[1]During the past year, I have had the opportunity to read and review two significant books Robert Remini’s Joseph Smith (New York: Viking Press, 2003) and Will Bagley’s Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and…
Dialogue 36.4 (Winter 2004):109–128
DID JOSEPH SMITH WRITE the Book of Mormon? To this over-familiar question the orthodox Latter-day Saint answer is a resounding “No” because the official belief is that a series of men with quasi-biblical names wrote the book over many centuries.
In a recent issue of Dialogue, Robert M. Price offers his perspective on the origin of the Book of Mormon and a recommendation for how Latter-day Saints should understand the significance of that book.[1] Dr.…
Dialogue 36.4 (Winter 2004):109–128
JOSEPH SMITH GREW UP in a time and place where folk magic was an accepted part of the landscape. Before he was a prophet, he was a diviner, or more specifically, a scryer who used his peepstone to discover the location of buried treasure.
One day in late March 1697, a ship named the Adventure Galley arrived at the Island of Mohilla, one of the Comoro Islands. Its fever-stricken crew careened the vessel for cleaning and then proceeded to…
As is Usual and to be expected, Lawrence Foster’s article is excellent. Let me simply share a few additional thoughts about how my understanding of the charismatic prophet’s regress and demise has changed since my…
The issue of Charismatic Leadership—whether in religious, political, or other types of groups—has been the focus of widespread popular and scholarly attention. The word “charismatic” derives from the name of the Greek goddess Charis and…
Scott Carrier, whose photographs we feature in this issue of Dialogue, is an independent writer and radio producer. His print stories have been published in Harper’s, Rolling Stone, Esquire, QQ, and Mother Jones magazines. His radio…
Tanker from al-Kuwayt on the Persian Gulf
Passes the Straits of Hormuz (which Americans hold),
With a cargo of “black gold”—
Gas and petroleum—
For further refinement in Galveston.
She pictures heavy boots, plodding through sand,
and wonders if the socks she knitted fit him.
In sundown-smoky Baghdad, her Marine digs trenches,
longing for double beds and salt-rimmed tequilas,