Digital Commons Network^™

Why Abraham Was Not Wrong To Lie, Duane Boyce

BYU Studies

The book of Genesis contains two well-known accounts of Abraham lying about his wife, Sarah (Gen. 12:10–20; 20:1–18).1 In each of them, Abraham reports that Sarah is his sister, 2 Sarah is then taken from Abraham, trouble ensues for those who have taken her, and Sarah is then returned to Abraham. The account in Genesis 20 also explicitly tells us that the Lord protected Sarah from being “touched” in the circumstances (v. 6), and the account in Genesis 12, too, tells us that the Lord intervened, presumably for the same purpose (v. 17).

Abraham The Seer, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

A careful reading of the Book of Abraham reveals subtle literary and narrative elements in the text that might otherwise go unappreciated. For instance, a running leitmotif—a recurring theme or concept— throughout the Book of Abraham is that of Abraham as a seer, or someone who sees or otherwise has a visual interaction with divine manifestation (typically or usually aided by a divinatory device such as a seer stone). As seen in both the mention of Abraham’s possession and use of the Urim and Thummim (Abr. 3:1) as well as the repeated use of verbs such as see and show …

Appendix, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

The following bibliography on the Book of Abraham has been modified and expanded from that found at www.pearlofgreatprice cen tral .org. The purpose of this bibliography is to assemble a variety of works on the Book of Abraham written primarily by or for Latter-day Saints. This bibliography is not exhaustive and does not include more specialized academic literature. Instead, it has been curated with the intent of highlighting works that are more readily accessible to average Latter-day Saint readers. Most of these items can be accessed online by following the hyperlinks collected at Pearl of Great Price Central for the …

Discoveries And Decisions Regarding Classroom Library, Amanda Thomas

The Utah English Journal

One of the great benefits of being a classroom teacher-a perk that drew me to the profession-is that my classroom becomes a rare combination of office and second bedroom. Naturally, a teacher wants to keep the decor somewhat relevant to the subject area and avoid anything that might cross boundaries of propriety, but there's a lot of wiggle room to show personal touches, passions, hobbies, and flair.

Fanboys, Pow, & Mount Plot: Mnemonic Devices Used In Teaching Writing, Sarah Anderson, Alexa Bills, Kaitlyn Conlin, Eve Crawford, Natalie Eggli, Jenae Grant, Lilly Hammer, Andrew Isaacson, Kassandra Jimenez, Ryan Mansfield, Brindley Rowley, Samantha Stringham, Meghan Waldenberg, Brady Wallis, Joyce Kinkead

The Utah English Journal

Cicero ( 106-43 BCE) was renowned during his lifetime and influential long after as an extraordinary orator and writer, able to recall long speeches from memory. A technique termed the memory palace, which associates memory with locations-also called method of loci-enabled ancient rhetoricians to deliver stimulating speeches. Retention of information was essential for delivering speeches not just because it was impressive but also due to the paucity of writing materials. Writers and orators relied on wax tablets that could be inscribed with a stylus but could not archive the text; as a result, the information had to be memorized, part …

Teach 'Em To Write, Craig Jeppson

The Utah English Journal

One day I observed a teacher ask students to answer a question in writing and hand it in as an exit ticket, something we have all done, right? Here's the thing: the teacher had taught an engaging lesson, but the responses didn't give evidence of that. Instead, they were one or two sentences long, containing information vaguely related to the lesson. That experience prompted me to work up the following model for expository writing. The model isn't revolutionary, mostly what teachers in any content area will recognize.

