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Varieties Of Religion-Family Linkages, John R. Snarey, David C. Dollahite

Faculty Publications

The 4 articles in this special issue make important contributions to both family and religious studies as well as to their interface. This commentary begins by considering 4 unifying themes present across all of the articles, including meaningful religion-family linkages, the importance of gender differences in the faith-family interface, the significance of intergenerational relationships, and the need for better theory. The authors then discuss the unique major strength and secondary limitations of each study. Finally, the commentary focuses on two challenges inhibiting the contemporary study of religion and the family–a relative lack of racial and religious diversity in samples and …

Seismic Adjustments: The Influence Of Inconvenience And Efficacy Perceptions, State Of Residence, And Demographic Factors, Nicole Elise Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that peoples' perceptions of household seismic adjustments, in addition to their perceptions of earthquakes themselves, should predict the likelihood that seismic adjustments are performed. However, little research has been done to address this issue. While recent research has found peoples' perceptions of the effectiveness of household adjustments to influence adjustment levels, people's perceptions of inconvenience of household seismic adjustments - namely the cost, time effort, required cooperation and required knowledge involved in making these adjustments - have been found to not influence seismic adjustment. However, this study did find that the higher the perceived inconveniences …

Josiah Quincy's 1844 Visit With Joseph Smith, Jed L. Woodworth

BYU Studies

A prophet's claims have always invited attention. The Prophet Joseph Smith took calls from an array of personalities who would not be satisfied without seeing this curiosity in the flesh. The visitors came from near and far and from every walk and station of life: politicians and priests, paupers and pundits, charlatans and seekers, and almost everything in between. Arriving first in a trickle and then in a stream, they found the Prophet wherever he had gathered the Saints. Some of the travelers left accounts of their visits, and from these sketches later generations came to know Joseph, too.

A Descriptive Bibliography Of The Mormon Church: Volume One 1830-1847 Peter Crawley; Studies In Mormon History, 1830-1997: An Indexed Bibliography, With A Topical Guide To Published Social Science Literature On The Mormons James B. Allen, Ronald W. Walker, And David J. Whittaker, Larry W. Draper

BYU Studies

Peter Crawley. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church: Volume Once, 1830-1847. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997. 477 pp. Illustrations, indexes. $55.00.

James B. Allen, Ronald W. Walker, and David J. Whittaker. Studies in Mormon History, 1830-1997: An Indexed Bibliography, with a Topical Guide to Published Social Science Literature on the Mormons [by] Armand L. Mauss and Dynette Ivie Reynolds. Urbana: University of Illinois Press in cooperation with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for LDS History, Brigham Young University, 2000. 1,152 pp. $100.00.

Nephi And His Asherah, Daniel C. Peterson

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Asherah was the chief goddess of the Canaanites. She was El’s wife and the mother and wet nurse of the other gods. At least some Israelites worshipped her over a period from the conquest of Canaan in the second millennium before Christ to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (the time of Lehi’s departure with his family). Asherah was associated with trees—sacred trees. The rabbinic authors of the Jewish Mishna (second–third century ad) explain the asherah as a tree that was worshipped. In 1 Nephi 11, Nephi considers the meaning of the tree of life as he sees it …

Centenary Of A Giant, Journal Of Book Of Mormon M. Studies

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

It has been 100 years since George Reynolds published his massive work, A Complete Concordance of the Book of Mormon. Reynolds worked on this project, begun while serving a prison sentence for polygamy, over 21 years of his life. He tabulated virtually every word used in the Book of Mormon except a few of the most common words, and gave a portion of the sentence in which each cited word appeared. He himself paid all the printing costs.

Out Of The Dust: Finding Things Where They Are Not Supposed To Be, Journal Of Book Of Mormon Studies

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Archaeological discoveries that challenge previously accepted theories of the history of civilization are found all over the world.

Desert Epiphany: Sariah And The Women In 1 Nephi, Camille Fronk

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Insights can be gained by considering the eight-year wilderness sojourn of Lehi’s company through the eyes of the women who were there. Leaving the comforts of civilization for the difficulties of the desert would have been very challenging. While the record in 1 Nephi mentions nine women, Sariah was the only one identified by name. Nephi records Sariah’s struggles as well as her testimony. The record of the women in 1 Nephi communicates much about the need to seek and receive one’s own witness of truth.

