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Religion

Theses and Dissertations

Mormonism

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Out Of The Best Books: Mormon Assimilation And Exceptionalism Through Secular Reading, Lauren Ann Fields Jun 2016

Out Of The Best Books: Mormon Assimilation And Exceptionalism Through Secular Reading, Lauren Ann Fields

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between Mormon assimilation, exceptionalism, and their endeavors in secular reading by analyzing Out of the Best Books (OOBB), a 1964–71 five-volume reading guide and reading program on secular reading established by the Mormon Church for its women’s organization, the Relief Society. Examining the approaches to secular literature in the OOBB program suggests that Mormons can respond to their competing desires to separate and assimilate by making efforts that fulfill both aspirations simultaneously rather than moving exclusively in one direction. Yet OOBB’s efforts to achieve both objectives did not amount to an entirely seamless …


Love Your Enemy Evangelical Opposition To Mormonism And Its Effect Upon Mormon Identity, Derek J. Bowen Jul 2012

Love Your Enemy Evangelical Opposition To Mormonism And Its Effect Upon Mormon Identity, Derek J. Bowen

Theses and Dissertations

Evangelical Protestant Christians have been one of the primary groups opposing Mormons since the beginnings of Mormonism in the 1820s. This thesis is an examination of the historical basis for Evangelical opposition to Mormonism and the impact of that opposition on Mormon identity. This study is divided into three chronological chapters representing the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries in America. Evangelical animosity towards Mormonism was grounded in the Christian heretical tradition begun in the second century AD. Because of this tradition, Evangelicals were inherently afraid of heresy for two main reasons: temporal treason and eternal damnation. Due to the heterodox …


The Meaning Of Religious Belief, Practice, And Community For Latter-Day Saint Fathers Of Children With Special Needs, Loren Dean Marks Jan 1999

The Meaning Of Religious Belief, Practice, And Community For Latter-Day Saint Fathers Of Children With Special Needs, Loren Dean Marks

Theses and Dissertations

While the tragedy of American fatherlessness has evoked a growing body of research, religious beliefs, practices, and communities have not been a significant part of the scholarly discussion. This article discusses possible reasons for this and reviews the religion and family literature with a focus on fathers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 Latter-day Saint (LDS) fathers of children with special needs and analyzed to examine the meaning of religious experience for these fathers and their families. Analysis indicated three dimensions of religious experience: spiritual belief, religious practice, and faith community. The spiritual belief in an eternal perspective, including the …


Christian Feminist Publications And Structures Of Constraint: A Comparison Of Daughters Of Sarah And Exponent Ii Within The Contexts Of Neo-Evangelicalism And Mormonism, Sasha S. Cluff Jan 1996

Christian Feminist Publications And Structures Of Constraint: A Comparison Of Daughters Of Sarah And Exponent Ii Within The Contexts Of Neo-Evangelicalism And Mormonism, Sasha S. Cluff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses content analysis to compare two conservative Christian feminist publications: Daughters of Sarah, produced by neo-evangelical feminists, and Exponent II, produced by Mormon feminists. Findings are based on insights from three main theories: Debra Minkoff's organization-environment perspective, Nancy Folbre's model of collective action based on structures of constraint, and the church-sect typology from the sociology of religion literature. Although both organizations similarly endeavor to integrate feminist and religious identities, the loose boundaries of evangelicalism allow Daughters of Sarah to explore a more liberal feminist agenda and interact with broader feminist sources while still remaining within the …


Mormon Opposition Literature: A Historiographical Critique And Case Study, 1844-57, William P. Connors Jan 1994

Mormon Opposition Literature: A Historiographical Critique And Case Study, 1844-57, William P. Connors

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is in three parts. The first part looks at the historical scholarship on writings opposed to Mormonism, especially those from the nineteenth century. The conclusion is that, despite hundreds of works written against Mormonism in its early years, the historical scholarship has not done justice to the writings or people involved. The vast majority of the writings and writers have not been analyzed, and those that are discussed are usually the most sensational and not representative of the genre.

The second part of this thesis is a a case study giving an example of the kind of work …


Lds, Catholic And Secular Perspectives On Development In The Dominican Republic, Gregory L. Adams Jan 1994

Lds, Catholic And Secular Perspectives On Development In The Dominican Republic, Gregory L. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses six world views concerning development in the Dominican Republic. Catholic and LDS traditions assert that full development is life with God and life with God as a god, respectively. The LDS church has experienced rapid growth in the Dominican Republic, but must deal with less active and illiterate members. The catholic tradition permeates Dominican culture but must deal both with a scarcity of priests and a schism among the clergy.

