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Articles 1 - 30 of 287
Full-Text Articles in History
A Diabolical Disneyland In Zion: The Mormons And The Mx, Jacob W. Olmstead
A Diabolical Disneyland In Zion: The Mormons And The Mx, Jacob W. Olmstead
Theses and Dissertations
In September 1979 President Jimmy Carter publicly announced his decision to support the deployment of the MX missile and mobile basing scheme in Utah and Nevada. Despite local opposition and the close proximity of the proposed base to its headquarters, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) remained silent until 5 May 1981, when the First Presidency issued a statement opposing the MX plans. The purpose of this work is to narrate the history of the development of the Mormon position regarding the deployment of MX missile in the Great Basin and evaluate the response to the statement …
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison
Theses and Dissertations
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to receive exposure in national periodicals. This thesis will explore that image from 1982 to 1990. During those years, the church continued to grow in membership and expand its existing programs.
National periodicals can assist in assessing the public image of the Church because they help "mould public attitudes by presenting facts and views on issues in exactly the same way at the same time throughout the entire country." In this manner, they help to form the public opinion about the Church. They also reflect existing opinions because magazine publishers …
Utah's Plight: A Passage Through The Great Depression, Joseph F. Darowski
Utah's Plight: A Passage Through The Great Depression, Joseph F. Darowski
Theses and Dissertations
The Great Depression marked a fateful passage in the annals of the American people. President Roosevelt's New Deal, the nation's signature response, proved to be a determined but erratic reaction. Against the backdrop of a nation deeply mired in an unrelenting international depression, dramatic events played themselves out in the lives of the men and women of Utah. Throughout, fidelity to principles of independence, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency were sorely challenged.
The people of Utah found succor in two almost diametrically opposed responses. The New Deal offered an amalgam of programs and panaceas through which the federal government attempted to deliver …
The Diaries Of Mary Lois Walker Morris, Melissa Lambert Milewski
The Diaries Of Mary Lois Walker Morris, Melissa Lambert Milewski
Theses and Dissertations
An edited transcription of the 1879 to 1887 diaries of Mary Lois Walker Morris (1835-1919). Mary Lois, a plural wife in 19th century Utah, went in and out of hiding between 1885 and 1887 to protect her husband Elias Morris from prosecution for illegal cohabitation. Her daily diaries culminate with the court trial of her husband for illegal cohabitation in September 1887. At the trial, she testified falsely, stating that she had been separated from her husband since the beginning of 1883, when in fact the couple did not separate until May of 1885. As a result, her husband was …
A History Of "Especially For Youth" - 1976-1986, John Bytheway
A History Of "Especially For Youth" - 1976-1986, John Bytheway
Theses and Dissertations
The summer of 2002 marked the 26th anniversary of the youth camp “Especially for Youth” (EFY). Over 34,000 teenagers from across the United States, Canada and several foreign countries gathered on thirty-one different college campuses to attend one of the sixty-four sessions of the five-day program. Since the first session in 1976, Especially for Youth has enjoyed steady increases in attendance and popularity. Beginning in the early 1980s, the program's success reached the point that applicants were turned away because there was not enough space to house all those who wanted to attend.