Lehi As Moses, Noel B. Reynolds

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Lehi and his people understood their own times in terms of types and shadows from the past. God’s leading the family out of Jerusalem and reinstituting his covenant with Lehi in a new promised land can be understood only by comparison with the exodus and the roles of Lehi and Nephi in terms of Moses. This article identifies fourteen Mosiac themes and circumstances that Lehi invoked in his sermon recorded in 2 Nephi 1 and illustrates close parallels with these themes in Deuteronomy. Lehi may have compared himself to Moses as a rhetorical device to help his children see the …

The Problematic Role Of Dna Testing In Unraveling Human History, John L. Sorenson

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Over the last century, new techniques of scientific analysis have been developed that have been applied with the intent to clarify the course of human history. Immediately after World War II, blood group data seemed to provide a magic key to open up the history of the world’s populations, but by the 1960s such studies were shown to be unrealistic and misleading. The new tool in human biology and anthropology is DNA analysis. Despite cautions from the best scientists about the limits the new findings have for interpreting human history, some enthusiasts continue to claim too much for DNA study.

The Campaign And The Kingdom: The Activities Of The Electioneers In Joseph Smith's Presidential Campaign, Margaret C. Robertson

BYU Studies

In 1844, Joseph Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ran for president of the United States. At the April 1844 LDS general conference, a call was made for volunteers to "electioneer for Joseph to be the next President," as Heber C. Kimball put it. Immediately, 244 elders volunteered. By the time the list of names was recorded in the records of the Church a week later, the number approached 340. Even more elders eventually volunteered or were called to take up the cause. As part of the campaign, the Quorum of the Twelve scheduled public …

Examining Six Key Concepts In Joseph Smith's Understanding Of Genesis 1:1, Kevin L. Barney

BYU Studies

Joseph Smith spent Sunday afternoon, April 7, 1844, in a grove behind the Nauvoo Temple. There he gave a funeral sermon, which lasted for over two hours, dedicated to a loyal friend named King Follett, who had been crushed by a bucket of rocks while repairing a well. Known today as the King Follett Discourse and widely believed to be the Prophet's greatest sermon, this address was Joseph's most cogent and forceful presentation of his Nauvoo doctrine on the nature of God, including the ideas of a plurality of Gods and the potential of a man to become as God. …

A Communities Of Discourse Approach To Early Lds Thought, Grant Underwood

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Three Reviews Of Mormon America: The Power And The Promise, Brian Q. Cannon, Alf Pratte, Marie Cornwall

BYU Studies

Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling. Mormon America: The Power and the Promise. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999. xxvi; 454 pp. Map, illustrations, notes, appendices, index. $26.00.

The Dance Of First Beginnings: Contemporary Maya Creation Rituals In A World Context, Allen J. Christenson

BYU Studies

A nearly universal characteristic of ancient societies is to periodically carry out ceremonies and festivals intended to renew life, particularly in connection with the creation of the world. Many of these ceremonies are tied to New Year's celebrations, linking the start of the calendar year with the beginning of time itself. Such ceremonies reinforce the notion that when the world left the hands of deity at the time of its birth, it had greater power to sustain life and nurture its inhabitants. But as with all things, the passage of time and the wear and tear of day-to-day existence inevitably …

The Disciple As Witness: Essays On Latter-Day Saint History And Doctrine In Honor Of Richard Lloyd Anderson, Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, Andrew H. Hedges

Maxwell Institute Publications

Richard Lloyd Anderson is a scholars’ scholar. Among Latter-day Saints, he is dean and master of two separate fields of academic study: the New Testament and early LDS Church history.

His passion for history has profoundly influenced his scholarly career; his passion for order and system has shaped his missionary work and directed him into studying law; and his love for Brigham Young University and loyalty to its mission and destiny have guided his academic path.

This volume, as you can see from the table of contents, contains essays written by outstanding LDS scholars on Book of Mormon Studies, Old …

East To West Through North And South: Mormon Immigration During The Civil War, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

When LDS immigrants on their way to Utah crossed the Atlantic Ocean or the Eastern United States between 1861 and 1864, they encountered the difficulties of traveling in a nation at war. Their first-person accounts paint a vivid picture of the obstacles faced by these Saints as they journeyed to Utah during the U.S. Civil War. The narratives also depict an effective immigration system directed by Brigham Young and operated by dedicated immigration agents and other faithful Mormons who assisted immigrants along their journey.

Brief Notices, David R. Seely, Robert L. Maxwell, Constance K. Lundberg

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Oliver Cowdery's Vermont Years And The Origins Of Mormonism, Larry E. Morris

BYU Studies

Most of what is known about Oliver Cowdery's youth comes from a well-known summary offered by his sister Lucy Cowdery Young:

Now in regard to Oliver he was born in the Town of Wells in the state of Vermont[.] when he was three years of age Father married my Mother she resided in the Town of Poultney so Oliver was brought up in Poultney Rutland County Vermont and when he arrived at the age of twenty he went to the State of New York where his older brothers were married and Settled and in about two years my father moved …

“The Old Adorns The New”: Reading The Book Of Mormon In Light Of The Bible, David Rolph Seely

