May 1988 Volume 12:3 Issue 65 2 Our Readers ..................... READERS FORUM FEATURES 8 Chauncey C. Riddle ............... WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO BELIEVE! A philosopher explores the pillars of his faith 12 JulieJ. Nichols ................... PENNYROYAL COHOSH, RUE 1987 D.K. Brown Fiction Contest Winner 17 Richard D. Poll ................... DEALING WITH DISSONANCE." MYTHS, DOCUME.NTS, AND FAITH The dynamic of keeping our faith-promoting stories honest 22 Eugene England .................. ON SAVING THE CONSTITUTION, OR WHY SUNSTONE (ISSN 0363-1370) is published by the SOME UTAH MORMONS SHOULD BECOME Sunstone Foundation, a non-profit corporation DEMOCRATS with no official connection to The Church of Jesus Maintaining our political balance Christ of Latter-day Saints. Articles represent the attitudes of the writers only and not necessarily COLUMNS those of the editors or the LDS church. 5 Elbert Eugene Peck ................ FROM THE EDITOR Engaging Studene~ in the Church’s Foyer Manuscripts should be submitted on floppy dis- 6 Ronald G. Kershaw ................ TURNING THE TIME OVER TO .... kettes, IBM PC compatible and written with Word AIDS, Leprosy, and Disease: The Christian Perfect format. Manuscripts may also be double- Response spaced typewritten and should be submitted in duplicate. Submissions should not exceed six 31 Donce Williams Elliott ............. BETWEEN THE LINES thousand words. Unsolicited manuscripts will not Cultural iDogmas vs. Universal Truths be returned; authors will be notified concerning 33 James M. Hill .................... LIGHTER MINDS acceptance within sixty days. SUNSTONE is Richard L. Popp Toward A Mormon Cuisine: A Light-hearted interested in feature and column length articles Inquiry into the Cultural Significance of Food relevant to Mormonism from a variety of perspec- tives; news stories about Mormons and the LDS REVIEWS church are also desired. Send all correspondence 36 Arthur R. Bassett ................. AN ABUNDANCE OF OPINIONS to and manuscripts to: The Abundance of the Heart by Arthur Henry King SUNSTONE 38 Thomas G. Alexander .............. A COMPANION FOR THE TELEVISION "331 South Rio Grande Street SERIES Suite 30 Utah: A People’s History by Dean L. May Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1136 39 Blake T. Ostler ................... BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP AND CHURCH United States Subscriptions to SUNSTONE are $32 EDUCATION TEACHERS for twelve issues. International subscriptions are The Gospels: Studies in Scdptur< Volume 5 $45 for Canada and Mexico and for surface mail edited by Kent P Jackson and Robert L. Ivlillett to all other countries. Airmail subscriptions NEWS are $62 for Europe and South America and 43 Sunstone Correspondents ........... BYU PROFESSOR TERMINATED FOR BOOK $70 ~br Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific. OF MORMON BELIEFS Bona fide student subscriptions are $10 less than the above rates. SCHOLARS REVISIT GREAT BASIN KINGDOM AFTER THIRTY YEARS MORMON HISTORY EXPLORED IN LOGAN, This magazine is printed on acid-free paper UTAH Copyright © 1988 by the Sunstone Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Cover: Mark England SUNSTONE READERS FORUM Founaed in 1975 SCCffT KENNEY 1975-1978 THOMAS S. FERGUSON worry about military adequacy when we have ALLEN D. ROBERTS 1978-1980 millions living, in poverty? PEGGY FLETCHER 1978-1986 LETTERS If the Book of Mormon suggests an eco- Publisher and Foundation President nomic system that equalizes all people (con- DANIEL H. RECTOR I AM WRITING a biography of Thomas secration), why does capitalism seem to be Editor Stuart Ferguson, who was a Book of Mormon almost a doctrine of the Church? Capitalism ELBERT EUGENE PECK archaeologist and founder of the New World doesn’t do a great job of taking care of the poor Associate Editor Production Manager Archaeological Foundation. Additional letters and needy and certainly creates a class system. RON B1TTON HINCKLEY JONES from Tom Ferguson are needed to document Even socialism seems more in keeping with Graphic Designer Administrative Assistant his views on the Book of Mormon, the Book the message of the Book of Mormon. ROBYN SMITH-W1NCHESIER MELISSA SILLITOE of Abraham, the Mormon religion, etc. If any I have no answers to the above. Despite my Advisory Editorial Board reader has a Ferguson letter written to him or concerns about those less fortunate than I, I’m DENNIS CLARK, poetry PATRICK BAGLEY JAY S BYBEE her during the period 1968-83, I would very not sure selling my home or televisions will CATHY COOK, CONNIE DISNEY much appreciate receiving a copy of it. make much of a contribution. Retreating to the PEGGW FLETCHER STACK wilderness (by thinking the problem is far Symposium Chairs 5tan Larson greater than what I can solve) or retreating to KEDRIC BASSET’I’, Book of Mormon Lectures the Church (I pay my fast offerings and volun- MOLLY