Religious Education Commons^™

Muslims Among Mormons: Perspectives On Muslim Students Attending Brigham Young University, Shon D. Hopkin, Ray L. Huntington

BYU Studies

Muslim parents in the Middle East who want their children to receive a Western college education may face a dilemma. While they may see benefits in Western education, they generally also want their children to maintain their adherence to Islam. These parents may worry that their children will be exposed to the antireligious sentiment prevalent in the West or that association with Christianity will negatively affect their commitment to Islam. Parents may also be concerned that their children will be exposed to alcohol, recreational drug use, and premarital sexual activities that are prevalent in Western culture. Muslim youth in the …

Viracocha: Christ Among The Ancient Peruvians?, Scott Hoyt

BYU Studies

There came from a southern direction a white man of great stature, who, by his aspect and presence, called forth great veneration and obedience. This man who thus appeared had great power, insomuch that he could change plains into mountains, and great hills into valleys, and make water flow out of stones. As soon as such power was beheld, the people called him the Maker of created things, the Prince of all things, Father of the Sun. For they say that he performed other wonders, giving life to men and animals, so that by his hand marvellous great benefits were …

Magnitude, Elizabeth Knight

BYU Studies

The Richter scale of magnitude, developed in 1935 by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg of the California Institute of Technology and used to measure the power contained in earthquakes, references only itself; if it were human, we might call it narcissistic. We might also call Mr. Richter narcissistic, since this jointly developed scale was known by only his name, and it was not until after Gutenberg’s death that Richter began to insist on sharing the credit.

Shaping The Earth, Erika Price

BYU Studies

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding.

But water will wear away rock,

which is rigid and cannot yield . . .

This is another paradox:

what is soft is strong.

—Lao Tzu

Leaving Egypt, Tyler Chadwick

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Reprise, Tyler Chadwick

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"The Season Of Eric" At Plan-B Theatre: A Milestone In Mormon Drama, Callie Oppedisano

BYU Studies

When I learned that Plan-B was considering an entire season devoted to my work, I think I was outwardly composed. I may have said something like “Well, that’s very flattering. Thank you.” Or something equally bland. Inside, though, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was playing.

—Eric Samuelsen

Histories, Volume 1: Joseph Smith Histories, 1832-1844; Histories, Volume 2: Assigned Histories, 1831-1847, James B. Allen

BYU Studies

I am always delighted to pick up a new volume of the Joseph Smith Papers and find that it continues the same book quality that has characterized the series from the beginning. Every volume is elegantly designed and solidly bound, and the editorial work is outstanding. Most of all, every volume includes documents that are invaluable in understanding and writing about early Mormon history.

Called To Teach: The Legacy Of Karl G. Maeser, Heather M. Seferovich

BYU Studies

Powerful and inspiring teachers can profoundly impact their students, both in this life and in the eternities. Many of us are fortunate to look back fondly on one or two influential teachers who played a critical role in shaping our personalities or careers. Anyone who is a teacher, whether in a formal or informal classroom, or anyone who has had an inspiring teacher will enjoy the educational biography of Karl G. Maeser, written by another teacher, A. LeGrand “Buddy” Richards, a professor of educational leadership in the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University.

Nels Anderson's World War I Diary, Kenneth L. Alford

BYU Studies

With the centennial of World War I beginning in 2014, Nels Anderson’s World War I Diary, edited by Allan Kent Powell, is a timely and engaging firsthand account of America’s involvement in “the war to end all wars.” This account sees the war through the eyes of a Latter-day Saint private fighting with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe.

The Mormon Image In The American Mind: Fifty Years Of Public Perception, Sherry Pack Baker

BYU Studies

J. B. Haws received his PhD from the University of Utah and is an assistant professor in the Department of Church History at Brigham Young University. His research interests include twentieth-century history of Latter-day Saints and the general public perception of the group. This book (based on his 2010 PhD dissertation) is the winner of the 2014 Mormon History Association Best Book Award.

New Perspectives On 2 Enoch: No Longer Slavonic Only, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies

This book contains the proceedings of the Fifth Enoch Seminar, held in Naples, Italy, on June 14–18, 2009. The theme of the conference was “Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek: Mediatorial Figures in 2 Enoch and Second Temple Judaism,” covering topics of intrinsic interest for biblical scholars generally, as well as for Latter-day Saints. The book’s subtitle, No Longer Slavonic Only, refers to an important discovery announced at the seminar. The book of 2 Enoch is also commonly referred to as “Slavonic Enoch” because the text has been known only in its Slavonic translation; now Coptic fragments of the text have been …

Plain And Precious Things, Lexi Devenport

BYU Studies

Plain and Precious Things, by D. John Butler (N.p.: D. John Butler, 2012).

The Church And Religious Persecution (Calvin Shorts), Kevin R. Den Dulk, Robert J. Joustra

Calvin Press

So begins The Divine Comedy, a classic meditation on the Christian life, written by Dante Alighieri in the fourteenth century. Dante’s three images—a journey, a dark forest, and a perplexed pilgrim—still feel familiar today, don’t they? We can readily imagine our own lives as a series of journeys, not just the big journey from birth to death, but also all the little trips from home to school, from school to job, from place to place, from old friends to new. In fact, we often feel we are simultaneously on multiple journeys that tug us in diverse and sometimes opposing directions. …

Joseph B. Keeler, Print Culture, And The Modernization Of Mormonism, 1885-1918, David J. Whittaker

BYU Studies

The years flanking the start of the twentieth century represented a time of transition for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Seventy years old in 1900, the Church and the larger Mormon society in which it resided still displayed much of their traditional character. Although some members congregated in urban densities that edged out along the Wasatch Front from Salt Lake City (Utah’s capital and the Church’s headquarters), most still lived in small, relatively self-contained agricultural communities in the Great Basin’s interior. Wherever they lived, however, they expected charismatic leaders to continue organizing the Church, directing devotional life, …

The Inception Of Brigham Young University's Archival Program, 1956-1962, J. Gordon Daines Iii

BYU Studies

Brigham Young University today houses thousands of documents and photographs about the history of the university as well as millions of other documents and photographs on Mormonism, Utah history, and Western history. These materials are housed in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library. The Perry Special Collections is well known as a place to study historic documents, read rare books, find photographs, and much more. Among the treasures found in the Perry Special Collections are the Brigham Young University Archives. This paper examines the establishment of the BYU Archives, with Ralph W. Hansen as …

Dead Wood And Rushing Water: Essays On Mormon Faith, Culture, And Family, Mark Brown

BYU Studies

Boyd Jay Petersen. Dead Wood and Rushing Water: Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family.

Sandy, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2013.

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Helen Andelin And The Fascinating Womanhood Movement, Mary Jane Woodger

BYU Studies

Julie Debra Neuffer. Helen Andelin and the Fascinating Womanhood Movement.

Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014.

Dating The Death Of Jesus Christ, Jeffrey R. Chadwick

BYU Studies

In December 2010, BYU Studies published a study I prepared entitled “Dating the Birth of Jesus Christ.” It presented historical and scriptural evidence showing that Jesus was not born in April of 1 BC, as popular Latter-day Saint thought supposed, but most likely in December of 5 BC. The article attracted considerable attention; was covered in both print and broadcast news stories as well as by radio shows, blogs, and other forums of discussion; and received positive response in many venues.