Summer 2026 Issue Overview

In this episode of Dialogue Out Loud, co-editor Margaret Olsen Hemming is joined by Dialogue’s section editors for a guided tour of the Summer 2026 issue.

The conversation explores a wide range of topics, including sexual ethics, science and faith, global Mormonism, grief, women’s agency, priesthood, race, and early Mormon history. The editors discuss Spencer P. Greenhalgh’s fresh reading of Jacob 2 and its implications for contemporary sexual ethics, Stephen L. Peck’s thoughtful examination of why Latter-day Saints can trust science, and Henry Gorin’s analysis of Church growth and religious practice in Haiti.

The episode also highlights two powerful Personal Voices essays: Hadley Duncan Howard’s account of receiving spiritual guidance while caring for her critically ill daughter, and an anonymous reflection on women’s agency, autonomy, and cultural expectations within Mormonism.

Listeners will also hear about the issue’s poetry selections, which meditate on themes of loss, hope, spiritual searching, and resilience, as well as reviews of important new works on Peruvian Mormonism, race, indigeneity, early Mormon polygamy, and the evolving landscape of Mormon studies. The discussion concludes with a look at a review essay on Conclave and what its portrayal of religious authority reveals about Mormon experiences of institutional faith.

Whether you’re interested in scripture, scholarship, personal narrative, poetry, or contemporary Mormon thought, this episode offers an engaging introduction to one of Dialogue’s most wide-ranging issues.