God Is Not Fragile Coping With The Intensity Of Hosea’S Imagery And Life’S Most Severe Challenges, Seth N. Hord

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The book of Hosea is not for the faint of heart. Like many of the writings of ancient Israelite prophets, it is complex and intense and deserves a focused, serious study to fully appreciate the intensity of Hosea’s message. Anything less may leave the reader somewhat confused or even scarred by what Hosea says about God. But Hosea’s message is particularly powerful in helping us deal with life’s most intense and troubling circumstances. This paper attempts to address some of the striking images of Hosea in a way that will assist religious educators with helping students navigate some of the …

"Knocking On People's Computers" Missionary Work In The Digital Age, Scott L. Howell, Liberty Howell, Camellia Hill

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The missionary purpose of bringing souls unto Christ will never change, but the methods of sharing it will. Over fifty years ago, President Harold B. Lee taught that “the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ are divine. Nobody changes the principles and [doctrine] of the Church except the Lord by revelation. But methods change as the inspired direction comes to those who preside at a given time.”[1] In a recent Church News podcast, Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy reminded us that “no matter the method we use to do missionary work: Whether it’s a …

Brokerage House Ipos And Analyst Forecast Quality, Mark Bradshaw, Michael S. Drake, Joseph Pacelli, Brady Twedt

Faculty Publications

We examine how brokerage firm IPOs influence the research quality of sell-side analysts employed by the brokerage. Our main results focus on earnings forecast bias and absolute forecast errors as proxies for research quality. Using a staggered difference-in-differences analysis, we document significant decreases in forecast bias and absolute forecast error during the two-year period centered on the analysts’ brokerage house IPO. In additional analyses, we explore several potential explanations for the short-term benefits of brokerage house IPOs. We find some evidence that IPOs delay the departure of more talented analysts and that the effects are more concentrated among analysts and …

Green Energy Usage In The United States, Chad Hyer

Ballard Brief

Greenhouse gas emissions are the largest contributor to climate change. Green energy solutions prove a promising approach to remedying these emissions, but major economic reliance on fossil fuels, complacent and dismissive attitudes towards climate change, and political polarization and gridlock have encouraged inaction regarding the adoption of green energy in the United States. Such inaction has led to a host of consequences that are detrimental to the United States's environment, economy, and international image. Some efforts by NG0s and for-profit companies have helped remediate such inaction. This brief aims to address the context, contributing factors, and consequences of this inaction …

Contemporary Femininities In Mormonism And In Ireland: Challenging And Confirming Essentialism In Online Spaces, Hazel O'Brien

Mormon Studies Review

How are gender identities negotiated within Irish Mormonism, and does this intersect with trends identifiable within Mormonism more generally? In this paper I use the examples of modern Ireland and modern Mormonism to speculate regarding the nature of gendered identities online. I suggest that Irish and Mormon cultures are both confronting serious challenges to traditional essentialist interpretations of femininity that have long dominated their cultural landscapes. I also suggest that social media (SM) and online spaces are facilitating these challenges. However, I observe that online spaces are also used in Irish Mormonism to conform to hegemonic Mormon understandings of gender …

Sexual Abuse Of Children In The United States Foster Care System, Abigail Hessing

Ballard Brief

Foster care is a long-running and relatively commonplace system in the US: however, in 2019 there were an estimated 400,000 children in foster care, leaving the system overwhelmed and at its peak capacity. Of those children, it is estimated that up to 40% of them had experienced some type of abuse within the system. Looking at sexual abuse specifically, vulnerable children are often targeted by sexual predators, and when grouped together in a system underequipped to provide adequate protection, foster care children can become easily accessible targets for sexual abuse. Caretakers who are undersupported and households that are overfilled create …

Violence Against Refugee Women In The Mena Region, Genevieve Cole, Harriet Huang

Ballard Brief

Refugee women of the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region are exposed to violence in a variety of ways along their refugee journey. Once within refugee camps, refugee women face high risk spaces for violence, inhibited privacy, as well as unequal gender based power relations between themselves and predominantly male staff. Outside of refugee camps, lack of and improper implementation of cross-border policies allow trafficking networks, authority figures, and other perpetrators of GBV to harm refugee women without fear of repercussions. Victims of GBV can experience a variety of short and long term physical and mental health concerns that can …