EFY is sponsored by Brigham Young University …
The "Unidentified Pioneers": An Analysis Of Staffordshire Mormons, 1837 To 1870, Stephen G. Arrowsmith
The "Unidentified Pioneers": An Analysis Of Staffordshire Mormons, 1837 To 1870, Stephen G. Arrowsmith
Theses and Dissertations
The evidence presented in this thesis advocates an increased level of scholarly interest in English working-class Mormon converts. To illustrate who these people were, and what their roles were as part of Mormon story, this regional study introduces and makes available over twelve hundred Staffordshire Mormons, and asks questions of the collected statistical information. The conservative Staffordshire Mormons clearly assisted the establishment, and continuation, off a Zion in the American West. Much of the data confirms previous scholarship; however, those with “differing visions” of Mormonism (for example, the RLDS Church) attracted Staffordshire converts in larger numbers than previously suggested. The …
Island Of Tranquility: Rhetoric And Identification At Brigham Young University During The Vietnam Era, Brian D. Jackson
Island Of Tranquility: Rhetoric And Identification At Brigham Young University During The Vietnam Era, Brian D. Jackson
Theses and Dissertations
The author argues that beyond religious beliefs and conservative politics, rhetorical identification played an important role in the relative calmness of the BYU campus during the turbulent Sixties. Using Bitzer's rhetorical situation theory and Burke's identification theory, the author shows that BYU's calm campus can be explained as a result of communal identification with a conservative ethos. He also shows that apparent epistemological shortcomings of Bitzer's model can be resolved by considering the power of identification to create salience and knowledge in rhetorical situations. During the Sixties, BYU administration developed policies on physical appearance that invited students to take on …
A History Of The Latter-Day Saints In The Columbia Basin Of Central Washington 1850-1972, Rick B. Jorgensen
A History Of The Latter-Day Saints In The Columbia Basin Of Central Washington 1850-1972, Rick B. Jorgensen
Theses and Dissertations
The Columbia Basin of Central Washington has a relatively recent Latter-day Saint history among the regions of the western states. Most of the sparsely populated rural areas in the west that have large concentrations of Latter-day Saints were originally established as "Mormon" settlements. The basin referred to lies between the Snake and Columbia Rivers and now has thousands of Latter-day Saints who have chosen to inhabit the historically barren land and call it their home. A brief visit or casual observance of the area leads many to question what were the major factors and characteristics leading to the twentieth century …
A Biographical Study Of Elizabeth D. Kane, Darcee D. Barnes
A Biographical Study Of Elizabeth D. Kane, Darcee D. Barnes
Theses and Dissertations
This is a biographical study of Elizabeth D. Kane (1836-1909), travel writer and wife of Thomas L. Kane, non-Mormon friend of the nineteenth-century Mormons of Utah. Primary source materials are mainly Elizabeth's fourteen diaries (spanning the years 1853 to 1909), letters and narrative accounts. Elizabeth was greatly influenced by Thomas, while maintaining her independence. She was interested in religion and feminist issues, and those interests, combined with her marital relationship, shaped her life's direction. Thomas Kane's interest in the Mormons also influenced Elizabeth's religious and feminist views, and she initially struggled with accepting Thomas's work for them because of their …
Faith, Femininity, And The Frontier: The Life Of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Amy Reynolds Billings
Faith, Femininity, And The Frontier: The Life Of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Amy Reynolds Billings
Theses and Dissertations
Through examining the life of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, a nineteenth-century Mormon woman, this thesis establishes an analytical framework for studying the lives of Mormon women in territorial Utah. Their faith, femininity, and the frontier form the boundaries in which their lives are studied. Their faith was primarily defined by the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as a belief in a restored gospel and priesthood, temples, and polygamy. These unique beliefs also fostered an identity as a chosen people and contributed to hostile feelings from their neighbors. Persecution followed and the Latter-day Saint community …
The Historical Debate Among Leaders Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints On The Topic Of The United Nations, Katie Marie Lenhard
The Historical Debate Among Leaders Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints On The Topic Of The United Nations, Katie Marie Lenhard
Theses and Dissertations
Since the inception of the United Nations in 1945, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have made public statements regarding the international peace and security organization. To the confusion of many Church members, who often look to their leaders for prophetic guidance on numerous spiritual and temporal topics, these statements have been conflicting. Some Church leaders have clearly opposed the United Nations and others have openly supported it, offering various ideological explanations for their beliefs. Yet, it is evident that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never made an official position on the …
American Prophet, New England Town: The Memory Of Joseph Smith In Vermont, Keith A. Erekson
American Prophet, New England Town: The Memory Of Joseph Smith In Vermont, Keith A. Erekson
Theses and Dissertations
In December 1905, a large granite monument was erected at the birthplace of Joseph Smith on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. This thesis relates the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument from its origins through its construction and dedication. It also explores its impact on the memory of Joseph Smith in the local, Vermont, and national context. I argue that the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument in Vermont is the story of the formation and validation of the memory of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet.
