Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

How Microbiota Affect The Drosophila Melanogaster Life History Approach, Ricardo Romo, John M. Chaston

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

• The microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster plays a significant role in its life history strategy and local adaptation [1]. This study examines how variations in microbiota composition influence the trade-offs between reproduction and somatic maintenance.
• Previous research has shown that LAB and AAB bacteria affect Drosophila Melanogaster life history strategies and this research explores the effects of LAB and AAB bacterial strains on flies raised under controlled conditions.
• This study contributes to the growing evidence that microbiota is an essential factor in understanding local adaptation and evolutionary biology and how certain bacterial strains affect an organism’s reproductive strategy.

Practical Faith For The Real World Reading As If, Believing As If, Kylie Turley

BYU Studies

A few years ago, I was talking with some friends about the Book of Mormon. Actually, if you know me much at all, then you know that those last five words are unnecessary. Of course I was talking about the Book of Mormon. My children have been known to complain that the Book of Mormon is all I talk about. But let’s continue the story: One of my friends indicated that we “cannot read the Book of Mormon down to the word level.” She insisted that it was just not possible to read it “as if individual words are meaningful.”

Review: Latter-Day Saint Art: A Critical Reader Edited By Amanda K. Beardsley And Mason Kamana Allred Oxford University Press, 2024, Maddie Blonquist

BYU Studies

The Center for Latter-day Saint Arts’ impressive new volume, Latter-day Saint Art: A Critical Reader (Oxford University Press, 2024), makes an ambitious and long-awaited contribution to the fields of religious studies, art history, visual and material culture, and cultural theory. This edited collection is both intellectually and physically substantial, with over 600 pages, nearly 250 reproductions, and twenty-two authors from a myriad of disciplines. Scholars of history, art, film, and media studies share space with artists, museum directors, filmmakers, curators, theologians, and journalists who span the spectrum in their relationship to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The …

End Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Interview With Alyson Hagy, Ian Curtis

Inscape

Alyson Hagy graduated from Williams College and received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. She is the author of six collections of short stories and two novels, Boleto and Scribe. She currently teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Wyoming and lives in Laramie, Wyoming with her husband, with whom she has one son.

Testing The Effect Of Speech Separation On Vowel Formant Estimates, Joseph A. Stanley, Lisa Morgan Johnson, Earl Kjar Brown

Faculty Publications

While recent advances in sociophonetic data processing have made it possible to analyze large datasets and audio not originally intended for linguistic analysis, overlapping speech in recordings with multiple speakers continues to be an issue that results in lost data. We evaluate whether current source separation models produce audio that is clean enough to produce reliable measurements for sociophonetic analysis. We compare formant estimates from a pair of pristine recordings and merged-and-separated versions of those same recordings using the Libri2mix, Whamr16K, and WSJ02mix source separation models. Based on auditory inspection of the separated files, visualization of vowel formant estimates, and …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Interview With Byu–Hawaii President John Kauwe Iii, Fred E. Woods

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This interview with President Kauwe traces Kauwe’s path from his time as a student at BYU to his appointment as the eleventh president of BYU–Hawaii. Kauwe shares insights into his Hawaiian heritage, academic and professional accomplishments, and his aspirations for the university. He underscores the vital role of faculty inbuilding students’ confidence, the distinct intercultural setting of BYU–Hawaii, and the centrality of the gospel in education. Reflecting on the rapid progression of his career, Kauwe also speaks about the importance of following divine guidance in our lives. The interview captures his dedication to promoting intercultural harmony and his deep testimony …

End Matter

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Words Never To Be Forgotten The Thoughtful Legacy Of Neal A. Maxwell, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

Many people in the world today cherish precious memories of times when Elder Maxwell (1926–2004) indelibly touched their lives. In so many cases, the thoughtful and thought-filled legacy of Neal A. Maxwell has left us all with a trove of words never to be forgotten.1 In subtitling this article “The Thoughtful Legacy of Neal A. Maxwell,” the ambiguity embedded there is intentional. His legacy is not only full of thought but also thoughtful. Everything he said and did was perfectly framed and eloquently stated; and, more than that, it was also perfectly thoughtful, kind, and concerned about other people. I …