BENNION, Seattle 9109 Elmhurst Drive TED 1ZATT, New York West Jordan, UT ,94088-8823 teer for cannery assignments, what better way DAN MARYON, Doctrine and Covenants Lectares can I contrit)ute?) doesfft eliminate the SARA SCHIMMER. Washington, D.C. problem. Rather than retreating, one answer LORIE WINDER STROMBERG & KIM McCALL, San Erancisco LYNNE KANAVEL WHITESIDES, Salt Lake City GETTING AND SPENDING may be to become more involved politically. The poor and needy in our society are too Volunteers AFTER READING Hugh Nibley’s "Last KEDRIC and ERIN BASSETT, MICHEkLE DAVIES numerous for one person, even one church, REBECCA ENGLAND, SHAREE HUGHES, SIDNI JONES Call" (SUNSTONE, 12:1), I’m not sure how, or to eliminate. Is it out of line to demand from JORDAN KIMBAkk, TUESDAY MIklUS, SCOTT THORPE if, the Book of Mormon theme of retreating to our political candidates that they address the US. Correspondents the wilderness should be applied today. Cer- problem of the poor and needy? Since most IRENE BATES, BONNIE M. BOBET, BELL.AMY BP, OWN EUZABETH BURDETT, JOHN COX, EARL P CP&NDALL tainly we do not have the ability ~o physically of the poor are women-often single women GEORGE GIVENS, ~ANNE M. GR1FFITHS retreat. Our world is too interconnected for any with children-it may be important for us to MIKE and NANCW HARWARD, JANNA D HAYNIE, VAL HOLLEY person or group to find an island of isolation. reexamine out position on such issues as THOMAS McAFEE, CARRIE MII_ES, ALICE POTTMEYER KENT ROBERTS, "[ EUGENE SHOEMAKER, SHE_RMAN SMOOT However, members of the Church do a pretty health benefits, family/parental leave, low LORIE ’WINDER STROMBERG, LE RUTH WARD TYAU good job of retreating to the womb of the income housing the Equal Rights Amendment, International Correspondents Church. The Church is a fairly comfortable civil rights, the minimum wage, food stamps, TIM BEHREND, PAUL CARPENTER, Australia child care, educational assistance, and pay ’WILFRED DECOO, Belgmm place for most members. We take care of our ROGER MORR1SON, RAY NIEI_SON, Canada hungry and homeless. It is an easy place to equity. JAMES E REA, ED H. ZWANVELD, Canada make friends tbr life. The sick and aged are Given the fact that most women are one JAMES FIELD, WERNER H HOCK, Germany BRETT SCHARPFS, Great Britain attended. We can fill up any time outside of man away from poverty and welfare, it might WILLIAM P COLLINS, Israel home and work with church work or church- be wise to maim sure our daughters are edu- IAN BARBER, New Zealand related activities. But does this suffice for ful- cated and end up with a skill that will serve DAVID B TIMMINS, Mexico them well under a circumstances. We might SCOTT FAULRING, Turkey filling the admonition of the Book of Mormon W and New Testament to take care of the needy look at the ideas we have about poverty and Board of Trustees welfare. Do we cling to myths about poverty, MARTHA S. BRADLEY, chair and poor and to abolish inequality? Nibley’s KENT ?ROGLEY, ED~,\ARD L KIMBALL, BRIAN C. McGA’~qN such as "weliare is an-attractive alternative to article and the Book of Mormon present many working" or "people could get ou t of poverty GLEN LAMBERT, MARYBETH RAYNES, J. BONNER RITCHIE questions. DANIEL H RECTOR, ELBERT EUGENE PECK if they worked harder"? [t might be worthwhile What should our responsibility be to the National Advisory Bored to rethink our attitude on taxation. Is it asking ALAN ACKROYD, C ROSS ANDERSON, MOLLY BENNION poor? Should we sell all that we have and give too much for people who are gifted in making DOUG BRAtTHWAITE, ROBERT 1_. BPdNTON, BELLAMY BROWN it to the poor? If not all, how about selling part? TONY and ANN CANNON, RICHARD K. CIRCUIT over $150,000 a year to contribute more taxes DOI_JGI~S CONDIE, D. ]AMES CROFT, JEFEREY R I-LARDYMAN At what point do we exceed the standard of when nearly half of all children in young fami- SAM HOLMES, REED HUNTER, JERRY KINDP, ED equality? Is a comfortable home, or a second lies are now poor, and when the median FARREI± LINES, ANN and GARY LOBB, PATRICK McKENZIE home, inappropnate when others have no RONALD L. MOLEN, GRANT OSBORN, JOEL and DIANA PETERSON income for a woman in poverty who was SFUART POELMAN, HARDY REDD, ELLEN RICHARDSON home at all? Couldn’t many of us live on less maintaining a family alone and working full ANNETTE ROGERS, JON and MARILYN ROSENLOF income and share the rest with the needy? time, year round, was $7,056 in 19867 GEORGE D. SMITH, JR, NICK SORENSEN, RICHARD SOUTHWlCK ’ROY W SPEAR, SAM STEWART, R JAN STOUt Should any Church leader or member have a I don’t think there are any sure answers. DAVID USHtO, NOLA W WALIACE, DENNIS YOUKSFETTER Mercedes, a BMW, or a large, fancy home? Isn’t Poverty and inequality have been around for this the equivalent of "fancy apparel" as thousands of years. These conditions certainly described in the Book of Mormon? Should we didn’t end, or get any better, with Christ’s PAGE 2 MAY 1988 message.