Cornucopia

The Gospel of Kristine

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As we’re all told in Sunday School, “Gospel” means “good news.” And it’s certainly good news that T&S emeritus (and current BCC) blogger Kristine Haglund is going to be taking over as editor of Dialogue.

The SLTrib story has some great quotes, such as:

Haglund is “a fantastic writer who is also very spiritual and feels deeply connected with the church,” said Dan Wotherspoon, editor of Dialogue’s sister publication, Sunstone magazine. “She is fully ‘in the fray,’ so to speak, writing from the perspective of a mother, a musician, a scholar and lover of literature.”

. . .

She has big plans to build on the journal’s sturdy foundation, and to expand its reach, especially in three particular groups: scholars of religion who bring comparative insights to the study of Mormonism, a broader range of Mormon thinkers than the simplistic divide along “conservative” and “liberal,” and “thoughtful young people.”

. . .

“Many, many people long for a way to acknowledge the flaws of the church, to think and speak critically about silly aspects of our culture, and assess the inevitable mistakes of human leaders trying to interpret God’s will, while still affirming the essential goodness of Mormonism,” Haglund wrote as part of her application for the job. “I’ve battled through some of the big issues – gender roles, homosexuality, intellectual freedom, historiography – and managed not just to stay in, but to stay happily.”

Congratulations, Kristine. This is a great move for Dialogue — gutsy and high-reward, a move to address the demographic changes in the Mormon studies market. And it’s great news for a longtime bloggernacle stalwart and good friend. We bloggernackers all know what Kristine can do; and the Dialogue world, if they don’t know already, are going to find out. (Prepare to be dazzled.)

And in case it’s not evident — you should all count this as yet another reason (perhaps the best one yet) to make sure that your subscription to Dialogue is current.

(Okay, enough of the non-seasonal stuff — go read Kristine’s posts (and Russell’s) about Easter.)

9 comments for “The Gospel of Kristine”

  1. Many, many congratulations, Kristine. You’re a person of intelligence, generosity, humor, and you’ve got a sharp eye and a great sense of humor–all of which are things that you’ll probably have to call upon regularly in your new position! You’ll do wonderfully, and Dialogue will only benefit from your work.

  3. Kaimi, I think you’re right on with your observation about demographic shifts. The “graying” of the independent journal readers is no secret. (I remember attending special sessions at Suntone symposiums years ago where they tried to figure out what to do about it, with little to no success.) I agree that this is a brilliant move on Dialogue’s part, for many reasons, but for that one in particular.

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