political and Social Outlooks of Modern Urban Mormons

Perhaps the most difficult kind of analysis that scholars may presume to make is that of presenting attitudes of people toward various ideas. Any poll can be affected by weakness in the sampling technique, by…

Caridad

Typhoon rains were pounding the house for the fifth consecutive night. I was preparing for bed with a candle and a bowl of water when I heard urgent feet on the stairs. Belen Rivera, our…

The Church and la Politica Italiano

We were seated in the chapel of the building serving both as mission headquarters and home of the West Milan (Italy) Branch. Our young gospel doctrine teacher was presenting a lesson on the role of…

The Church in Egypt

My family and I recently spent three years in Cairo where we were much in volved in cooperative education programs with Egyptian counterparts. We became aware of how serious the official attitude toward an outside…

First Indian Convert’s Testimony

My father was a Hindu. He was converted to Christianity by Brethren Missionaries from England about 100 years ago, and he suffered persecutions from his Hindu parents, relatives and villagers for his having accepted Jesus…

Three Cathedrals in Spain

Toledo | Barcelona | León

How International is the Church in Japan?

Robert Mullen writes in The Mormons that “temples are, in a way, measurements of the acceleration”[1] of the rapid expansion of the LDS Church. The Church will have a temple in Tokyo in 1980. Does…

Russian Writers Look at Mormon Manners, 1857-72

The early years of the reign of Alexander II were among the most stirring in Russian history. After the repressive tenure of his father, Alexander brought hopes for innovation and projects for reform which the…

The Church Moves Outside the United States

Mormons of the present generation, with their legacy of tenacity and perseverance as both a guide and a challenge, are attempting to offer “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” an opportunity to hear the gospel…

The Expansion of Mormonism in the South Pacific

Since the first encounter between Latter-day Saint missionaries and the peoples of Polynesia 136 years ago, there have been inevitable changes in both the methods of missionary work and the adaptation of the island members…

Mormonism and Maoism: The Church and People’s China

In a recent address to a Regional Representatives Seminar, President Kimball stated— 

We asked last conference for all members to pray with increased sincerity for peace in all nations and especially China, and that we might make entry with our missionaries. Since then many people have been to China and much interest has been shown. Let us ask our Heavenly Father to grant our petition and permit this great neighbor, China, to join the great family of nations now bowing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Escape from Viet Nam: An Interview with Nguyen Van The

Nguyen Van The, a native of Vietnam, was converted to Mormonism in 1966: “I had no previous religion, although as the son in a Buddhist family, I was expected to worship my ancestors.” In 1968…

Expanding LDS Church Abroad: Old Realities Compounded

In recent decades, the LDS Church has moved out of the security of the “ever lasting mountains” to fulfill its prophetic dream of becoming a worldwide organization. Each year 225 thousand or more Saints are added to the fold. Over seventy percent are converts, recruited by a veritable army of full- and part-time missionaries. As of 1979, the Church numbered over 4.2 million. At a 6.4 percent annual growth rate, it will double every eleven years or so.

Polynesian Origins: More Word on the Mormon Perspective

In few cases is the Mormon Church at such odds with “the learning of men” as in its answers to the intriguing questions of Polynesian origins and migrations. Apostle Mark E. Petersen expressed the Mormon…

Friends of West Africa: An Opportunity for Service

The leadership of President Kimball was usually gentle but generated profound ripples for good. His enunciation in 1978 of the revelation granting the priesthood to the blacks may be characterized as a tidal wave. It has…

From “Zion’s Attic”: The Mormon Presence in Canada

Heloise and Abelard: Letters from Exile, The Correspondence of Martha Hughes Cannon and Angus M. Cannon

The Rise of the Church in Great Britain: Mormons in Early Victorian Britain edited by Richard L. Jensen and Malcolm R. Thorp

Humor and Pathos: Stories of the Mormon Diaspora: Benediction: A Book of Stories by Neal Chandler

My Ghosts

Is There Such a Thing as a “Moral War”?

The Moral Failures of Operation Desert Storm

The Thoughtful Patriot — 1991

Mormonism in the Twenty-first Century

Mormonism in Modern Japan

Between Covenant and Treaty: The LDS Future in New Zealand

Between Covenant and Treaty: The LDS Future in New Zealand

Towards 2000: Mormonism in Australia

Reinventing Mormonism: Guatemala as Harbinger of the Future?

