Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, Identity Conflict, And Psychosocial Health Amongst Same-Sex Attracted Mormons, John P. Dehlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both religiosity and sexuality are acknowledged by the American Psychological Association as important considerations for overall psychosocial well-being. Consequently, the denunciation of same-sex sexuality as sinful by many religious organizations leads many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to experience significant identity conflict. Historically, conservative religious institutions such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have offered
developmental (i.e., nonbiological) explanations as to the origins of same sexuality, along with various nonaffirming approaches including: (a) sexual orientation change efforts, (b) increased religious devotion, (c) celibacy, and (d) mixed-orientation (heterosexual) marriage. However, relatively little research has been conducted …

The Italian Press And The Church: Italian Newspaper Coverage Of Lds-Related News And The Media Strategies Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In Italy 2010-2012, Giulia Vibilio Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between media and religion has been influenced by many factors in history. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has received a great deal of media attention throughout the world in the past five years. In Italy, the Church National Council of Public Relations worked to provide the media with the necessary information to report accurate news about the Church. This thesis collected the information provided to the Italian media by the Church National Council and analyzed the main topic and the level of accuracy reported by the Italian media on Church-related news. The results show that …

The Good Life: Mormons And Money, Rachel Donaldson Cranney

Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses the paradoxical beliefs and conceptualizations about money and stewardship among young adult Mormons and its consequences for the Mormon identity. The findings for this paper are based on 12 in-depth interviews with Brigham Young University students, recently graduated students, and, when applicable, their spouses, totaling 20 interviewees between the ages of 20 and 31. The data suggest that unique beliefs surrounding money have emerged from the Mormon culture as remnants of their early Mormon values still lingering in contemporary Mormon culture clash with the individualistic and consumer culture surrounding the interviewees. Interviewees demonstrate cognitive dissonance as they …

A Case Study Of The Impact Of Filmmaker Decisions In The Construction Of A Documentary: Helen Whitney's (2007) The Mormons, Elizabeth Joy Mott

Theses and Dissertations

Informed by theories of media framing, exemplification, and non-fiction film production, this case study used as its sample for textual analysis the typed transcripts from the final cut of Helen Whitney's (2007) documentary film, The Mormons, and the interview transcripts of the 15 key commentators interviewed for the documentary. These theories suggest that (a) media producers condense topics in the media by selecting information that connects news stories to a larger context and imbues them with symbolic value; (b) verbal and visual examples have been shown to be more easily retrieved in memory than abstract ideas and are consequently …

Religious Networks As A Sociolinguistic Factor: The Case Of Cardston, Benjamin Joseph Chatterton

Theses and Dissertations

Religious affiliation and its inherent membership in an associated social network as a sociolinguistic factor is examined in the community of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Cardston, Alberta. Building on Meechan's 1998 findings that the LDS community in the area used Canadian Raising in a different set of phonotactic environments than the surrounding non-LDS English speakers, the study aims to determine if the LDS community uses other Canadian speech features differently or less frequently and if any Utah features (defined as Utah English in the literature, being the language of LDS English speakers in Utah) have continued from the settling of …

Religion And The Everyday Ritual Of Home Life: A Comparison Of Higher And Lower Family Functioning Groups, Rachel Wadsworth Loser

Theses and Dissertations

As scholarly interest in family religiosity has grown, scholars have called for a closer look at proximal measures of religiosity that are more connected to the individual and familial daily experience (Mahoney et al., 1999). The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail how religion and family religious rituals relate to, interface with, and affect the day-to-day activity of family life. It includes qualitative analysis of interviews with highly religious parents and children in 67 families that belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Grounded theory was employed to analyze the data and a conceptual …

Latter-Day Saints In Popular National Periodicals 1970-1981, Adam H. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The public image of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the product of several factors. This thesis investigates that image as presented in national periodicals from 1970 to 1981. During this time "Mormons" and "Mormonism" was a popular topic as the religion gained notoriety, and as an awareness of its peculiar beliefs and practices increased.

