Dialogue 18.4 (Winter 1984): 65–80
Shortly after the church was organized, one of Joseph Smith’s main priorities during his lifetime was preaching to the Native Americans, who he believed to be the descendants of the Lamanites.
Dialogue 52.2 (Spring 2019):1–58
ttributing the Book of Mormon’s origin to supernatural forces has
worked well for Joseph Smith’s believers, then as well as now, but not so
well for critics who seem certain natural abilities were responsible. For over
180 years, several secular theories have been advanced as explanations.
Dialogue 2.2 (Summer 1967): 5–7
In this important historical letter, Stewart Udall reflects on the need for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to reconsider its historical stance on race, particularly its practice of denying full fellowship to Black individuals. Udall argues that this practice, rooted in the belief in a divine curse on Black people, contradicts the principles of equality and brotherhood that the Church should embody. He concludes asserting that the time has come for the Church to abandon its racial restrictions and embrace full fellowship with Black individuals. He argues that recognizing the worth of all people, irrespective of race, is essential for the Church to fulfill its spiritual and moral ideals and to contribute positively to society’s progress toward greater human brotherhood.
Dialogue 36.1 (2003): 89–108
A claim is frequently made that science and religion are not incompatible. The contention is that science and religion can be made to co-exist by compartmentalization, that is, by carefully limiting the scope of each so that neither intrudeson the sphere of influence of the other. Such an approach is folly.
Dialogue 24.3 (Fall 1991): 43–57
Before the Manifesto was first read in conference, members and church leaders fully believed in plural marriage as being a commandment from God. Once the Manifesto was read, over time members started wondering if it was because of their own actions that polygamy was no longer a commandment.
Dialogue 2.4 (Winter 1967): 19–40
In this historical analysis, Mauss argues that starting in the 1850s, the church started to deny priesthood and temple blessings to anyone who had even a trace of African ancestry.
Dialogue 17.3 (Fall 1984): 23–34
Brazil, with a high concentration of African heritage, was a difficult place for the Church (because of the Church’s racial policy) to make headway among native members. Due to the high risk of Brazilians potentially having African ancestry, the Church came to the point where they eventually discouraged missionaries in Brazil from baptizing anyone who is known to have African ancestry.
In the mid-twentieth century, Ezra Taft Benson was an important political figure who despised communism and feared that the United States was on the road to moral decay. He decried the rise of feminism and…
Memorial Service for Armand Mauss In Memoriam: Armand Mauss by Patrick Mason The academic field of Mormon studies lost one of its greatest pioneers and champions when Armand Lind Mauss passed away. In a field…
Dialogue 47.1 (Spring 2014):1–23
This conclusion is obviously problematic, as it implies that the early Church repudiated teachings from the Book of Mormon immediately following its publication. Thus there is a need for a reassessment of the relation between early nineteenth-century Universalism and the teachings of the Book of Mormon and subsequent revelations.