Rise And Run Latter-Day Saint Women And Good Government, Susan R. Madsen

BYU Studies

Thomas Jefferson believed that “the care of human life & happiness, & not their destruction, is the first & only legitimate object of good government.” According to Elder Wilford W. Andersen of the Seventy, one of the ways good government cares for human life and happiness is when it “protects religion and fosters religious freedom. And good religion encourages good citizenship and adherence to the law of the land.” If we are to ensure that human life, happiness, and religious freedom will thrive and be protected in the years ahead, women must be active in government. Women’s participation is essential …

"None That Doeth Good", Walker Wright, Don Bradley

BYU Studies

The First Vision has been a center of both faith and controversy. While millions of Latter-day Saints affirm it as the beginning of the Restoration, others see it as an ever-growing fish tale. The multiple accounts of the First Vision vary in detail, with Joseph Smith’s earliest written account (1832) lacking some of the elements found in his later accounts. However, some of these elements—particularly the appearance of God the Father as part of the First Vision experience—are laced throughout Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible. These historical threads ultimately culminate in his translation of Psalm 14, which weaves together …

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Abrahamic Covenant, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One of the important doctrinal contributions of the Book of Abraham is its elaboration on the nature of the Abrahamic covenant (Abr. 2:6–11). While some details about the Abrahamic covenant can be read in the book of Genesis (12:1–5; compare 26:1–4, 24; 28; 35:9–13; 48:3–4), it is in the Book of Abraham where additional important aspects about this covenant are revealed. The main significance of the Abrahamic covenant as expanded upon in the Book of Abraham is that it involves a “right to the priesthood . . . as the essence of Abraham’s inheritance.” Indeed, the covenant Abraham entered into …

Rebaptism In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Jonathan A. Stapley, David W. Grua

BYU Studies

The first day of November 1847 brought Patty Sessions a snowstorm that blew her tent down and shredded it. But life in Winter Quarters was never easy, and Sessions maintained her regular schedule despite the disruption. She was a midwife and had a central position among the women of the city. Over the next week alone, she delivered four babies and attended four meetings. She also sewed for hire, and she anointed and blessed in faith. And on Friday the 26th, as she wrote in her diary, “I was baptized.” In this short three-word entry, Sessions documented one of the …

End Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Student Co-Creation Of Teaching Resources, Methods, And Social Integration, Laura Janda, Anna Endresen, Svetlana Sokolova

Russian Language Journal

Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice that increases student learning and is driven by engaging in mentoring relationships with faculty while building a culture of innovation and scholarship. This volume of the Russian Language Journal presents a special collection of articles entitled “Collaboration Beyond the Classroom: Undergraduate Research in Russian Language Studies.” Undergraduate students have contributed to these articles as researchers and coauthors on topics related to Russian language study, namely, the co-creation of teaching resources, methods, and sociolinguistic integration.

Flipping The Classroom? From Text To Video In Teaching Russian Grammar, Tore Nesset, Kristian Bjørklund, Petter Hov Jacobsen

Russian Language Journal

The notion of a “flipped classroom” has received considerable attention in recent years. This article reports on a project in which an instructor and two students co-created teaching materials to facilitate flipping the classroom. The purpose of the article is twofold. First, we explore some aspects of flipped classrooms in Russian language courses. Second, we reflect on the opportunities and limitations of student involvement in pedagogical development.

Psychological Safety In The Russian Language Classroom, Kelly Knickmeier Cummings, B. Amarilis Lugo De Fabritz, Tia-Andrea Scott, Nsikakabasi Ekong, Isabella Mason

Russian Language Journal

This article seeks to join the ongoing, vibrant discussion about how to foster inclusivity in our classrooms and build a pipeline of Russian language students that is more reflective of the demographic fabric of the United States. Three BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) third-year Russian language students and their instructors at Howard University collaborated as coauthors. We drew from the field of organizational behavior to consider the relevance the concept psychological safety may have for second language acquisition (SLA), and we begin to assess its utility in the Russian language classroom.