The secular chapter combines many secular views into four, based on lan Mitroff's and Ralph Kilmann's extension of C.G. Jung psychological types. Analytic Scientists have historically dominated …


Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering In Great Britain, 1837-1860, Craig L. Foster Jan 1989

Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering In Great Britain, 1837-1860, Craig L. Foster

Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of Mormonism into Great Britain was met with both success and resistence. The major form of British resistence to the Latter-day Saints was through the press. From the introduction of the Church into Great Britain in 1837 to 1860, numerous anti-Mormon pamphlets were published to discourage people from associating with what was considered to be a strange American sect.

The major themes of a number of these tracts have been analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of how the Mormons were perceived by the British. Some of the major themes included the evil character of Joseph …


The World And Joseph Smith, Lane D. Ward Jan 1980

The World And Joseph Smith, Lane D. Ward

Theses and Dissertations

It is felt by some historians that Joseph Smith was a product of his environment; that his teachings were the amplifications of religious doctrines surrounding his life experience in early America.
Some writings which have been published show similarities between Joseph's "Mormonism" and contemporary religions.
It should be rememebered, however, that if Joseph Smith's call, as restorer, were all that he professed it to be (and he was not alone in that profession), there would, indeed, exist paralleling truths surrounding his "restored" gospel. For, as Joseph tells us, the gospel was preached from the beginning. If that is true, we …


A Study Of Historical Evidences Related To Lds Church As Reflected In Volumes Xiv Through Xxvi Of The Journal Of Discourses, Terry J. Aubrey Apr 1976

A Study Of Historical Evidences Related To Lds Church As Reflected In Volumes Xiv Through Xxvi Of The Journal Of Discourses, Terry J. Aubrey

Theses and Dissertations

The material in this study is a follow-up of a thesis done by Paul C. Richards entitled, "A Study of Evidences Related to LDS Church History as Reflected in Volumes I through XIII of the Journal of Discourse." That same basic format has been employed in treating the last thirteen volumes of the Discourses.

The Discourses contains addresses delivered by General Authorities of the LDS Church and others from 1854 to 1886. Until Richards did his thesis, no one had compiled an index of those volumes that dealt exclusively with history related to the LDS Church. This study …


The Public Relations Practices Of Directors Of Institutes Of Religion Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In California, 1974-75, Ronald Charl Louw Jan 1976

The Public Relations Practices Of Directors Of Institutes Of Religion Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In California, 1974-75, Ronald Charl Louw

Theses and Dissertations

Seventy-five directors of the Institutes of Religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California, responded to a questionnaire regarding their public relations' practices. Institute directors with formal training in public relations utilized more practices, an average of 30.4, than directors without formal training who used an average of 26.9 practices. Institute directors in different locations (divisions) did not differ in the average number of practices used. Seventeen percent of the directors had structured public relations' programs. Directors emphasized more frequently public relations practices relating to priesthood leaders (72 percent) and students (67 percent) than practices relating …


For God And Country: Mormon Chaplains During World War Ii, Richard Maher Jan 1975

For God And Country: Mormon Chaplains During World War Ii, Richard Maher

Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) is a lay church inasmuch as it has no professionally trained ministers. Because of this, the Chaplains Corps during World War II questioned whether members of the Mormon faith could serve effectively as chaplains. The answer to the effectiveness of Mormon chaplains is found in their performance as many received high praise from their superiors.
During the Second World War, the Mormon Church provided the military services with a total of 45 chaplains, and although only 45 served, they saw duty in all theaters of war and served at such major …


A Study Of The Social And Economic Conditions Of A Sample Of The Blind Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, M. Lynn Cruser Jan 1963

A Study Of The Social And Economic Conditions Of A Sample Of The Blind Members Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, M. Lynn Cruser

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were (1) to learn how many persons who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were blind, (2) to determine the social and economic conditions of these blind members, and (3) to learn what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done to promote employment of blind members through its Welfare Program, and how this was accomplished.


An Analysis Of References To The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In General Magazines Of The United States During Selected Periods Between 1847 And 1953, Herbert Newel Morris Jan 1958

An Analysis Of References To The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In General Magazines Of The United States During Selected Periods Between 1847 And 1953, Herbert Newel Morris

Theses and Dissertations

This study was proposed to analyze articles referring to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the national magazine press. A "symbol coding" form of content analysis was used, in which each pertinent word or name was categorized, counted as indulgent or deprivatory and classified as to the thematic nature of the text.