Religious Education Commons^™

My Vocation As A Scholar: An Idea Of The University, John R. Rosenberg

BYU Studies

This lecture was given on March 21, 2013, as part of the Brigham Young University Faculty Center's "My Journey as a Scholar of Faith" series. John R. Rosenberg, dean of the College of Humanities at BYU, uses architectural features of the Joseph F. Smith Building (JFSB), home of his college, to illustrate certain aspects of scholarship and faith. The arches surrounding the courtyard represent a beautiful, efficient management of tension and compression and remind us that a university is a collection of individuals, admired at times for their individual graces, but relied upon to sustain a common project. "The glory …

Which Is The Wisest Course?: The Transformation In Mormon Temple Consciousness, 1870–1898, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

From the 1870s to 1890, the first Latter-day Saint temples in Utah were completed and temple work was fully underway, and at the same time the Church was being legally compelled to abandon polygamy. In 1890, Wilford Woodruff faced disenfranchisement of the Church and the loss of the temples. He was prepared to defend polygamy, but upon revelation from God changed his course and issued the manifesto ending plural marriage. Richard E. Bennett argues that a growing temple consciousness among Church leaders was a more significant cause of the manifesto than political ends, including the Saints' desire for statehood. The …

Self-Interest, Ethical Egoism, And The Restored Gospel, Darin C. Gates

BYU Studies

The gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Latter-day Saint Church may be seen as advocating a legitimate focus on our own interest. Thus some people have argued that the gospel is the same as ethical egoism, which is that people ought to act only in their long-term interest. This article examines the relationship between the gospel and ethical egoism and concludes that they are not equal, for two reasons: the gospel and ethical egoism accept different normative grounds for right actions, and they contain incompatible accounts of motivation. In distinguishing the gospel from ethical egoism, the author concludes …

2013 Perihelion - Oru Yearbook, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Perihelion: ORU Yearbooks

The Oral Roberts University Student Yearbook, the Perihelion, is produced by ORU Media and Communications department.

The images and files are copyrighted to Oral Roberts University and cannot be reproduced in any form without permission from ORU administration.

Digital Storytelling: Empowering Feminist And Womanist Faith Formation With Young Women, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

List Of Religious At St. Augustin's, Patrick F. Murphy

Patrick Murphy Collection on St. Augustin Parish and School

List of pastors, assistant pastors, nuns, and teachers in religious orders who were affiliated with St. Augustin's parish and school, with dates of assignment, ordination, and death.

Joseph Smith, Jesus, And Satanic Opposition: Atonement, Evil, And The Mormon Vision, Steven L. Olsen, Douglas J. Davies

BYU Studies

Douglas J. Davies is one of the most insightful and prolific scholars of Mormonism working today. He is a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham, UK. Two of his earlier studies--The Mormon Culture of Salvation (2000) and An Introduction to Mormonism (2003)--analyze foundational aspects of Mormonism from an engaging academic synthesis of history, religious studies, cultural studies, literary studies, theology, and philosophy. The breadth and depth of his scholarly background enable him to address new and crucial questions, yielding remarkable insights. For example, The Mormon Culture of Salvation proposes that the plan …

A Firm Foundation: Church Organization And Administration, R. Mark Melville, David J. Whittaker, Arnold K. Garr

BYU Studies

While A Firm Foundation as a whole will appeal mainly to Church scholars and those interested in organizational theory, each of its individual articles offers an important synthesis of information for those who are interested in a particular topic. For example, a musician researching the history of the hymnbook would be interested in Michael Hicks's article "How to Make (and Unmake) a Mormon Hymnbook," and a newly called Young Women president might be intrigued by Janet Peterson's article "Young Women of Zion: An Organizational History." The book is broad enough that there is something of interest for everyone, from a …

Psalms For Families: Devotions For All Ages, Laura Keeley, Robert J. Keeley

Publications

Psalms for Families is a devotional e-book for the entire family designed to help parents explore the riches of the book of Psalms with their children and teens. These devotionals will help parents learn more about the psalms as they teach their children about praise, prayer, and lament.

This edition contains four devotionals on each of our selected psalms as well as notes for adults that provide additional information and background.

Psalms included are 1, 23, 63, 136, 13, 145, 51, 103, 22, 133, and 139.

A Mormon Approach To Politics, Thomas B. Griffith

BYU Studies

This address was delivered November 13, 2012, in Washington, D.C., at the tenth anniversary of Brigham Young University’s Milton A. Barlow Center. Thomas B. Griffith is a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Faith And Same-Gender Attraction: A Look At Ty Mansfield's Voices Of Hope, Allen E. Bergin, Ty Mansfield, Marian S. Bergin

BYU Studies

People who experience same-sex attraction need not necessarily find themselves at odds with Christianity and with Mormonism in particular. Nineteen people give very personal reports in Ty Mansfield's book Voices of Hope, discussing their social, emotional, and spiritual lives. The book is not a review of case histories or clinical data of same-gender attraction, but rather lived experience of finding hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a field of research loaded with political entanglement, this essay offers a window into the lives of those who have, through faith and hope, transcended the statistics and studies that claim same-gender …