The rationale for using national magazines to assess public image is the assumption that they "reflect prevailing points of view" and help "formulate public opinion." Since popular attitudes are one of the factors that influence how the Church is accepted in the …

Dating Behavior Of Latter-Day Saint Male Returned Missionaries: A Process Of Managing Desires, Nancy C. Mclaughlin

Theses and Dissertations

Each year thousands of Latter-day Saint males return to their homes after serving a two year religious mission. According to Latter-day Saint doctrine and cultural beliefs, these young men are expected to resume a normal life including dating and involvement in romantic relationships. Research and Latter-day Saint doctrine related to the dating behavior of returned missionaries (RMs) is reviewed. Most previous research has emphasized the quantitative analysis of single aspects of RMs dating behavior such as dating frequency and social status. In an attempt to add to this field of research, this qualitative analysis explored the attitudes and experiences of …

Representing Culture: Reflexivity And Mormon Folklore Scholarship, David A. Allred

Theses and Dissertations

When writing about a culture, ethnographers can convey important insights about society. However, ethnography can also misrepresent culture. To address this fact, reflexive ethnography attempts to influence both the methodology and the rhetoric of writing about culture. Reflexivity seeks to acknowledge the bias of the researcher. To include the voice of the cultural insiders, and to more closely represent the dynamics of cultures that always have an element of hybridity. However, reflexive ethnographies can also be unwieldy and impractical. Therefore, one must find a pragmatic application of reflexivity.

Reflexivity can have application to Mormon folklore studies. The most important Mormon …

The Influence Of Religiosity In The Construction Of Meaning From Advertising Messages Intended To Promote Lifestyle Values, Lillian Billing

Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity has largely been ignored by consumer research as a factor in the negotiation of meaning from magazine advertisements containing lifestyle messages. A meaning based study was undertaken to seek to identify its presence and emergence within a religious audience. A qualitative methodology employing in-depth, phenomenological interviewing was designed. Six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, three men and three women, were invited to give their interpretations, thoughts, and feelings towards four magazine advertisements. A second in-depth phenomenological interview was conducted with each participant to provide individual lifeworld contexts. Analysis employed a previously tested conceptual construct, …

The Mormon Influence On The Political Geography Of The West, Michael Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

The vast colonization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, in the nineteenth century had a profund impact on the populating, culture, economy, and environment of much of the American West. This thesis examines the political geographic influence of the Mormons in the West and, more specifically, in the lands ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848. This land comprises all or portions of the following states: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The original organization of the Mexican Cession at the hands of Congress in 1850 was drastically influenced by …

Religiosity And Life Satisfaction Among Lds College Students, Po Nien Chou

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction among Latter-day Saints (LDS) college students. The scales used were the religiosity scale by Chadwick and Top (1993), and the life satisfaction scale by Neugarten, Havighurst and Tobin (1961). The analysis was based on data obtained from 222 students (55.5%) who responded. A prediction model was used to develop a regression equation. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between religiosity and life satisfaction. The regression equation is as follows: life satisfaction = 1.436815592 + 0.045915152 (spiritual experiences) + 0.042888274 (integration in congregation). …

The Impact Of The Physical And Cultural Geography Of Southeastern Utah On Latter-Day Settlement, Sally Timmins Mandurino

Theses and Dissertations

The Latter-day Saint settlements in southeastern Utah, namely Bluff, Monticello and Blanding, were impacted by the physical and cultural geography of the area. These geographic elements hindered, and in some cases prevented, the Latter-day Saint colonizers from fulfilling the seven basic principles of Latter-day Saint expansion and colonization in the Great Basin. The impacts of physical geography were the geology, the climate, the soil and the rivers and streams. The impacts of cultural geography were the Navajo Indian Tribe, the Paiute Indian Tribe, and the criminal element. This thesis discusses the geographic elements of the area, how they impacted the …

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 …

The Brigham Young University Folklore Of Hugh Winder Nibley: Gifted Scholar, Eccentric Professor And Latter-Day Saint Spiritual Guide, Jane D. Brady

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the stories which revolve around folk legend Hugh Winder Nibley and what those stories mean to the people of Brigham Young University. Folklore reveals who we are and what is important to us. But, interestingly, folklore tends to reveal more about the person telling the story than about the subject of the story itself. People can't remember every story they hear. The ones they do remember are important to them. The stories are important because they fulfill basic needs of the teller. Such needs are a desire to look up to a hero, a need to fit …

