Taylor G. Petrey

Taylor Petrey is the editor of Dialogue: a journal of Mormon thought. Petrey holds a BA in philosophy and religion from Pace University, and both an MTS and a Th.D. degree from Harvard Divinity School in New Testament and Early Christianity. He joined the faculty of Kalamazoo College in 2010 and served as the Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality program from 2012 through 2016. He is currently chair of the Religion Department. Petrey is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on Mormonism, gender, sexuality, and early Christian thought. His essay “Toward a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology” received Dialogue’s “Best Article” award in 2011 and has become one of the most downloaded and cited articles in the journal’s history.

Articles

ROUNDTABLE: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON THETHIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPTEMBER SIX

In September 1993, six people were excommunicated or disfellowshipped from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The events were widely covered in news media. Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, Avraham Gileadi, Paul Toscano, Maxine Hanks,…

Dedicated Blank Pages

After a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology: A Ten-Year Retrospective

Dialogue 54.4 (Winter 2021): 111–137
Ten years ago, my article “Toward a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology” was published in Dialogue. I did not know what to expect when it made its way into the world, but it ended up being a widely discussed piece and has been accessed tens of thousands of times. The public discussion about my ideas was both critical and appreciative. In the wake of the article, my own research and thinking have also developed.

Finding Mormon Theology Again | Terryl L. Givens, Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, Humanity

Wrestling the Angel is the first volume in Terryl Givens’s latest project on the “foundations of Mormon thought and practice” (ix). The first of a two-volume work, this book deals with theology while the subsequent…

Practicing Divinity

Here, the author of this letter instructs his readers to live a life of piety, or godliness. He explains that the power of God has given us all the tools we need to live this life, and that it is in this way that we participate in the divine nature. Then he outlines a set of practices including goodness or virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, mutual affection, and love. This is the path to becoming divine.

Toward a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology

Dialogue 44.4 (Winter 2011): 106–141
From Editor Taylor Petrey: “Toward a Post-heterosexual Mormon Theology” was actually the first major article I ever published. I did not know what to expect, but it ended up being a widely discussed piece, accessed tens of thousands of times.⁠ To this day I still receive notes of appreciation for this article.

Dialogue Lectures #50 w/ Taylor Petrey

In this Dialogue podcast Editor Taylor Petrey discusses “Modern LDS Teachings on Gender in Context.” Read more

Latter Day Struggles: Let’s Talk Book of Mormon With Taylor Petrey — Part 1

We are pleased to share this Latter Day Struggles podcast episode as part of the Dialogue Podcasts, featuring Editor Taylor Petrey. Read more

Latter Day Struggles: Let’s Talk Book of Mormon With Taylor Petrey — Part 2

We are pleased to share this Latter Day Struggles podcast episode as part of the Dialogue Podcasts, featuring Editor Taylor Petrey. Read more

Special Fireside with Blair Hodges episode with Editor Taylor Petrey

Taylor Petrey traces the development of doctrine about gender and sexuality within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read more

Dialogue Heritage #1

Welcome to the new Dialogue Heritage podcast. In this episode, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis discuss the founding of Dialogue as well as point to some fascinating pieces from that era… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #10

In the 10th Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey looks at the Dialogue years of 2010-2014 which covered the Mormon (political) Moment, more of Kristine Haglund’s editorship–which inclued some fantastic works on feminism, important interviews,… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #11

In our final Dialogue Heritage that looks back into the history of Dialogue, Editor Taylor Petrey brings us from the last five years up to the present. Read more

Dialogue Heritage #2

In this second Dialogue Heritage episode, Editor Taylor Petrey looks at five important conversations in the early 1970s: gender, race, politics and evolution. Read more

Dialogue Heritage #3

In the third Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis look at the era of Mary Bradford’s editorship, from the late 1970s and early 1980s. One specific article they find… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #4

In the fourth Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis look at the end of Mary Bradford’s editorship and the beginning of Linda King Newell and Jackson Newell, from the… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #5

In the fifth Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey looks at Linda King Newell and Jackson Newell’s editorship and then Kay and Ross Peterson editorship: 1986 thru 1990. Within this span, Dialogue celebrated its 20th… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #6

In the sixth Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis consider the editorship of Martha Sonntag Bradley and Allen Dale Roberts: 1991 thru 1994. Read more

Dialogue Heritage #7

In the seventh Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis consider the Dialogue years of 1995 thru 1999, the years following the September Six and the injunction against symposia. Could… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #8

In the eighth Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey scans the Dialogue years of 2000 thru 2004, the years that include the Eugene England Memorial, the 35th anniversary issue, and important articles on peace, 9-11,… Read more

Dialogue Heritage #9

In the ninth Dialogue Heritage podcast, Editor Taylor Petrey and Art Editor Andi Pitcher Davis look at the Dialogue years of 2005-2009 which covered the death of President Gordon B. Hinckley, important work on Heavenly… Read more

A Changing of the Pen: Dialogue’s Editorial Transition

In this special episode of Dialogue Out Loud, Dialogue editor Taylor Petrey sits down for a thoughtful conversation with the incoming co-editors of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Caroline Kline and Margaret Olsen Hemming. Together, they… Read more

Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos: A Conversation with Taylor Petrey

Join Dialogue Book Review editor Caroline Kline in a thought-provoking discussion with Taylor Petrey about his groundbreaking new book, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos, published by the University of North Carolina Press. Petrey’s work… Read more

Words of Wisdom: Gospel Study with Taylor Petrey

Taylor Petrey takes us on a journey through the interpretations of the Word of Wisdom and what it means for today’s church. Read more