Dialogue in Real Time

From the very beginning, Dialogue was intended to be a way to get people talking about Mormonism in new ways. For many years, the Letters to the Editor were an important site of these conversations (and sometimes heated debates). But, of course, a lot has changed since 1966, and it now seems unimaginable to wait three months for reaction to an article and perhaps another three months for a rebuttal. This is part of the reason that Dialogue partnered with the LDS group weblog By Common Consent in 2005.
By Common Consent is the largest Mormon group blog in what’s known as the “Bloggernacle” with approximately 7,000 visitors per day, and up to 20,000 vistors per day during its live coverage of General Conference. Several members of Dialogue’s Board and editorial board are among the “permabloggers” there, including me, Kevin Barney, Steve Evans, Ronan Head, Steven Peck, and Russell Arben Fox. Members of the Board and Editorial Board are regular guests.
Blogging is a wonderful medium for wide-open discussion–responses are immediate and anyone can join in. However, blogs are not a great medium for sustained attention to detailed arguments or consideration of a body of evidence or carefully refined prose. For all of these things, a slow, old journal like Dialogue is the right form. We’re very interested in trying to make the two forms work together–towards that end, in the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring articles from Dialogue at BCC, and hoping to generate both sustained contemplation of the articles and lively discussion in the comments section at BCC. In celebration of the June 1978 revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the Church, we’ll be highlighting articles on issues of race and diversity, starting with Lester Bush’s 1973 article documenting the origins of the priesthood ban. Please join us!
See here for a series of brief recollections from other thoughtful Mormons, including Darius Gray and Margaret Young. Also, subscribers to Dialogue can read the screenplay of Margaret and Darius’ documentary project, Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, and their reflections on their work, in the Fall 2009 issue of Dialogue.