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Review of From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon (1998), by S. Kent Brown

We Also Marched: The Women And Children Of Zion's Camp, 1834, Andrea G. Radke

BYU Studies

"All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith" (D&C 103:36). On February 24, 1834, Joseph Smith received this promise for the members of the Zion's Camp expedition. Further, the assurance came that "my [the Lord's] presence shall be with you.... Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again" (D&C 103:26-27). Certainly the expedition to Missouri in 1834 held terrible possibilities for danger, sickness, and violence. Nevertheless, spiritual blessings were promised to those …

Cultural Adjustment Factors Of Senior Missionaries On Assignment In The South Pacific For The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Jonathan W. Shute

Theses and Dissertations

The number of senior missionaries serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has increased in recent years. Many of these volunteers travel overseas and are therefore immersed in a different culture. Some of them adjust successfully and others do not. The purpose of this research was to assess senior missionaries' perceptions of the type of preparation they made and training they received before departure, the expectations they had of their assignment, the people and way of life in the islands, and the accuracy of those expectations, the challenges they faced, the factors that they felt helped …

"Journal Of The Branch Of The Church Of Christ In Pontiac,…1834": Hyrum Smith's Division Of Zion's Camp, Craig K. Manscill

BYU Studies

On April 21, 1834, Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight set out from Kirtland, Ohio, for Pontiac, Michigan, to recruit volunteers for the march of Zion's Camp. Their objective was to lead their recruits on a six-hundred-mile march to a prearranged rendezvous with Joseph Smith's Kirtland division in Missouri. Typically, scholarly treatments of the march of Zion's Camp have focused on the accounts of the Kirtland, Ohio, legion while overlooking the Hyrum Smith-Lyman Wight division of Zion's Camp. Yet Hyrum's group, when compared with Joseph's command, demonstrated a similarly significant commitment to addressing the needs of their fellow Saints in Missouri. …

Becoming Mormon Men: Male Rites Of Passage And The Rise Of Mormonism In Nineteenth-Century America, Bruce R. Lott

Theses and Dissertations

The evidence presented in this thesis supports a view of the first Mormon men as coming from the agrarian majority of early nineteenth-century American farmers and artisans who embraced a set of manly ideals that differed significantly, in many ways, from those embraced by their middle-class contemporaries. These men's life writings attest to boyhood experiences of working alongside their fathers as soon as they were physically able, and subsequently of acting as substitute farmers and breadwinners as well as being put out to work outside the direct supervision of their fathers. Such experiences enabled them to frequently follow in the …

Gendered Communication Among Second Generation Danish Americans In The "Blair Church:" A Study In Progress, John Mark Nielsen

The Bridge

I am not nor do I pretend to be an expert on gendered communication or feminist criticism. I have, however, used Carol Gilligan's In A Different Voice and Deborah Tannen's You Just Don't Understand in classes with good results.1 While students differ in their responses, these works are accessible to many and have inspired good discussion about how gender may affect decision-making and impact the way messages are sent and received. Additionally, I have found writings by Peggy McIntosh, Carol Smith-Rosenberg, and Barbara Welter helpful in exploring and thinking about the writings of American women writers of the pre-Civil War …

By Study And Also By Faith: The Faculty At Brigham Young University Responds, Keith J. Wilson

BYU Studies

This article present significant statistical information about BYU faculty attitudes toward faith and scholarship gathered in a 1998 survey conducted at selected religious universities by researchers at Baylor University.

The Lord's University: Freedom And Authority At Byu Bryan Waterman And Brian Kagel, Kent P. Jackson

BYU Studies

Bryan Waterman and Brian Kagel. The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998. xii; 453 pp. Illustrations, index. $19.95.

Brief Notices, Marvin E. Wiggins, Terry Dahlin, Larry W. Draper, Jed L. Woodworth

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Joseph Smith Portraits: A Search For The Prophet's Likeness Ephraim Hatch, Robert O. Davis

BYU Studies

Ephraim Hatch. Joseph Smith Portraits: A Sear for the Prophet's Likeness. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1998. viii; 112 pp. Illustrations, index. $18.95.

Weighing And Measuring In The Worlds Of The Book Of Mormon, John W. Welch

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

This article addresses the seemingly misplaced discussion of weights and measures in the middle of Alma 11 in the Book of Mormon. Although the interruption initially seems strange, John Welch offers new insights to explain its purpose in the Book of Mormon. For instance, knowledge of the Nephite monetary system supplements a reader’s comprehension of the bribery and corruption that occurred in that society. Evidence of this monetary system also shows a link between Near Eastern civilizations and Book of Mormon civilizations, thus providing further evidence for the divinity of Joseph Smith’s work.