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Co-Creating A Community Of Learners Through Interactive Read-Alouds Of Expository Texts, Kari Allsup

The Utah English Journal

I am reading aloud Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead (Johnson, 2013) to a group of 7th grade students. The text describes the larva stage where a young jewel wasp feasts on the cockroach’s insides. As I read, there are scattered exclamations of “ewwww,” “sick,” and audible gasps. I stop reading to dig into these reactions.

The Utah English Journal, Volume 53, 2025: Full Issue

The Utah English Journal

No abstract provided.

Improving Small-Group Discussion Through Literature Circle Activities, Reilly Ryan

The Utah English Journal

Consider the following scenarios in which I’ve given students a platform to discuss “high-interest” topics: “Class, I want you to discuss whether you think school should start one hour later than it currently does. I’m going to set a timer for three minutes, and I would like you to continue your discussion during the entire time.” If school start time seems too educational, I might offer an even more accessible topic such as “What is the greatest movie of all time?” or “Where is the best place in town to get a hamburger?” The pleasing cacophony I hear immediately after …

Book Review: Simon Sort Of Says, Sarah Strachan

The Utah English Journal

Nothing ever really changes in Grin and Bear It, Nebraska. Since the town is a research site for the SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), there is a ban on internet and cell phones that makes getting news from the outside world a little slow. For 12-year-old Simon O’Keeffe, that sounds perfect. Having survived a school shooting two years earlier, Simon has spent far too much time in the spotlight and longs to fade into the background in this new town where no one knows his past. However, blending in proves challenging with his accident-prone Catholic deacon father, his quirky …

Ethiopia: Ancient Glory, Awaiting Recovery, Tseggai Isaac

Comparative Civilizations Review

The name Ethiopia is associated in the Book of Genesis with the creation of the world, indicating a sacred and ancient heritage. We find Ethiopia mentioned as having relations with the ancient Biblical nations such as Israel, Egypt, Assyria, and Mesopotamia. Ethiopians get uplifting gratification in reading specific scriptural references from the Bible and applying them to the country. These Biblical allusions include discussion of the Queen of Sheba and her son, King Menelik the First, born from her relationship with King Solomon, who was himself the son of King David, the founder from whom came the lineal parentage of …

The Rise Of China And The Concept Of Civilization: Constructing A Conceptual Apparatus For Cross-Civilizational Comparisons, Liah Greenfeld

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Rise of China and the Concept of Civilization: Constructing a Conceptual Apparatus for Cross-Civilizational Comparisons

The paper examines the deficiencies of the current understanding of “civilization” in the social science literature, among others exemplified by “civilizational analysis,” and proposes a new concept that adds to the conceptual apparatus of sociological theory — a new, fully independent of others, variant of the cultural process. This independence makes distinctions between civilizations as the root cause of socio-cultural diversity.

Combined with the idea of humanity as a culturally constituted reality sui generis, this concept allows the construction of the theoretical scaffolding …

The Germanic Legends Of The Gold Of The Rhine And Their Āryan Sources, Alexander Jacob

Comparative Civilizations Review

Medieval German legends regarding the gold of the Rhine have both a mythological source, as the gold of the Nibelung dwarf Andvari, and a historical Burgundian one, as a hoard possessed by the Burgundian princes. Here we point to more ancient sources of these legends, ones that are to be found in the cosmological myths and rituals of the Āryans.

Good Practice For All Sentence Frames To Support Multingual Students In The Ela Classroom, Genevieve Palestino

The Utah English Journal

The struggle to meet student needs is an ever- present concern for all teachers. Besides English 9, I teach English Language Development (ELD), and I frequently find myself in conversations with other teachers about how to support our school’s multilingual (ML) population. One thing I try to emphasize in my conversations with teachers is that most “extra steps” for MLs are best-practice strategies that will benefit all students. A strategy that can be especially beneficial for students is leveled sentence frames.

