Margaret Olsen and Caroline Kline join The Cultural Hall to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Founded in 1966 by Eugene England and a group of Stanford graduate students, the journal was created to explore the intersection of academic intellect and Mormonism. As an entirely independent publication, it tackles complex church history and theology outside of institutional boundaries. The journal features a wide range of genres, encompassing sociology, theology, history, poetry, fiction, and art critiques.
Over its six decades, Dialogue has published landmark pieces that fundamentally shifted church discourse. In 1973, Lester Bush published a pivotal article on Mormonism’s racial restrictions, proving the policy traced back to Brigham Young rather than Joseph Smith. This specific research directly influenced President Spencer W. Kimball. The following year, the 1974 “Pink Issue” brought Mormon feminism to the forefront and helped birth the Exponent II publication.
Today, Dialogue operates as a safe space for members who have deep questions or feel alienated by institutional silence. Olsen and Kline share how the journal’s willingness to publish raw personal essays fosters intellectual maturity, providing explicit platforms for LGBTQ and Indigenous perspectives. The journal is completely free online, publishing four times a year through the University of Illinois Press, with physical color subscriptions available for print readers. Beyond the written word, the organization hosts a podcast and twice-monthly Sunday Gospel Study sessions.
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