Boyd Jay Petersen

Letters to the Editor

Pray Without Ceasing

The scriptures often admonish us to pray continuously. Note that I said “continuously,” not “continually.” “Continually” means repeated with interruptions, but “continuously” means without interruptions. Paul tells the saints in Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing”…

Note on Identity and Community

Editing this issue, I have thought much on both identity and community. I want to assure Dialogue readers that we remain committed to being a place of continued connection, vibrant welcoming, and life-affirming discussion. In…

Editor’s Note

With this issue, Dialogue begins its sixth decade. To celebrate this milestone, we are pleased to present new work from three long-time friends. Frances Lee Menlove was a Dialogue founder and served as its first…

The Continuing Importance of Dialogue

I am delighted and honored to serve as the new editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. It is particularly exciting to be coming on board as we anticipate the journal’s fiftieth anniversary. (Stay…

The Home Dance: Hugh Nibley among the Hopi

Hugh Nibley lives in a world of serendipity. As his son-in-law and intended biographer, I have discovered that, time and time again, he has miraculously avoided some catastrophe or dropped in on some fortunate eventuality.…

LDS Youth in an Age of Transition | Bruce A. Chadwick, Brent L. Top, and Richard J. McClendon, Shield of Faith: The Power of Religion in the Lives of LDS Youth and Young Adults, and Christian Smith with Patricia Snell, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults

One of the most difficult and perilous times in a life is the transition from childhood to adulthood. Moving into the freedoms of adult life while still relying on parents to pay the bills creates tensions within the adolescent even as it brings frustrations for the parents. How does one make the leap from dependent to depend able, from reactionary to responsible? And will religious faith survive, go stagnant, or flourish through these changing roles and identities? 

An Imperfect Brightness of Hope

After admonishing his people to follow Christ and be baptized, Nephi said, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Ne. 31:20). I see a paradoxical tension between the concepts of “enduring” and “having a perfect brightness of hope.” The word “endure” connotes little in the way of pleasure; its etymological root is “hard.” In French the word dure, which comes from the same Latin root, means “difficult,” “harsh,” “severe,” or “stern.” On the other hand, the words “perfect brightness of hope” connote light and optimism, warmth and peace. The two concepts don’t seem to go together. 

Rethinking the LDS Aversion to the Cross | Michael G. Reed, Banishing the Cross: The Emergence of a Mormon Taboo

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often perplexed when they are accused of not being Christian. We worship Christ, acknowledge him as the divine Son of God, and believe our hope for salvation centers on the atonement made possible by his sacrifice. Christ is central in Mormon scripture: his birth, death, and atonement are foretold by Book of Mormon prophets, revealed through terrestrial signs, and revealed in the flesh in Christ’s ministry to his “lost sheep” of the New World. Mormons celebrate Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas. The very name of the Church points to Christ as our center.