Nineteenth century Mormons remembered a variety of individual memories …
The Symphony In America: Maurice Abravanel, And The Utah Symphony Orchestra: The Battle For Classical Music, Alex D. Smith
The Symphony In America: Maurice Abravanel, And The Utah Symphony Orchestra: The Battle For Classical Music, Alex D. Smith
Theses and Dissertations
Between 1947 and 1979 the Utah Symphony Orchestra was transformed from an obscure, part-time, amateur orchestra into one of the major symphony orchestras in America. By 1947 the orchestra, which had begun as a Works Progress Administration organization, was barely hanging on. The symphony struggled to remain financially solvent, performing only a few concerts per year. Thirty-two years later the Utah Symphony Orchestra was one of the most prestigious musical ensembles in the country— receiving rave reviews from critics around the world, touring extensively, and with more than a hundred albums to its credit. The remarkable growth of the Utah …
A Study Of The Hill Cumorah: A Significant Latter-Day Saint Landmark In Western New York, Cameron J. Packer
A Study Of The Hill Cumorah: A Significant Latter-Day Saint Landmark In Western New York, Cameron J. Packer
Theses and Dissertations
Early Church member W. W. Phelps wrote, "Cumorah...is well calculated to stand in this generation, as a monument of marvelous works and wonders" (Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, November 1835, 2:221). With a stately monument of the Angel Moroni cresting its summit, and a yearly pageant commemorating salient events associated with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, it is fulfilling the exact role that Phelps envisioned. However, the general population of the Church is relatively unfamiliar with the history of this significant Latter-day Saint landmark. The following thesis is an in depth study and documentation of certain historical …
The Secret Wife, Jill Elena Sharland
The Secret Wife, Jill Elena Sharland
Theses and Dissertations
This master's thesis project is the first half of a historical novel concerning the involvement of Elvira Field Strang Baker, the first plural wife of James Jesse Strang, with the "Beaver Island Mormons" who followed Strang from Nauvoo shortly after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. The events portrayed are historical, although fictionalized. This portion of the novel contains a brief introduction to her childhood in Chapter One and follows her involvement with the Strangite movement beginning in April 1847 to the coronation of her husband in. Elvira was the first plural wife of James Jesse Strang who to …
"Give It All Up And Follow Your Lord": Mormon Female Religiosity, 1831-1843, Janiece L. Johnson
"Give It All Up And Follow Your Lord": Mormon Female Religiosity, 1831-1843, Janiece L. Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
Since the 1750s American women have flocked to churches. Women have consistently been the majority in church populations. Religion was the central motivation of the female life experience. Likewise, women comprised a significant portion of the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its first decade. There exists little historical analysis of the contribution and experience of these women as a whole. As a result of this lack of research some historians have made erroneous assumptions of patriarchal oppression and a lack of commitment on the part of early Mormon women. This project closely examines the …
Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen
Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen
Theses and Dissertations
In his 1978 biography of Dorothea Lange, Milton Meltzer appraised Lange's 1936 photography in Utah as nothing more than mundane work done for the benefit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and not for her own benefit as a photographer. Yet, her work in Utah encapsulates the aspirations, goals, and styles of Lange, and gives insight into her vision as a photographer and representative of the New Deal. Through carefully composed photographs, Lange shows the hardships and hope of life in Utah during the Great Depression.
