DiaBLOGue

August 6

“Go get dressed. You’re no man for this army!” 
I went, thanking for the first time the crook 
In my spine that stopped me buck naked 
From buck privacy, and took me back to you 

Twenty Years with Dialogue: A Tribute to Dialogue

I could justly praise DIALOGUE for many qualities . But for the sake of brevity I will concentrate upon a single overriding virtue. DIALOGUE makes my religion interesting.  When I was a boy, I believed…

To a Modern Isaac

I’m no Abraham. 
I’ve bowed to a few idols in my day — 
Just somewhat unintentioned. 
Sacrificing children to idols 

Mormonism and Eastern Mysticism

By adopting the above-cited definition of mysticism, the compilers of the “Topical Guide” (LDS Edition 1979) distance Mormonism from a religious heritage which is perhaps as old as any other of record. The most obvious differences between Mormonism and mysticism are ones of form, and not necessarily of doctrine. The Church organization is both pervasive and extensive, whereas mystical practices are generally much less formal. Mormonism accepts a prophet as head of the Church organization which is endowed with divine authority through an organized priesthood, whereas many mystical traditions manifest a strong non-institutional tendency and go only so far as to incorporate the notion of a “guide,” a leader who does not speak with divine authority but is instead familiar with one path to God. 

Adam’s Navel

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…

Scientific Foundations of Mormon Theology

A 1974 article published in Science identified the Mormon culture as an unusually productive source of American scientists and scholars, an achievement linked to such distinctive tenets of Mormon theology as rationalism, natural law, and…