Mormonism in Latin America: Towards the Twenty-first Century

Ethnization and Accommodation

Feeding the Fleeing Flock

Science and Mormonism: Past, Present, Future

Dialogue 29.1 (Spring 1996): 80–97
Will the church be able to retain the essence of its theology in the faceof challenges from science? Will the church’s discourse on scientific topicsbe marked by fundamentalism, isolationism, or progressivism? Will the church be able to retain its large contingent of professional scientists?

Thinking About the Word of God in the Twenty-First Century

Membership Growth, Church Activity, Missionary Recruitment

Membership Growth, Church Activity, Missionary Recruitment

The Uncertain Dynamics of LDS Expansion, 1950-2020

The Uncertain Dynamics of LDS Expansion, 1950-2020

Guest Editor’s Introduction

Cordoba

Mom moved up to Santa Barbara, and Dad started having girlfriends over. Ladyfriends, he called them. When I stayed home sick from school, I saw the ladyfriends leave for work. “How cute. Is this yours?”…

Evidence Without Reconciliation: The Creation of the Book of Mormon: A Historical Inquiry by Lamar Petersen

Bringing Balance to Our Historical Writing: From Mission to Madness: Last Son of the Mormon Prophet by Valeen Tippetts Avery

Missionaries, Missions, Converts, Cultures: Mormon Passage: A Missionary Chronicle by Gary Shepherd and Gordon Shepherd

Building Cultural Bridges: Asian American Mormons: Bridging Cultures by Jessie L. Embry

Mission Complexities in Asia: From the East: The History of the Latter-day Saints in Asia, 1851-1996 by R. Lanier Britsch

The LDS Sound World and Global Mormonism

Dig

The Dynamics of LDS Growth in Guatemala, 1948-1998

Gethsemane and Calvary in LDS Soteriology

Place, Time, and Family in Mormonism

Mormon Studies in a European Setting

The Diverse Sheep of Israel: Should the Shepherds Resemble Their Flocks?

A Marvelous Work and a Possession: Book of Mormon Historicity as Postcolonialism

Dialogue 38.4 (Winter 2006):45–82
the original text, unfortunately, no longer exists on this earth, and we are left only with the assurances of a “translator” that the testimony contained in the record is “true,” although we do not, in fact, have even the complete text as it left the hand of the translator/scribe.

Mormon Europeans or European Mormons? An “”Afro-European”” View on Religious Colonization

Thinking Globally: Explorations into a Truly International, Multi-Cultural Church

Yesterday’s People

Perseverance amid Paradox: The Struggle of the LDS Church in Japan Today

How Missionaries Entered East Germany: The 1988 Monson-Honecker Meeting

Latter-day Saints under Siege: The Unique Experience of Nicaraguan Mormons

“The Other” in the Limelight: One Perspective on the Publicity Surrounding the New LDS Temple in Finland

Dialogue 40.4 (2007): 70–105
The purpose of this article is to begin filling that gap by discussing some of the publicity accompanying the recently built Helsinki FinlandTemple, located in the southern Finland city of Espoo.

Hands Raised Up: Corruption, Power, and Context in Bolivian Mormonism

The Scholarly Study of Mormonism in Finland: An Overview of Literature, Research Ideas, and Sources

In Taiwan but Not of Taiwan: Challenges of the LDS Church in the Wake of the Indigenous Movement

In a Better Country

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly home . . . Heb. 11:16 “You don’t have to go,” she whispered, the morning grogginess in her voice betraying an urgency that was…

Realissimo

At nineteen, a Mormon missionary in Brazil, I felt foreign in every part, torn from language.  “Boy, it’s cold out,” I’d quip to the natives.  “No, Elder, hot” they’d say. “The word is hot.”  At…

El Problema del Dolor/The Problem of Pain

“An American Enterprise”: An Interview with Massimo Introvigne

Review: Hugh J. Cannon. To the Peripheries of Mormondom. Edited by Reid Neilson

Review: Kim Östman. The Introduction of Mormonism to Finnish Society, 1840–1900

Review: Armand L. Mauss. Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic

Comparing Mormon and Adventist Growth Patterns in Latin America: The Chilean Case

What Does Kashi Have to Do With Salt Lake?: Academic Comparisons, Asian Religions, and Mormonism

Crossing the Planes: Gathering, Grafting, and Second Sight in the Hong Kong China International District

Review: Confident Interpretations of Silence David Conley Nelson. Moroni and the Swastika: Mormons in Nazi Germany

The Righteous Road

My mom held her hand over the phone. “It’s Reed,” she whispered. I took the phone and leaned against the countertop. “Hello,” I said. “Hello.” “What, Derrick? No call?” Reed asked. “I didn’t know you…