Digital Commons Network^™

Who Uses The Word "Resurrection" In The Book Of Mormon And How Is It Used?, John Hilton Iii, Jana Johnson

Faculty Publications

While there are only a handful of primary speakers in the Book of Mormon, many voices are heard within its pages. The fact that multiple people speak in the text provides the opportunity to investigate whether these people have varying patterns of speech. The purpose of this study is to report on the word resurrection, which has unusual usage patterns by individual speakers in the Book of Mormon. For example, there are curious patterns in terms of who in the Book of Mormon employs (or does not employ) resurrection, how individuals in the Book of Mormon use this word, and …

Ben E. Rich: Sharing The Gospel Creatively, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The life and missionary work of Ben E. Rich. President of the Southern States Mission and the States Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

What's In A Name? The Establishment Of Camp Douglas, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., William P. Mackinnon

Faculty Publications

A discussion of the establishment (1862) of Camp Douglas, Utah Territory -- named by Col. Patrick Edward Connor after U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas.

Mormon Motivation For Enlisting In The Civil War, Brant Ellsworth, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of several Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War.

The Spirit And The Intellect: Lessons In Humility, Duane Boyce

BYU Studies

Some individuals have great confidence in their knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual things. Boyce does not share this confidence. "I have come to believe, after many a false start," he admits, "that if I am honest and thorough in my approach to the gospel, and if I am honest and thorough in my approach to intellectual disciplines, there resides in each the imperative for a profound sense of humility. I discover in both of them that what we don't know far outstrips what we do." He then goes on to illustrate the limits of human knowledge by presenting three …

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …

"Delivered By The Power Of God": Nephi's Vision Of America's Birth, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Chapter 14 of the 2011 BYU Sperry Symposium volume, "'Delivered by the Power of God:' Nephi's Vision of America's Birth" by Dr. Kenneth L. Alford discusses evidence of God's hand andintervention in the American Revolutionary War. This essay specifically looks at 1 Nephi 13, Washington and the founding fathers, wartime weather, and the West Point chain.

"Myself . . . I Consecrate To The God Of Heaven": Twenty Affidavits Of Consecration In Nauvoo, June–July 1842, Sherilyn Farnes, Mitchell K. Schaefer

BYU Studies

Early in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith taught the Saints that the Lord had revealed a law of consecration, in which members would consecrate all their time, talents, and possessions to the Church and its purposes. It has been commonly believed that the law of consecration was not practiced in Nauvoo, where the Church was headquartered from 1839 to 1846. But the recent discovery of twenty affidavits of consecration, handwritten in the summer of 1842 by Latter-day Saints determined to follow an apostolic invitation to consecrate themselves and property to the Church, …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

John Taylor's June 27, 1854, Account Of The Martyrdom, Lajean P. Carruth, Mark L. Staker

BYU Studies

On June 27, 1854, John Taylor, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave what appears to be his first public address sharing his eyewitness account of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Two scribes, George D. Watt and Thomas Bullock, recorded the meeting. George D. Watt's skill with Pitman shorthand enabled him to work quickly. He recorded these sermons virtually verbatim, only occasionally missing a few words as he strove to keep up with the speakers. Most of what Watt recorded survives in his 1854 papers in a bound notebook. Two-thirds of John Taylor's …

"Thy Mind, O Man, Must Stretch", John W. Welch

BYU Studies

John W. Welch, the recipient of the 2010-2011 Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, gave this speech on May 17, 2011, at Brigham Young University. He spoke about the BYU Mission Statement as a guide for infusing an intellectual life with perspective and purpose: students should learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, learn broadly to be able to communicate, learn deeply in one's chosen field, and serve in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Welch placed emphasis on hard work and keeping an open mind while searching for truth. Mormonism thrives, he said, because it welcomes the …

The King James Bible In America: Pilgrim, Prophet, President, Preacher, John S. Tanner

BYU Studies

John S. Tanner, BYU academic vice president (2004-2011), says the influence the King James Bible on American culture and history is like the air we breathe. This paper, given in 2011 at Oxford University, illustrates this influence by examining the central role the King James Bible played in the lives of a Pilgrim, John Winthrop; a prophet, Joseph Smith; a president, Abraham Lincoln; and a preacher, Martin Luther King Jr. Puritan leader John Winthrop's famous 1630 speech compared the Pilgrims bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony to ancient Israel, as both sought a covenant with God in a promised land. …