Grammars In Contact: A Linguistic Study Of Russian In Brighton Beach, New York, Oksana Laleko, Yana Miroshnychenko

Russian Language Journal

Within the burgeoning linguistic field of heritage language studies, two research traditions have emerged in recent years. The first, adopted most commonly in the studies of less robustly maintained heritage languages, draws generalizations across grammars instantiated in individual heritage language idiolects, taking as its focal point what diachronic linguists term the innovation phase of language change (Croft, 2000). The other approach, manifested most representatively in accounts of linguistic varieties emerging in relatively more established speech communities, focuses more closely on features that become conventionalized among heritage language speakers, a component of language change known as propagation (Croft, 2000). Considering the …

Book Review: Practices That Work: Bringing Learners To Professional Proficiency In World Languages, Olena Chernishenko

Russian Language Journal

Practices That Work is an excellent resource for both new and experienced foreign-language instructors, as well as for foreign-language learners. The volume is a compilation of short, thematically organized articles written by numerous experts in the field of foreign-language teaching who share invaluable insights about bringing learners to high-level professional proficiency in world languages. While Practices That Work offers a plethora of effective techniques for instructors, it also provides deep understanding of the learning process, which will benefit the development of learner’s self-awareness and autonomy.

Sacred Space, Jacqueline Price

BYU Studies

My painting is about how an ordinary space can be made sacred when we invite the heavenly and earthly realms to align more closely. As a young woman reading her scriptures looks up towards heaven for inspiration, light and the Spirit of God fall upon her, and a connection is made.

Good Government Begins With Self-Government, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye

BYU Studies

For nearly a thousand years (from around 960 to 1905 CE), becoming a government official in imperial China required passing a battery of multiday, multisubject, anonymously graded written exams requiring decades of intensive preparation. Eighteenth-century European politi- cal thinkers, including Voltaire, admired China’s system for using meritocratic criteria, as opposed to aristocratic birth, to select government officials. The exams tested not only scholars’ abilities in history, philosophy, government, and literature, but also—in theory at least—their personal cultivation of moral virtues such as benevolence and integrity. Good government required goodness.

Fellow Travelers, Brothers And Sisters, Children Of God, Dieter F. Uchtdorf

BYU Studies

For a long time, my wife, Harriet, and I felt a need to visit Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp and site of the brutal murders of millions during World War II. So when we were in Eastern Europe a few

years ago, we made a point of making a pilgrimage to the site. One cannot visit such a place without coming away from it changed. We walked along the same paths that so many others had walked. One could almost see weary mothers holding the hands of terrified children; the hobbling steps of the elderly and the infirm; the despair …

“To Moderate And Unify” The Role That Latter-Day Saint Citizen-Rhetors Can Play In Healing American Political Discourse, Kristine Hansen

BYU Studies

In the April 1997 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring stated, “When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention.” Repetition, he asserted, means the Lord’s servants are “warning the people, telling them the way to safety.” In both the October 2020 and the April 2021 general conferences, President Dallin H. Oaks stressed the importance of the rule of law and the best ways to participate as citizens in political processes. Although he focused on the United States, President Oaks reassured his global audience that the principles he …

Durability Of Vacuum Infusion Tooling Produced From Fused Granular Fabrication Additive Manufacturing, Nathan Northrup, Jason Weaver, Andy R. George

Faculty Publications

Large area additive manufacturing (LAAM) has the capability to create tooling that is lower cost than conventionally manufactured tooling and still has sufficient properties for many applications. A vacuum infusion mold was printed from fiberglass-ABS and evaluated for wear and suitability for small vacuum infusion runs. The mold was designed to accentuate high wear as a “worst case” scenario. The mold was able to produce 10 parts successfully before any noticeable change occurred to the surface finish. By 14 parts, the surface finish had roughened sufficiently that demolding was difficult and resulted in damage to the part. Profilometry measurements showed …