Plants, Protests, Pachakuti: How Trees March And How People Tree, Ashley A. Lundquist

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the multi-faceted role of plants, specifically Wituk and Manduru, in Amazonian protests and environmental advocacy. By examining the communicative and relational ontologies inherent in Runa culture, the study elucidates how plants influence social movements and contribute to environmental protection. Wituk and Manduru create paint. Paint facilitates good communication which creates good relationality. Good relationality allows for increased capacities and inhibits greedy consumption allowing for a balanced world order. Through the use and agency of Wituk and Manduru, movements become multi-species phenomena in which ecological entities combine with Runa bodies. The relationships shared between Runa, Wituk, and Manduru …

The Impact Of Coral Degradation On Coastal Communities In Southeast Asia, Paige Smith

Ballard Brief

Coral reefs across the globe are in decline, but reefs in Southeast Asia are among some of the most threatened in the world. Climate change, triggered by fossil fuel emissions, raises sea water temperatures and lowers the ocean’s pH, contributing to coral bleaching and inhibiting coral growth. Local threats also particularly affect reefs in Southeast Asia, such as destructive fishing techniques and marine and inland sources of pollution. Coastal communities in Southeast Asia are especially vulnerable to the degradation of coral reefs due to economic reliance on these reefs and their proximity to them. Declining coral reefs can damage the …

Effects Of Predation On Cognition In Brachyrhaphis Rhabdophora, Elizabeth F. Jenkins, Jerald B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

Does predation environment affect the cognitive abilities of the tropical fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora?

Fishing For Neurocircuitry: Identifying Multi-Sensory Integrating Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Zebrafish, Logan Carson, Arminda Suli, Adeline Hamilton, Logan Carson, Karianne Jex, Erika C. Marks, Jordan T. Yorgason, Tracianne B. Neilsen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

The superior colliculus (SC) is a mammalian midbrain structure involved in multimodal sensory integration and is implicated to have a role in neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the presence of multisensory integrating neurons (MINs) in the SC has been well documented by electrophysiology techniques, little is known about their morphological or molecular characterization. To identify and study MINs, we utilized SC’s non-mammalian homologous structure–the optic tectum (OT)–in the genetically tractable model organism zebrafish. In this process, we generated transgenic lines that allowed for fluorescent detection of neuronal activity by expressing the genetically engineered calcium indicators: cytoRGECO and H2B-jRGECO1a, respectively in mechanosensory hair …

Firing Properties Of Hgvp And Granule Cell Populations In Sensorimotor Pathways, Kate Shepard, M Eyring, Trace Stay

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

The vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) functions to keep the eyes stable during head movement. Previous studies have suggested that output from Purkinje cells of the flocculus called HGVP’s modify motor neurons that control the VOR (Kahlon and Lisberger, 2000). (below, Kan, University of Wisconsin)

Birth And Rebirth: The Fish In Mesoamerican Art And Its Implication On Stela 5, Izapa, Chiapas, Mexico, Diane E. Wirth

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

A revealing analysis of fish iconography in Mesoamerica, in relation to the ancestral couple on Stela 5, Izapa, Chiapas, Mexico, holds an unforeseen element that may reveal a key to the Tree of Life referred to in the Book of Mormon. This key is supported by Mesoamerican, Hebrew, and Egyptian traditions.

Front Matter

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Chapter 1: Book Of Mormon Animals, Matthew Roper

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Chapter 4: Ancient Culture, Matthew Roper

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Chapter 7: Records, Writing, And Language, Matthew Roper

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Chapter 9: Concluding Observations, Matthew Roper

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Heavenly Lamb, Sacrifices On The Heavenly Altar, And The Song Of The Lamb, Meir Bar-Iian

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The symbolic image of the Lamb of God is well-known in the New Testament and The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. This image derives from the Old Testament, later adopted by early Christians. Words of Gad the Seer is an apocalyptic pseudepigraphal book written in pseudo-biblical Hebrew from a manuscript copied in the eighteenth century. After over thirty-three years of investigation, many aspects of this recently discovered text are coming to light. There are more than twenty similarities between this largely unknown book and the book of Revelation, though one was written by a Jewish man who became Christian …