“There Is Law” Joseph Smith’S Use Of Arbitration To Protect The Book Of Mormon, Jeffrey N. Walker, Andrew H. Hedges, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat

BYU Studies

This case marks the first time Joseph Smith invoked his legal rights to safeguard work connected with his prophetic calling from abuse or exploitation. The case arose from Abner Cole’s1 January 1830 efforts to publish Book of Mormon excerpts in his newspaper The Reflector, which he printed on the same Palmyra, New York, press that the Book of Mormon was being printed on. The case was evidently settled in Joseph Smith’s favor through arbitration, an out-of- court option for adjudication that New York law considered legally binding.2

Artificial Intelligence In Educational Research And Scholarship: Seven Framings, Eamon Costello, Giselle Ferreira, Stefan Hrastinski, Jason K. Mcdonald, Ahmed Tlili, George Veletsianos, Victoria I. Marin, Henk Huijser, Sharon Altena

Faculty Publications

In a recent interview (Bender et al., 2025), Professor Emily M. Bender discussed the limitations of technical solutions in addressing harmful Artificial Intelligence (AI) bias. She described a particular point we may reach at which technical solutions stop working, and when we should then widen the lens to ask about the problem framing itself. This is a crucial step in any inquiry that is of concern to both novice and experienced researchers alike: moving from problem-solving to problematisation. This commentary aims to provide educational researchers with a glimpse into the wide array of research problems and problematisation of AI in …

Designing For Relational Ethics In Online And Blended Learning: Levinas, Buber, And Teaching Interfaith Ethics, Michael Hubbard Mackay, Jason K. Mcdonald, Andrew C. Reed

Faculty Publications

Online and blended learning (OBL) overemphasize the process of creating artifacts, producing strategies, or otherwise utilizing a “making” orientation in education. As an alternative to this making-orientation, we offer a model for relational course design founded in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber. We examine an OBL course design focused on interfaith leadership and ethics that lends itself to the need for relational pedagogy. The focus on asymmetrical and symmetrical relationships that separate Levinas and Buber’s philosophies enable rich ways of designing relational pedagogies and for resisting the making orientation. By focusing on human relationships, we demonstrate design …

The Development Of A Rag-Based Artificial Intelligence Research Assistant (Aira), Hamid Vakilzadeh, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Browsing Within An Academic Library, Holt Zaugg, Jillian Bunderson

Faculty Publications

Purpose – Browsing library resources is a method long used by researchers to expand their understanding of ill-defined projects and to have serendipitous research discoveries. This study sought to understand the browsing activities of students in an academic library. Design/methodology/approach – The study used two methods. First, a link to an online survey was posted on posters throughout the library inviting students to share their browsing experience. Second, library security officers (student employees) were asked to count the number of people browsing within the stacks as they conducted their hourly walk-throughs of the library. Browsing was broadly defined as anyone …

If The Body Keeps The Score, What Happens When You Bring The Body To Work? Exploring The Health Effects Of Trauma On Human Capital, Lisa Jones Christensen, Elizabeth Embry, Arielle Badger Newman, Paul C. Godfrey

Faculty Publications

Data reveal that the physical effects of trauma exposure increasingly surface in business, social, and other settings. Exposure to trauma at any point in life can cause employee health concerns, yet many firms do not acknowledge or address this. Herein, we combine trauma theory with human capital theory to explain how manifestations of trauma exposure—hyperarousal, intrusion, and constriction—impact employee health and performance. This article outlines how each manifestation affects human capital deployment, and thus employee performance. It further demonstrates how these human capital deployment issues have individual- and unit-level performance implications. This article offers a theory linking health effects of …

I Have Learned For Myself Teaching The First Vision To The Rising Generation, Jess Jones

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Latter-day Saint youth learning about Joseph Smith’s First Vision can draw inspiration and courage from his example to “ask of God,” as James directs, and seek heavenly wisdom. But Joseph’s faith did not end with that singular experience in the grove—world-changing though it was. Instead, here lied on scripture, personal sacred memories, and family relationships to build the spiritual resilience that sustained him throughout his life. Those who leave the Church may draw on narrative arcs from their abandoned religious past, finding parallels in Joseph’s feelings of confusion, discontent, discord, and uncertainty about the truth. Therefore, teachers must emphasize that …

