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,
I grew up with toy machine guns, plastic army men, and John Wayne movies on a black and white television set. We read the Book of Mormon as a family every morning before school, and…
Across a shattered street, a Muslim groom lifts
the train of his Christian bride as he steps over
broken glass, old tires, and miles of rubblestone.
Her face, a dark rose, is the only beauty
in this ravaged landscape.
Out of the corner of her eye, Leila watched a woman and her husband climb into the Peugeot taxi that Leila was taking from Oran to Algiers. The woman wrapped her black haik close against…