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Articles 1 - 22 of 22
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Seeking The Feminine Divine: Mormon Women's Religious Authority, Power, And Presence In Rachel Hunt Steenblik's Mother's Milk, Kaitlin Hoelzer
Seeking The Feminine Divine: Mormon Women's Religious Authority, Power, And Presence In Rachel Hunt Steenblik's Mother's Milk, Kaitlin Hoelzer
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Literary theorists like Hélène Cixous and other French feminists have written about l’écriture feminine, a deconstructive force which allows female writers more freedom from male-dominated areas. Because Christianity has been historically male-dominated, Christian women have long used this idea to great effect, using their writing as a space in which they are free to assert power and authority. Mormonism, which arose in the 1830s during the Second Great Awakening, has grown to reinforce a patriarchal model for both family and church leadership, making Cixous’ separate space of writing necessary for Mormon women of the twenty-first century. The Mormon poet …
Lydia Dunford Alder: The Life Of The Mormon Poet, Suffragist, And Missionary, Sarah Kate Johnson Stanley
Lydia Dunford Alder: The Life Of The Mormon Poet, Suffragist, And Missionary, Sarah Kate Johnson Stanley
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis examines the life of Lydia Dunford Alder (1846–1923), who was a prominent but now nearly forgotten early Mormon writer, women’s rights activist, missionary, and leader of various women’s clubs. A respected member of the late-nineteenth– and early-twentieth-century Salt Lake City, Utah community, Alder was the colleague and friend of various distinguished Mormon leaders. While these leaders have been studied in-depth by scholars, Alder’s similar achievements have never been examined in scholarship. As the first comprehensive biography ever written on Alder, this thesis explores her birth in England (1846), her immigration to the United States (1850), her return to …
Out Of The Best Books: Mormon Assimilation And Exceptionalism Through Secular Reading, Lauren Ann Fields
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 …
Prototype For Zion: The Original Provo Tabernacle And The Construction Of Mormon Zion In The American West, Ryan W. Saltzgiver
Prototype For Zion: The Original Provo Tabernacle And The Construction Of Mormon Zion In The American West, Ryan W. Saltzgiver
Theses and Dissertations
During the winter of 2011–2012, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Office of Public Archaeology (OPA) at Brigham Young University (BYU) conducted archaeological explorations in urban Provo, Utah. The purpose of the research was to uncover and document the extant remains of the Original or Old Provo Tabernacle (OPT; 42UT1844). The data recovered from that excavation was the impetus for the current study. Through a combination of documentary and archaeological evidence, and using Mormon theology as a lens through which to interpret the actions of nineteenth century Latter-day Saints, this thesis demonstrates the important role …
Love Your Enemy Evangelical Opposition To Mormonism And Its Effect Upon Mormon Identity, Derek J. Bowen
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 …
We Latter-Day Saints Are Methodists: The Influence Of Methodism On Early Mormon Religiosity, Christopher C. Jones
We Latter-Day Saints Are Methodists: The Influence Of Methodism On Early Mormon Religiosity, Christopher C. Jones
Theses and Dissertations
Historians have long noted Joseph Smith's early interest in Methodism. Demographic studies of early Mormon converts have demonstrated further that many of those attracted to the Mormon message on both sides of the Atlantic came from Methodist backgrounds. These two points, and the many similarities between Methodist and Mormon beliefs and practices, have led many scholars to suggest that Smith's church was influenced by the Methodists who joined the movement. This thesis explores the Methodist backgrounds of those Methodists who converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1830, when Joseph Smith formally organized his church(originally called …
Memoirs Of The Persecuted: Persecution, Memory, And The West As A Mormon Refuge, David W. Grua
Memoirs Of The Persecuted: Persecution, Memory, And The West As A Mormon Refuge, David W. Grua
Theses and Dissertations
The memory of past violence in Missouri and Illinois during the 1830s and 1840s shaped how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Latter-day Saints or Mormons) saw themselves, their persecutors, and the states and the nation where the violence occurred. This thesis explores the role of collective memory of violence in forming Mormon identities and images of place from 1838, when governor Lilburn W. Boggs expelled the Latter-day Saints from Missouri, to 1858, with the conclusion of the Utah War. I argue that Latter-day Saint authors during these two decades used the memory of persecution to …
Julia Hills Johnson, 1783-1853 My Soul Rejoiced, Linda J. Thayne
Julia Hills Johnson, 1783-1853 My Soul Rejoiced, Linda J. Thayne
Theses and Dissertations
Julia Hills Johnson, the 48-year-old wife of Ezekiel Johnson and mother of sixteen children, found spiritual fulfillment in the doctrines of a new religion called Mormonism. Her baptism in 1831 was a simple act that ultimately led her halfway across the American continent, and strained her marital relationship, yet filled her with a sense of spiritual contentment. Julia's commitment to her faith, her tenacity, self-determination and willingness to take risks to participate in this new religious movement sets her apart from other nineteenth-century farm women in New England and New York. Julia's religiosity was self-determined and tenacious. She chose to …
Taking Mormons Seriously: Ethics Of Representing Latter-Day Saints In American Fiction, Terrol Roark Williams
Taking Mormons Seriously: Ethics Of Representing Latter-Day Saints In American Fiction, Terrol Roark Williams
Theses and Dissertations
My paper examines the ethics of representing Mormons in serious American fiction, viewed through two primary texts, Bayard Taylor's nineteenth-century dramatic poem The Prophet and Maureen Whipple's epic novel The Giant Joshua. I also briefly examine Walter Kirn's short stories “Planetarium” and “Whole Other Bodies.” Using Werner Sollors' and Matthew Frye Jacobson's writings on ethnicity as foundational, I argue in that Mormonism constitutes an ethnicity, which designation accentuates the ethical demands of those who represent the group. I also use W.J.T. Mitchell's theories of representation as the basis of my arguments of the ethics of representing ethnicity. As ethical theorists, …
A Peculiar Place For The Peculiar Institution: Slavery And Sovereignty In Early Territorial Utah, Nathaniel R. Ricks
A Peculiar Place For The Peculiar Institution: Slavery And Sovereignty In Early Territorial Utah, Nathaniel R. Ricks
Theses and Dissertations
Between 1830 and 1844, the Mormons slightly shifted their position on African-American slavery, but maintained the middle ground on the issue overall. When Mormons began gathering to Utah in 1847, Southern converts brought their black slaves with them to the Great Basin. In 1852 the first Utah Territorial legislature passed “An Act in Relation to Service" that legalized slavery in Utah. This action was prompted primarily by the need to regulate slavery and contextualize its practice within the Mormon belief system. Ironically, had Congress known of Utah's slave population, it may have never granted Utah the power to legislate on …
A Seal Of Living Reality: The Role Of Personal Expression In Latter-Day Saint Discourse, C. Julianne Smith
A Seal Of Living Reality: The Role Of Personal Expression In Latter-Day Saint Discourse, C. Julianne Smith
Theses and Dissertations
A personal mode of discourse is central to Latter-day Saint culture. This mode is both pervasive throughout the culture and significant within it. Two specific genres-the personal experience narrative and the personal testimony-illustrate the importance of this discourse mode in LDS culture. Understanding the LDS personal mode of discourse is essential to properly understanding Mormonism. The personal orientation in LDS discourse mirrors a tendency towards personal expression which has become common throughout Western culture. This tendency has important roots in the Protestant religious movement. In particular, Puritanism represents a significant point of origin for American personal expression. Such expression has …
The Meaning Of Religious Belief, Practice, And Community For Latter-Day Saint Fathers Of Children With Special Needs, Loren Dean Marks
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.