“Get Thou Up Into The Temple”: Receiving Revelation And Becoming Holy In The House Of The Lord, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Psalms 15:1–5, 24:2–3, and 48:1 [MT 2], as temple hymns of the Jerusalem Temple, are consistent with other texts such as Isaiah 2:2–3 and Genesis 22:14, which envision the holy temple as the “mountain of the Lord” into which one must ritually ascend. The examples of Moses, Nephi, Jacob, and others who ascended into this “mountain” demonstrate that this ascent facilitates the reception of divine revelation necessary in our mortal journey to become holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This sacred ascent is necessary for our eventual, individual, and collective “perfection” in Christ, and it is one that he …

A Deep Dive On War, Craig L. Foster

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Morgan Deane’s To Stop a Slaughter: Just War and the Book of Mormon defines and discusses the concepts of war in the Book of Mormon and places “just war” within a larger context. The various aspects of just war and its impact are compared to the teachings and writings of scholars and philosophers from the early Church Fathers to Chinese military strategists. This interesting and informative book helps Latter-day Saints understand when war is necessary and justified.

What Happened To Nephi At The Camp Of The Broken Bow? A Book Of Mormon Mystery, Godfrey J. Ellis

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The “Allegory” Of Ruth As A Prophecy Of Latter-Day Gathering, Jan Francisco

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

n the historical context of the late fifth century BC, the book of Ruth was a powerful story of hope and redemption for the eventual gathering and restoration of Israel’s covenants. Connecting their golden period of unity under King David to this idyllic tale with a beautiful happy ending may be more than a family story. It could also be read allegorically to prophesy the promised gathering of Israel by the Gentiles in the Latter-days. The key to understanding the symbolic layer of this story lies in deciphering the Hebrew meanings of the characters’ names, with Naomi representing the Israelites, …

“Behold, I Went To Hunt Beasts In The Forest”: An Addendum On Enos, Esau, And The Symbolic Geography Of Seir, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Enos’s use of the onomastic wordplay in the Jacob and Esau cycle enables him to meaningfully allude to the symbolic geography of those stories and incorporate it into his New World setting (e.g., allusions to the river Jabbok and Peniel/Penuel, the site of Jacob’s “wrestle” with the divine “man”). A third instance of this type of allusion occurs with Enos’s recollection that he “went to hunt beasts in the forest[s]” (Enos 1:3), which appears to subtly allude to Mount Seir, the forested hill country in the land of Edom inhabited by Esau and his descendants.

A Closer Look At Transliterations In Divine Translations, Spencer Kraus

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Book of Mormon contains many words left untranslated by Joseph Smith, such as cureloms, cumoms, senine, and ziff. While some might wonder why these words are left untranslated, a closer examination of the kinds of words that are simply transliterated as well as the frequency at which these phenomena occur provide evidence that Joseph Smith actually had an ancient record that he was translating into English. In this paper, I examine why some words have been transliterated in historical translations of the Bible or other ancient texts and compare these explanations to the Book of …

“Upon Thy Belly Shalt Thou Go”: The Garden Of Eden Serpent Symbology Based On The Concept Of Seraphim, Noel Hudson

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The concept of the serpentine seraphim from biblical iconography is discussed in the context of biblical serpent symbology. The association of the seraphim with Ancient Near Eastern kings, deities, and temples is noted. The concept of the seraphim as members of the Council of God is explored, and the possibility of the seraph as a symbol of Christ is discussed. These concepts are applied to the story of the snake in the Garden of Eden, and the additional explanatory power of the seraph symbol in connection with the snake is explored. Specific serpentine attributes are discussed in the context of …

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Cycle Of Giving:, Sarai Brown

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

On one hot summer day in the middle of a 3-month stint studying Mandarin Chinese at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taichung, Taiwan, my friends and I were desperate to sate our appetites after class, even in the atrociously hot and humid conditions. Most of our little group was drawn to a 牛肉麵 niúròu miàn (beef noodle) shop, but the thought of hot soup on a day like this drove me and a couple of others to continue our search. We stumbled upon another outdoor restaurant—though “restaurant” is perhaps a loose term for the holey-tent-covered food stand with mismatched …