"Changed... Even As By The Spirit Of The Lord", Robert Erickson

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Recognizing and following the influence of the Spirit is perhaps the most important skill we can develop in this life. Unfortunately, it is often misunderstood and ambiguously explained. The primary mission of the Holy Ghost is not a momentary hug to comfort us or to tell us what to do by giving us thoughts. His work and glory is the same as that of our Heavenly Father and Savior: to bring to pass our salvation and exaltation, or in other words, to help us become as they are. Scriptures shows that prophets across millennia, geographies, cultures, and languages reference the …

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

The Chosen: Insights For Latter-Day Saints, John Hilton Iii, Julie Hollenbaugh

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This article explores the impact of the television series The Chosen through the lens of Latter-day Saint theology, education, and interfaith connection. Highlighting its unprecedented global reach, the article examines how the series can deepen viewers’ understanding of Jesus Christ. It recounts the miraculous circumstances through which The Chosen gained access to the Church’s Jerusalem set in Goshen, Utah, and underscores the production’s ecumenical spirit, involving Evangelical, Catholic, and Latter-day Saint collaborators. The article further outline show The Chosen can strengthen interfaith dialogue and be used in gospel classrooms and homes as a tool for spiritual growth.

Nurturing Religious Education Using Artificial Intelligence, Matt Gardner

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This essay focuses on helping teachers, parents, and students understand and become familiar with artificial intelligence (AI)—specifically, its capabilities and how it will affect our homes and classrooms. In doing so, teachers, parents, students, and children will learn to use certain gospel-approved principles to most successfully use and operate these new technologies to bless the lives of God’s children.

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Visions Of Salvation: What The Visions Of Joseph Smith Reveal To Us About How To Inherit Heaven, Mark A. Mathews

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

As the Prophet Joseph Smith sought answers to profound questions concerning salvation and the afterlife, he received instruction through a series of visions. This article explores Joseph Smith’s evolving understanding of salvation as revealed through key visions, including the First Vision, encounters with angelic beings, and revelations on the kingdoms of glory and salvation for the dead. These visions unfolded a comprehensive doctrine of salvation rooted in faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. They also expanded the concept of salvation to include kingdoms of glory and salvation for the dead, making a degree …

What Are We To Make Of The Gold Plates?, Richard Lyman Bushman

BYU Studies

During the winter of 2020–2021, I worked on the manuscript that was eventually published as Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 2023). The book was an attempt to describe the many ways the plates had been imagined from the time they were first described as a “Golden Bible” in the June 1829 Wayne Sentinel1 down to the Sunday School and missionary lessons today. I marveled at the enduring interest in the plates over time, not only among Latter-day Saints but also among other American writers. In my lifetime, the plates had appeared in the Book of …

“Not Only Men But Women Also” An Argument For Alma’S Intentional Inclusion Of Women, Cassidy Nichole Pyper

BYU Studies

In an interestingly specific inclusion of women, Alma taught the Zoramites that “[God] imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also” (Alma 32:23). This phrase suggests that Alma had an awareness of women and their ability to receive revelation despite how little the Book of Mormon explicitly includes women in its narrative.1 The Book of Mormon mentions women at drastically lower rates than even the Bible.2 Some students of the Book of Mormon are concerned not only that women are rarely spoken of in the text but also that women may have been ignored …

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Quidditas

No abstract provided.

Review: Out Of The Mouths Of Babes: Infant Voices In Medieval French Literature, Alani Hicks-Bartlett

Quidditas

Voicing a stirring call for readers to reconsider the silence and lacunae that are traditionally attributed to infancy, in her latest monograph, Julie Singer situates infancy as both an essential critical framework and an instructive, illuminative methodology through which a gaping archival silence can be rectified-that silence being literary representations of the medieval child, and specifically, the spoken life of the medieval child. As Singer argues, infancy and childhood entwine rather indiscernibly with each other in accordance with the medieval attribution of a longue dureé to infancy (Isidore of Seville, for instance, posited infancy as a stage lasting for about …