From Mormon To Evangelical: A Look At Disaffiliation And Conversion, Laura M. Marwick

Theses and Dissertations

Religion is a major institution in society and for many, affiliation with a religious group shapes the way they view the world and the way they interact with other formal and informal institutions within society. In addition, particular behaviors are present during the processes an individual goes through when deciding to leave or switch their religious affiliation.
There are a variety of new affiliations that these disaffiliated individuals can make. One alternative religious group that disaffected members of the LDS Church (Mormons) can form a new affiliation with is Evangelical Christianity, often referred to as the "Born Again Movement". This …

Quest For Political Legitimacy; Utah 1896-1933, Kirk V. Shepherd

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

FROM 1896 until the early 1930's, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormon), executed what was in my opinion a quest to regain and establish it's own political legitimacy as an institution. Since early in the Church's comparatively brief history, the very mention of their religion in the majority of modern societies carries negative connotations. I hypothesize that the quest to eliminate or at least "back seat" this stereo type was the primary motivating factor behind many of the decisions made by leaders of the Church during that time period. I will focus on the national …

Utah Indians And The Indian Slave Trade: The Mormon Adoption Program And Its Effect On The Indian Slaves, Robert M. Muhlestein

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a study of the Mormon adoption program developed by the Mormons in response to the Indian slave trade in Utah, 1850-1880. It focuses on the Mormon justifications, as enumerated by Brigham Young, for the adoption policy and it links those justifications to expected results. Further this thesis compares the Mormon's expected results with the actual results of the adoption program through an analysis of historical accounts and Mormon ordinance records.

Age, Gender, And Religious Differences In Moral Perspective, Samuel L. Clay

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation was conducted to see if age and gender are related to a preference for a caring versus a justice morality. The World View Questionnaire with 40 word pairs was used to measure a preference for a caring morality. It was found that there was a significant gender difference in the caring score, with the females scoring higher than the males. There also was a significant religious difference in the caring score with religious and especially Mormon subjects scoring higher than non-religious subjects. There was not, however, a significant age difference as was predicted.

The Development And Failure Of Historic Agricultural Communities Of Utah: A Case Study Of Johns Valley, Utah, Wayne R. Shelley

Theses and Dissertations

Many agricultural communities have developed in Utah since the first settlement, but many no longer exist today. Some of these early communities experienced a "boom and bust," while others struggled for several years and were eventually abandoned. Johns Valley is a good example of these historic communities, as it experienced rapid growth and times of success and prosperity, yet it struggled and was eventually abandoned.
The situation in Johns Valley, from its early settlement to its demise, demonstrates the hope of the people who settled there and their efforts to make Johns Valley a productive and successful area. History also …

Mormon Return Migration: A Return To Zion, Don Calder Larson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research has been to study contemporary Mormon migration in the United States. The underlying assumption of the research was that Utah Mormons are culturally and normatively different from Mormons living elsewhere. Research was carried out in two stages. The first stage was a description of migration streams between four designated regions, i.e. Utah, states adjacent to Utah, other Western states, and the remaining Other states. This stage also determined the proportion of return migration in each stream. It provides initial evidence of the cultural pull of Utah for Mormons.

The second stage was a multivariate analysis …

A Demographic Examination Of Household Heads In Salt Lake City, Utah, 1850-1870, Larry W. Draper

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the demographic characteristics of household heads in Salt Lake City, Utah at three points in its history: 1850, 1860, and 1870. Data was compiled on population growth, nativity, sex, age, occupation, wealth, and persistence from the United States Census for those years.