"Entered At Stationers' Hall": The British Copyright Registrations For The Book Of Mormon In 1841 And The Doctrine And Covenants In 1845, Edward L. Carter

BYU Studies

On April 16, 1840, eight members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met in Preston, England. One of the topics they discussed was the need to secure copyright protection for the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in England. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recognized the key to gaining copyright protection for Latter-day Saint scriptures in Great Britain would be registration at Stationers' Hall in London in accordance with the requirements of the Statute of Anne, Britain's copyright law since 1710. This article explains the legal process …

A 17-Year Longitudinal Study Of Religion And Mental Health In A Mormon Sample, Jeremy D. Bartz, P. Scott Richards, Timothy B. Smith, Lane Fischer

Faculty Publications

In 1984, 1987, and 2001, data were collected on a religiously devout group of college students (N=53) in an effort to better understand the process of religious development and the relationship between religiosity and mental health. This study analyzes those data by examining the relationship between devoutness and psychopathology over time, the correlations between intrinsic religiosity and indices of psychopathology, the stability of religious motivations over the course of adulthood, and the stability of two different religious development styles that were identified in 1984. This study found that (1) these religiously devout individuals have consistently fallen within the normal range …

Latter-Day Saint Poetry And Songs Of The Utah War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

During the Utah War (1857–58), Latter‐day Saints wrote and published a large number of poems and song expressing their loyalty to the Church, anger at the federal government, and defiance of the United States soldiers who were marching toward Utah Territory. This article places those poems and stories in context and shares many of them.

The Four Discourses Of Mormonism, Joseph M. Spencer

BYU Studies

Alain Badiou, an important French philosopher, used a theoretical model of discourses to analyze the epistles of Saint Paul. Joseph Spencer applies Badiou's reading of Paul to Mormonism to answer the question, "What does it mean to be Mormon?"

Badiou viewed Greek and Jewish thought as a closed circle—Hellenistic discourse as a totalizing universalism, and Jewish discourse as an exception to Greek universalism based on "the prophetic sign, the miracle, [and] election." Paul's apostolic discourse broke free from this closed circle, for he was concerned with faith, or fidelity, to a particular event, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Spencer identifies …

By What Authority? The Vital Questions Of Religious Authority In Christianity, Alonzo L. Gaskill, Robert L. Millet

BYU Studies

It appears that I have stumbled upon the answer to Juliet's timeless question, "What's in a name?" (Romeo and Juliet, act 2, scene 2). While a rose, by any other name, may have smelled as sweet to Juliet, the name of a book can make a significant difference for a reader.

By What Authority? is a compilation of papers delivered at a 2006 Brigham Young University conference on religious authority. The subtitle of the book (The Vital Questions of Religious Authority in Christianity) and the preface (authored by Robert L. Millet) imply that the text is …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"A Mother There": A Survey Of Historical Teachings About Mother In Heaven, David L. Paulsen, Martin Pulido

BYU Studies

Since the 1840s, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have taught that in addition to a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. This cherished doctrine has been an important, although relatively obscure, part of the Latter-day Saint understanding of the premortal origins and divine nature of humankind. The authors, a professor and a student of philosophy at Brigham Young University, present historical statements by Mormon leaders about Mother in Heaven. Contrary to criticism in some quarters, Church leaders have not relegated this deity to a confined role. Statements from the late 1840s …

Temple Elements In Ancient Religious Communities, Brent J. Schmidt

BYU Studies

The idea of Zion or utopia has fascinated the human race since ancient times. This topic has special meaning to Mormons, since latter-day scripture revealed to Joseph Smith is replete with references to building Zion. What, then, can Latter-day Saints learn from attempts by other groups? One thing we learn, writes Brent Schmidt, is that certain characteristics appeared in some successful ancient communities, characteristics that invoke the temple as known in the Bible and in Latter-day Saint use.