This thesis investigates Lange's photographs in order to gain a greater understanding of the …
Becoming Mormon Men: Male Rites Of Passage And The Rise Of Mormonism In Nineteenth-Century America, Bruce R. Lott
Becoming Mormon Men: Male Rites Of Passage And The Rise Of Mormonism In Nineteenth-Century America, Bruce R. Lott
Theses and Dissertations
The evidence presented in this thesis supports a view of the first Mormon men as coming from the agrarian majority of early nineteenth-century American farmers and artisans who embraced a set of manly ideals that differed significantly, in many ways, from those embraced by their middle-class contemporaries. These men's life writings attest to boyhood experiences of working alongside their fathers as soon as they were physically able, and subsequently of acting as substitute farmers and breadwinners as well as being put out to work outside the direct supervision of their fathers. Such experiences enabled them to frequently follow in the …
Multiple Discourses In Early Mormon Religion, Jon M. Duncan
Multiple Discourses In Early Mormon Religion, Jon M. Duncan
Theses and Dissertations
The development of early Mormon religion is best viewed in the context of multiple discourses, each of which contained various competing symbols. These discourses shaped the mind and world-view of early Latter-day Saints and determined in part their behavior. Prophetic symbols existed simultaneously with other, more American symbols; and while neither discourse excluded the other, a prophetic discourse gradually came to dominate. At the same time, however, the American discourse in Mormon religion remained intact and continued to influence the behavior and actions of early Mormons.
Gemeindegeschichte Als Vergleichende Geschichte: The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In East Germany, Bruce W. Hall
Gemeindegeschichte Als Vergleichende Geschichte: The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In East Germany, Bruce W. Hall
Theses and Dissertations
From 1945 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) endured the hardships of existing as a religious organization under a Communist regime. An evaluation of the LDS Church within the category of general and minority religions, which serves as a microcosmic evaluation of religion in the GDR, constitutes one part of this study. The uniqueness of the LDS Church and its experience - especially its American ties, ironically earlier a liability and later an asset - make it a candidate for a …
An Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Mormon Humor, Sherlene Hall Bartholomew
An Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Mormon Humor, Sherlene Hall Bartholomew
Theses and Dissertations
This "Annotated Bibliography of Literary Mormon Humor" includes over five hundred sources, cross-referenced to pertinent commentary and criticism, and divided into seven sections: "Humor in Mormon Fiction," "Humor in Mormon Non-Fiction," "Mormon Criticism Assessing ‘Inside Humor,’" "Gentile Criticism of the Saints' Humor," "Gentile Humor About Mormons," "Mormon Criticism of Gentile Humor," and "Mormon Internet Humor," all made accessible to scholars by a comprehensive index of more than one thousand topics. The author has filed selected photocopied pages of alphabetized, annotated items by author, or chronologically as periodicals, into a twenty-volume Archive of Mormon Humor in Literature, housed at the Center …
Dear Father, Rochelle A. Fankhauser
Dear Father, Rochelle A. Fankhauser
Theses and Dissertations
Dear Father is a memoir of one year of the life of Shelly Fankhauser. Experiencing the death of her grandfather and husband, she is forced to reexamine her basic belief system as a New Zealand Maori LDS woman. Through her losses and the process of her grief, she discovers the identity that she was struggling to find did not come from her culture or her religion as she had once thought, but from within herself.
Dear Father is an autobiographical account of finding inner strength and discovering hope.
Epideictic Rhetoric And The Formation Of Collective Identity: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women In Praise Of Polygamy, Robbyn Thompson Scribner
Epideictic Rhetoric And The Formation Of Collective Identity: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women In Praise Of Polygamy, Robbyn Thompson Scribner
Theses and Dissertations
In this thesis, I will proceed as follows: my first chapter will be a general overview of epideictic rhetoric, focusing on the limitations of how it has traditionally been viewed and understood by theorists. At the end of that chapter I will establish a working definition of epideictic which extends traditional views about how epideictic can function in certain types of writings, focusing on the important role of the speaker in epideictic rhetoric and how it can work in enabling a community to create a collective identity. In the remainder of the thesis, I will analyze two texts in which …
Utopian Marriage In Nineteenth-Century America: Public And Private Discourse, Brenda Olsen Andrus
Utopian Marriage In Nineteenth-Century America: Public And Private Discourse, Brenda Olsen Andrus
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of utopian discourse about marriage in mid-nineteenth-century America. Although utopian communities are usually approached within the fields of history and sociology, a rhetorical analysis adds to the discussion by uncovering the discursive complexity of marriage beliefs within a rapidly changing culture. Discursive features of the Shaker, Oneida Community and Latter-day Saint texts are outlined and compared according to the following format:
Chapter One examines the textures of conflict within the dominant culture's views of marriage and gender roles in nineteenth-century America, with a brief overview of reform efforts of the day. This chapter provides …
Mormon Culture Meets Popular Fiction: Susa Young Gates And The Cultural Work Of Home Literature, Lisa Olsen Tait
Mormon Culture Meets Popular Fiction: Susa Young Gates And The Cultural Work Of Home Literature, Lisa Olsen Tait
Theses and Dissertations
The few studies of Mormon home literature that have been published to date dismiss it as inferior artistry, an embarrassing if necessary step in the progression towards true Mormon literature. These studies are inadequate, however, because they divorce the texts from their context, holding them up to standards that did not exist for their original audience. Jane Tompkins' theory of texts as cultural work provides a more satisfactory way of looking at these narratives.