The Book Of Mormon: A Biography, Paul C. Gutjahr, Tod R. Harris

BYU Studies

There is something of a paradox prevalent in academic religious studies: in order to consider a community and its traditions objectively, one should not be a member of that community; yet the only way to understand fully and appreciate and therefore faithfully report about the community is to be a member. Many times this contradiction leads to the unfortunate situation where "outsiders" do not report their findings objectively or accurately and thus disappoint those hoping for fair and informative treatment, and where the work of members attempting serious scholarly analysis of their own community is viewed with suspicion and distrust …

Shakers, Mormons, And Religious Worlds: Conflicting Visions, Contested Boundaries, Matthew J. Grow, Stephen C. Taysom

BYU Studies

In Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds, Stephen Taysom, an assistant professor of religious studies at Cleveland State University, has written an intriguing and theoretically rich monograph that compares Shaker and Mormon approaches to religious identity formation and boundary maintenance. Although Shakerism dwindled as a religious movement in the twentieth century, Shakers and Latter-day Saints in the nineteenth century stood out as examples of successful new movements on the American religious scene. Taysom's comparison of Latter-day Saints and Shakers places him within a select group of scholars, most notably Mario DePillis, Lawrence Foster, and Spencer Fluhman, who have studied Shakers and …

Communication In Crisis, Blair Veloz

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Many people today continually search for their identity in the world. In order for someone to effectively communicate, they must understand how they would communicate when they least want to, such as in a crisis situation. A crisis or multiple crises can affect how people see the world, themselves and ultimately how they will communicate in a time of trouble. With the use of Martin Buber and his view on I-Thou, this thesis assists in understanding the encounter with God and that He is what helps makes us complete. Helping others to reach this goal of communicating well, this thesis …

The Man Behind The Discourse: A Biography Of King Follett, Joann F. Mortensen, Emily H. Bates

BYU Studies

Joann Mortensen, a third great-granddaughter of King and Louisa Follett, has long been involved in documenting the lives of her ancestors. Her book, The Man Behind the Discourse, is the first published biography of King Follett, the man whose funeral sermon became known as one of the Prophet Joseph Smith's greatest discourses.

Mortensen has structured the book to be accessible to a wide audience. For those less familiar with the Church, a short, simple introduction to the beliefs of the Saints stands at the beginning of the book, and a "brief overview of Joseph Smith's life and prophetic mission" (59) …

The 1890s Mormon Culture Of Letters And The Post-Manifesto Marriage Crisis: A New Approach To Home Literature, Lisa Olsen Tait

BYU Studies

To please while we teach important lessons, to implant solid principles of truth and nobility while chaining the minds and attentions with our seemingly “light literature;” these are some of our aims.

—Susa Young Gates

Brigham Young, Pioneer Prophet, John G. Turner, Thomas G. Alexander

BYU Studies

John G. Turner, an assistant professor of religious studies at George Mason University, used a novelist's convention by beginning his scholarly biography of Brigham Young near the end of the story. The opening paragraphs take the reader to St. George in 1877 and the dedication of Utah's first temple with the author summarizing Young's sermon.

From the St. George Temple dedication, the author essays on the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The summary includes Joseph Smith's discovery of the gold plates, their translation, and the controversy generated by his ministry.

I recommend this book for …

Exhibiting Mormonism: The Latter-Day Saints And The 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Marian Wardle, Reid L. Neilson

BYU Studies

"There is a natural and overwhelming curiosity to know what manner of creature a real live flesh and blood Mormon is," wrote an 1893 reporter for the Chicago Daily Tribune, quoted by Reid Neilson in his study of the participation by the LDS Church at the 1893 Chicago fair (131). Neilson is a scholar of Mormon religious history and current managing director of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He convincingly argues that this participation with the larger world community helped Church leaders understand how they could improve the Church's public image. He …

Sacred Symbols: Finding Meaning In Rites, Rituals, And Ordinances, Alonzo L. Gaskill, Herman Du Toit

BYU Studies

The power and viability of symbolism is often lost on the American psyche and also finds mixed reception by American LDS audiences. It is as if the essential pragmatism of the American spirit militates against the very appearance of ambiguity in all its forms. Symbolism and metaphor comprise the tools-in-trade of skillful meaning making and the explication of profound truths in both word and image. Alonzo Gaskill, a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, makes the observation that Latter-day Saints do not always like symbolism. He references Truman Madsen, who recalled: "I had a built-in hostility …

The Tree Of Life: From Eden To Eternity, Liza Olsen, John W. Welch, Donald W. Parry

BYU Studies

One of humankind's most sacred and abiding symbols is the tree of life. From earliest recorded religious belief, that singular image encompassed the sense of our humanity, rooted deeply in this earthly life with branches stretching outward, heavenward, in hope of the divine. From the Garden of Eden to Lehi's dream, tree of life imagery is particularly evocative within Mormonism, and many contributors to this book are Latter-day Saints writing from scholarly and religious points of view. The tree likewise takes a central place in the development of various human belief systems. Scholars whose works appear in this collection explore …