Temple teachings were known and widely dispersed throughout antiquity as a means of forming good communities within religious groups. Indeed, temple themes …

Days Never To Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, Rachel Ozanne, Alexander L. Baugh

BYU Studies

Days Never to Be Forgotten presents the fruits of the 2006 BYU Church History Symposium on the life and work of Oliver Cowdery in honor of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. Eleven scholars of Mormon history contributed essays about various aspects of Cowdery's life and involvement in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ultimately, the contributors have two goals: to honor Cowdery's memory and to inform believers who may not be aware of Cowdery's importance in the founding of the Church.

This book gives a good sense of Cowdery's extensive presence and activities in the earliest …

Camp Douglas: Keeping A Watchful Eye On The Saints, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of the establishment (1862) and early years of Camp Douglas, Utah Territory. Discusses the tense relationship between Brigham Young and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Patrick Edward Connor, U.S. Army commander of Camp Douglas.

When The Saints Came Marching In: A History Of The Latter-Day Saints In St. Louis, Thomas L. Farmer, Fred E. Woods, Susan E. Black

BYU Studies

Most of our histories about Mormons in Missouri speak of dramatic events in the 1830s in the western region of the state. Congratulations to Fred Woods and Thomas Farmer for writing a history of the Latter-day Saints in St. Louis. Woods, a professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU, and Farmer, a lifetime St. Louis resident, wrote of the LDS presence in St. Louis beginning with early missionaries in 1831 and ending with the St. Louis Stake jubilee in 2008. This book is essential reading for scholars of Mormonism seeking to understand the experience of the Latter-day Saints in …

Lehi Dreamed A Dream: The Report Of Lehi’S Dream In Its Biblical Context, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

“Behold, I have dreamed a dream,” Lehi announced to his family one morning in the valley of Lemuel in northwestern Arabia (1 Nephi 8:2; see also 9:1; 10:16). This dream and its subsequent interpretation (given in vision to Nephi) provide a powerful Christ-centered foundation for the whole Book of Mormon.1 Of course, Lehi’s dream of his family, a tree, and its fruit was not the first revelatory dream he had received. Nephi indicates that his father, Lehi, had written an account of his own prophetic ministry that included “many things which he saw in visions and in dreams” (1 Nephi …

A History Of Mormon Catechisms, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

An overview of the use and influence of catechisms in Latter-day Saint (Mormon) history.

The Bible, The Book Of Mormon, And The Concept Of Scripture, Dan Belnap, Daniel L. Belnap

Faculty Publications

For nonbelievers, the relationship Latter-day Saints have with the Bible can be difficult to discern, especially when one considers the crucial role the Book of Mormon plays in LDS worship. This paper explores three questions a sincere critic may have concerning the relationship between the Bible and the Book of Mormon: (1) the presence of direct biblical passages and King James Version (KJV) terminology in the Book of Mormon, (2) what the Book of Mormon has to say about the Bible, and (3) the Book of Mormon’s understanding of the concept of scripture.

The Salt Lake Theatre: Brigham's Playhouse, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Robert C. Freeman Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A history of the Salt Lake Theatre (dedicated in 1862).

Correlation: The Turning Point (1960s), Michael A. Goodman

Faculty Publications

Correlation has a long history of starts and stops, successes and setbacks. Often misconstrued as solely related to curricular issues, correlation has had a much broader focus from the beginning. President Harold B. Lee stated that one of the primary purposes of correlation was to place “the Priesthood as the Lord intended, as the center core of the Kingdom of God, and the auxiliaries as related thereto; including a greater emphasis on the Fathers in the home as Priesthood bearers in strengthening the family unit.”¹

Though the vision has been large as eternity, the work of the kingdom for …

The Chicago Experiment: Finding The Voice And Charting The Course Of Religious Education In The Church, Casey P. Griffiths

BYU Studies

In many professions, Latter-day Saints often struggle to find harmony between their religion and their career. This has been especially true in academia, in most of its diverse disciplines. These challenges were particularly fierce when the Church began developing its own corps of professional religious educators to teach and lead in the newly founded seminary and institute programs of the early twentieth century. In the early 1930s, religious educators in the Church developed a close relationship with the School of Divinity at the University of Chicago. Eleven young Latter-day Saint scholars earned advanced degrees at the school at the Church's …

Mormon Media Studies Symposium - 2010, Sherry Baker

Faculty Publications

Website for the Mormon Media Studies Symposium year 2010.