Annual Appeal 2013

Dear Friend of Dialogue:

The past year has been an outstanding one for Dialogue. I hope you have found articles that speak to you. I must admit that I often turn first to the book reviews—it is a way for me to obtain thoughtful insight into the best of the new Mormon-themed books that are published each year.
I also eagerly look for the “Interviews and Conversations” offerings. For instance, Greg Prince’s interview of Chieko Okazaki was a classic. Likewise, the roundtable conversation on “Mormon Authoritarianism and American Pluralism,” featuring the views of David Campbell, Russell Arben Fox, Matthew Bowman and Kristine Haglund, was fascinating and particularly pertinent in today’s political climate.
My favorite articles included Michael Austin’s sermon, “Our Bickering Founding Fathers and Their Messy, Flawed, Divinely Inspired Constitution.” As Michael points out, conflict between political viewpoints wasn’t invented in our day. Indeed inspiration may be a biproduct of “debate, discussion, and compromise among flawed human beings….”
Personal essays are another of my must-read genres. I especially enjoyed Roger Terry’s “Why the True Church Cannot Be Perfect.” Roger discusses the common misconception that revelation is constant and that leaders are infallible. He concludes that “if the Church were perfect, it would fail miserably in its mission, which is, in part, to perfect us.” Something to think about.
Dialogue is more than just a print journal. If you haven’t visited our website lately, please do. You can find all the past Dialogue articles there, as well as pieces on selected Mormon current affairs. You might want to take a moment to click on the “Contact Us” link and skim the biographies and photos of our Board of Directors to see who’s working behind the scenes.
We have continued our podcast series this past year, with offerings from Fiona and Terryl Givens (on The God Who Weeps), Armand Mauss (on his memoir, Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport), and John G. Turner (on his Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet), to name just a few. When the new Church website, MormonsandGays.com went online, we posted a roundable discussion with William Bradshaw, Robert Rees, Mitch Mayne and me, in which we examined the variety of materials contained there and the challenges our gay brothers and sisters still face.
We have also undertaken two successful online fundraising initiatives this year and we are deeply grateful for all those who have contributed. We continue to be dependent on our subscribers and friends for our financial support. I’m pleased that we had 100% contribution participation by our board members this year, but we also need support from all our friends. We hope you can help us out.
You can make tax-deductable contributions by check or credit card by returning the enclosed envelope, or you can make an online donation at www.dialoguejournal.com.

Best wishes for the holiday season,

Morris A. Thurston

Chair, Board of Directors, Dialogue Foundation