''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' is an independent quarterly journal that addresses a wide range of issues on

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

and the

Latter Day Saint Movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. The journal publishes peer-reviewed academic articles on subjects such as anthropology, sociology, theology, history, and science. The journal also publishes

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, and graphic arts. ''Dialogue'' authors regularly include both members of the Mormon community and non-Mormon scholars interested in Mormon studies.

Douglas Davies Douglas James Davies, (born 11 February 1947) is a Welsh Anglican theologian, anthropologist, and academic, specialising in the history, theology, and sociology of death. He is Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Durham. ...

and

Jan Shipps Jo Ann Barnett Shipps (born 1929), known as Jan Shipps, is an American historian specializing in Mormon history, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century to the present. Shipps is generally regarded as the foremost non-Mormon scholar ...

are some of the non-Mormon academics that publish in ''Dialogue''. Examples of Mormon authors are

Eugene England George Eugene England, Jr. (22 July 1933 – 17 August 2001), usually credited as Eugene England, was a Mormon writer, teacher, and scholar. He founded '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', the oldest independent journal in Mormon Studi ...

Richard Bushman Richard Lyman Bushman (June 20, 1931) is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, having previously taught at Brigham Young University, Harvard University, Boston University, and the Univ ...

Claudia Bushman Claudia Marian Lauper Bushman (born June 11, 1934) is an American historian specializing in domestic women's history, especially as it relates to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She helped found, and was ...

Gregory Prince Gregory Antone Prince (born 1948) is an American pathology researcher, businessman, author, social critic, and historian of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Prince was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating as val ...

, and

Mary Lythgoe Bradford Mary Lythgoe Bradford (October 24, 1930 – November 8, 2022) was an American editor and poet significant to Mormon literature. She was the editor of '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' from 1978 to 1983, edited ''Mormon Women Speak'' (1982 ...

History

''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', is the oldest independent journal in Mormon studies. ''Dialogue'' was originally the creation of a group of young Mormon scholars at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

led by

, and G. Wesley Johnson. ''Dialogue's'' original offices were located at Stanford. Brent Rushforth aided in ''Dialogue's'' initiation. The first issue appeared in the spring of 1966, and during its first few years the editorial board and staff came to include many notables in the subsequent history of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, such as

, Chase Peterson,

Stanford Cazier Stanford Orson "Stan" Cazier (June 11, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American educator, university administrator and scholar. He was president of California State University, Chico from 1971–1979 and Utah State University from 1979–1992. Bio ...

Dallin H. Oaks Dallin Harris Oaks (born August 12, 1932) is an American religious leader and former jurist and academic who since 2018 has been the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was ...

, Cherry Silver, Karen Rosenbaum, and

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (born July 11, 1938) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian specializing in early America and the history of women, and a professor at Harvard University. Her approach to history has been described as a tribute to ...

. ''Dialogue'' is known for publishing groundbreaking articles from respected Mormon scholars and writers such as

Armand Mauss Armand Lind Mauss (June 5, 1928 – August 1, 2020) was an American sociologist specializing in the sociology of religion. He was Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Religious Studies at Washington State University and was the most freque ...

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...

, Lester Bush, and D. Michael Quinn. Two key sponsors and advisors from the beginning were

Lowell L. Bennion Lowell Lindsay Bennion (July 26, 1908 – February 21, 1996) was an American educator, sociologist, and humanitarian. He wrote extensively on religious living in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was an advocate fo ...

, of the LDS Institute at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, and

Leonard J. Arrington Leonard James Arrington (July 2, 1917 – February 11, 1999) was an American author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his man ...

, later the official historian of the LDS Church. ''Dialogue'' has nevertheless remained independent of church auspices over the years because of its readers and donors. The founding and subsequent editorial boards have been composed mainly of scholars and lay writers who are participating members of the LDS Church. ''Dialogue'' has been the main venue over the years for the publication of articles on some of the most difficult and controversial issues in LDS history and doctrine, including the problems of race ethnicity (see

Blacks and Mormonism Over the past two centuries, the relationship between black people and Mormonism has included both official and unofficial discrimination. From the mid-1800s to 1978, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) prevented mos ...

), women's roles, religion and politics, the history of polygamy (see Joseph Smith, Jr. and Polygamy), Mormons and Masonry, the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

, the career of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, and many other potentially difficult issues. ''Dialogue'' has maintained an

editorial independence Editorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication. Editorial independence is tested, for instance, if a newspaper runs articles that may be unpopular with its advertising clien ...

that has established it as the premier scholarly journal in Mormon studies, an academic field at several universities. The

Mormon History Association The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...

("MHA") was founded in 1966, and for the first 6–7 years of its existence, MHA members published their Mormon-related studies principally in ''Dialogue''. MHA then founded the ''

Journal of Mormon History The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...