Home literature is thoroughly enmeshed in the cultural discourse of its day. Beneath the surface, these didactic stories about young Mormons finding love with their foreordained …
Children On The Mormon Trail, Jill Jacobsen Andros
Children On The Mormon Trail, Jill Jacobsen Andros
Theses and Dissertations
Using first person, reminiscent accounts, this thesis examines children's lives on the Mormon Trail. It attempts to shed further light on the story of the Mormon Trail by sharing the perspectives of pioneers who crossed the plains as children. This study focuses on such issues as the children's impressions of the trail, their experiences on it, their duties, their family life, and the influence of religion. This study highlights the symbiotic relationship between children and the trail: children affected trail life and at the same time were affected by their experiences on the trail. Children shouldered responsibilites that were essential …
A Mormon Cultural Study Of Musical Preference, Alden L. Weight
A Mormon Cultural Study Of Musical Preference, Alden L. Weight
Theses and Dissertations
Music is an important yet relatively unnoticed part of the everyday world almost all of us take for granted. Whether in the car, watching television, shopping, at work or at home, even waking up in the morning or going to sleep at night, and so forth, music surrounds us, soothes us, disturbs us, and occasionally goes so far as to persuade us. Although music plays a significant role in many areas of life, its relationship to society is especially evident in the religious sphere. Therefore, the religious sphere is an ideal place to examine what music does and what it …
History Of The Lds Southern States Mission, 1875-1898, Heather M. Seferovich
History Of The Lds Southern States Mission, 1875-1898, Heather M. Seferovich
Theses and Dissertations
This in-depth study of late nineteenth-century missionary work in the Southern States Mission examines the encounter of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the American South. It highlights some of the region's varying conditions affecting missionary work and reports the elders' responses to new and different situations, peoples, and subcultures. Examining missionary work from the elders' viewpoint creates a better understanding of what the missionaries experienced and how they reacted to new situations outside the Mormon "corridor" of settlement in the American West. The statistical analysis of the 1,689 elders in the Mission reveals new details about …
The Real Utah War: The Mountaineer's Efforts To Combat The Valley Tan, Robert E. Fleming
The Real Utah War: The Mountaineer's Efforts To Combat The Valley Tan, Robert E. Fleming
Theses and Dissertations
The Utah War and its aftermath changed Utah and the Mormons forever. This change came because of the growing Gentile influence in the territory and was reflected most adequately in the current periodicals of the period. The Valley Tan and the Mountaineer are especially important because their opposition to one another brought many important issues to the forefront of discussion. These issues would be important to the Mormons learning to live and work with those not of their faith and to share in their Zion.
These newspapers were successful in giving to its reader, both past and present, a glimpse …
A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey
A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey
Theses and Dissertations
This interpretive study investigated the "quilt" and its significance to Latter-day Saint Women. Mormon master quilters were chosen because of their knowledge of fabrics, patterns, and symbolism, their skill levels, and their intense interest in quilting. The researcher conducted interviews with the master quilters from July 1995 to April 1996. Field notes were taken and data concerning both observed actions and verbal comments regarding the importance of the quilt were collected, charted, coded, and analyzed.
Several dominant patterns and themes emerged from analyses of the data, including: quilting is an enjoyable and active art form among Mormon women, pattern selection …