The data shows that between 1850 and 1870 the makeup of Salt Lake City household heads changed dramatically from predominately American-born to predominately foreign-born. This change in the nativity of household heads over time significantly influenced several demographic characteristics including the location of immigrant settlement, occupational tendencies, and a high level of stratification of real …

Couple Cohesion: Differences Between Clinical And Non-Clinical Mormon Couples, Colleen Margaret Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the differences between 30 clinical and 30 non-clinical Mormon married couples on the perceived and ideal cohesion scores on the FACES III family typology instrument. Two three-way analyses of variance were done to examine these differences. the results provided evidence that there were significant differences between cohesion scores in clinical and non-clinical couples Both the clinical and non-clinical ideal scores fell close to the enmeshed end of the cohesion dimension of the Circumplex Model. The mean perceived cohesion scores, however, showed a difference between the clinical and non-clinical couples. The clinical couple mean scores fell in the …

Assessment Of Influence That The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Has On Exercise Habit Of Members Living In Utah County, Gary L. Preston

Theses and Dissertations

This study identified and analyzed the influence the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had on the decision of 309 respondents to exercise. The data obtained from the questionaires were analyzed using chi-square to compare males and females. Within the limitations of this study, the following conclusions were justified: women were more influenced by the LDS Church to exercise than men; LDS males and females exercised more than average American adults; walking, jogging, and aerobic dance were the most popular choices of LDS exercisers; and, there is a need to improve the awareness of LDS members concerning the Physical …

The Effects Of Religious Affiliation And Attendance On Illicit Sexual Behavior And Substance Abuse, Thomas W. Zane

Theses and Dissertations

A sample of 7724 college students in Washington and Utah was selected to study the relationships of religious activity and religious affiliation to illicit sexual behaviors, use of marijuana, and getting drunk. For all religious affiliations (except for the Jews), there were significant correlations between church activity and the measured illicit behaviors. LDS rates of behavior were significantly lower at <.001 for the five illicit behaviors. Two factor analyses were calculated to determine which sexual behaviors would load on a single factor and which substances would load on another factor. Extramarital coitus, heavy petting, and passionate kissing formed the first "sexual" factor. The use of beer, liquor, and marijuana combined with the behavior getting drunk to form the "substance-abuse" factor. A canonical analysis reported a moderate relationship with a canonical coefficient of .534 between the two factors. A discriminant analysis based on each subjects' religious affiliation and activity level yielded a 70-80 percent correct classification percentage.

Level Of Marital Adjustment And Spiritual Well-Being Among Latter-Day Saints, Robert W. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

This research will focus specifically on SWB [spiritual well being] among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). By virtue of his membership in this denomination, the researcher is more familiar with the theology, religious life and traditions of the LDS than those of any other denomination. Latter-day Saint theology has been well defined, and because of a fundamental belief in the prophetic ability of a single leader of the church, the doctrine and practices of the Latter-day Saints are consistent throughout the United States and the world.

Mormon Land Ownership As A Factor In Evaluating The Extent Of Mormon Settlements And Influence In Missouri 1831-1841, Wayne J. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis has been to demonstrate as clearly as possible the full extent of Mormon Land in Missouri during the years 1831-1841. An identification has been made of the names of several thousand of these early Mormons and will further show the scope of Mormonism during this period. This study will add detail to what previous writers have stated about this trying period for Mormonism.

As accurately as possible, the author has identified where the Mormon settlements were, through graphs and charts. It has been demonstrated that the Mormon population extended beyond the traditional areas they have …

Utah's Anti-Polygamy Society, 1878-1884, Barbara Hayward

Theses and Dissertations

The Anti-Polygamy Society was established in 1878 to try to encourage Congress to abolish the practice of plural marriage tn Utah Territory. In the brief time that it existed, the women of this Utah-based group sent petitions, circulars, and letters to Congress and many leaders of the country urging that laws be passed to end polygamy. Much of their work was also carried out in the society's newspaper, the Anti-polygamy Standard.

By the time that laws were passed that restricted polygamy, the Anti-polygamy Society no longer existed. Nonetheless, the society was important in the anti-polygamy crusade because it was …

An Analysis Of The Speaking Style Of Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Leader, James Francis O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

The primary function of this thesis was to determine, through the analysis of three randomly selected speeches, the speaking style of Heber C. Kimball. The selected speeches were presented in three different utah locations, and they covered a span of nine years (1856-65). All three speeches were presented to a Mormon audience and were religious in nature.

Seven elements of style have been used for the analysis of the three speeches. They are: accuracy, clarity, propriety, economy, force, striking quality, and liveliness. It was determined that President Kimball's speaking style was weak in the areas of accuracy and clarity. In …

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 …