.'' Since then, ''Dialogue'' and ''The Journal of Mormon History,'' along with ''

BYU Studies Quarterly ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted a ...

'' have been some of the main venues for historical studies of Mormonism. Both ''

'' and ''

Sunstone Magazine ''Sunstone'' is a magazine published by the Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, that discusses Mormonism through scholarship, art, short fiction, and poetry. The foundation began the publication in 1974 and con ...

'' are periodicals that, like ''Dialogue'', contain articles that range widely across the field of Mormon studies. In February 2019, Dialogue announced that it was making all of its past and current content available to everyone for free on a new web page. The journal switched from a subscription to a donation system.

List of editors

Web version

In 2005 ''Dialogue'' dipped its toe into the

Mormon blogosphere The Mormon blogosphere (often referred to as the Bloggernacle) is a segment of the blogosphere focused on issues related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term "Bloggernacle" was coined by individuals within the L ...

with several of its editorial and board members participating as long-term guest contributors to the Mormon blog

By Common Consent ''By Common Consent'' (BCC) is a group blog featuring commentary and discussion especially of Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thought and current events. It was founded in 2004, and is one of several blogs in the gro ...

. Then in early 2006 ''Dialogue'' introduced "''Dialogue'' Paperless" at Dialoguejournal.com, with sections for ePapers, News, Letters, and Book Reviews. The "e-Papers" section intended to "supplement the printed journal by housing digital documents that qualify as papers ... complete pieces, duly refereed and edited and hitherto unpublished." Early e-Papers included D. Michael Quinn's "Joseph Smith's Experience of a Methodist "Camp-Meeting" in 1820," and articles by other authors comprising a "Critique and Defense of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon."

Subscriber survey

In 2005, ''Dialogue'' received 1,332 responses to a subscriber survey. ''Dialogue'' reports the following responses: *The geographic location of respondents was:

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

(33%),

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(17%), other Western states—Rockies to the Coast (19%), the Northeast (10-12%), elsewhere (20%). Less than 1% lived outside the U.S., though there is some indication that the availability of online subscriptions may be changing the level of international readership. *The terminal education degree of respondents was: doctoral degree (40%), Master's (31%), Bachelor's degree (21%), and no degree (7%). *66% of respondents attend worship service every week, and another 12% attend "most weeks" (total 78%). 59% of today's readers are returned missionaries. * Respondents subscribe to or regularly read the following other Mormon-related publications: ''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

'' (29%), ''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'' (66%), ''

FARMS Review of Books ''Mormon Studies Review'' is an annual academic journal covering Mormon studies published by the University of Illinois Press. Previously, until and including its 2018 issue, the journal was published by Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell ...

'' (13%), ''

John Whitmer Historical Association Journal The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ ...

'' (9%), ''Irreantum'', the AML journal (10%), ''

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies The ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics surrounding the Book of Mormon. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scho ...

'' (17%), ''

'' (25%), ''

Sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along the midcoast of ...

'' (68%), and ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' (13%). *90% of respondents are members of the LDS Church. Around 6% of respondents described themselves as having left the LDS Church and most of these have affiliated with other denominations. *81% of respondents either "strongly" (32%) or "somewhat" (49%) agreed that ''Dialogue'' contributes to their personal spiritual or religious enrichment. *84% of respondents viewed the Book of Mormon as "authentic in any sense." The way in which the Book of Mormon was viewed as authentic was: Literal Historical Record (almost 40%) Theology & Moral Teaching Authentic, Historicity Doubtful (24%) Moral Teachings Sound, Historicity & Divine Origin Doubtful (12%), 19th Century Literary Product (14%). *Two-thirds (68%) of respondents find Dialogue's "current content and editorial tone" to be predominantly "objective and "independent," 9% find it to be "hypercritical and negative," 8% find the content/tone to be "bland, uncritical," and 13% reported that it "depends on the subject."

Digital archive

In collaboration with the

's J. Willard Marriott Library, in 2004 the archive of past ''Dialogue'' issues (1966 to date) was digitally scanned. The library's Special Collections now hosts the digital archive in pdf and text-searchable form. This digital collection is also mirrored on th
''Dialogue'' website
At the 2005 annual conference of the

Association for Mormon Letters The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to "foster scholarly and creative work in Mormon letters and to promote fellowship among scholars and writers of Mormon literature." Other stated purposes have inc ...

("AML"), the AML presented a "Special Award in Mormon Literary Studies" with this citation:

Footnotes

External links

''Dialogue'' website''Dialogue'' digital archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dialogue: A Journal Of Mormon Thought Academic journals established in 1966 Mormon studies journals Quarterly journals English-language journals 1966 in Christianity University of Illinois Press academic journals