Digital Commons Network^™

Joseph Smith At The Veil: Significant Ritual, Symbolism, And Temple Influence At Latter-Day Saint Beginnings, George L. Mitton

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

The prophet Joseph Smith was paced through a life steeped in ritual and symbolism. Notable things Joseph did or experienced under angelic guidance may be seen as ritual procedures that may require careful consideration to discern their meaning, what they symbolize, their purpose, and their importance to the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Failure to recognize the function of ritual has resulted in much misunderstanding and criticism of Joseph. Many of his early actions and procedures were closely related to the ancient temple. They amount to an anticipation and witness of the temple and its …

Rethinking The Encounter Between Jacob And Sherem, Loren Spendlove

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

The Book of Mormon story of Jacob and Sherem has been evaluated and interpreted from many different viewpoints over the years. In his retelling of the story, Jacob crafted a cautionary tale of religious hubris and self-importance that can serve as an important lesson for members of the church today. In this paper I use various methodologies to examine the interaction between Jacob and Sherem — including comparative scriptural analysis, semantics, and Hebraic syntax and structural elements — in an attempt to increase our understanding of the relationship between Jacob and Sherem.

Process Interviews, Joe Anson

The Utah English Journal

In an attempt to have the students care more about how they could improve their writing, I decided to focus on the writing process as opposed to the final product. And because students start with varying shades of writing aptitude, I felt it important that all the writers in my classroom be given the chance to earn a high grade as we focused on improving writing, not writing perfectly.

Using Inquiry To Drive Revision, Mercedes Allen

The Utah English Journal

When an object needs motion, it needs something to cause movement, to drive it. A car needs gasoline. A kite needs wind. A runner needs nutrient rich food and plenty of water. Just like these things need a substance or force to keep them going, students need something to fuel them as they go through the writing process. While it would be much simpler for us to give students crackers or suckers to fix a student with writer's block, there is something else we can implement into our classrooms daily to give our students the power to continue to move …

Book Review: Ain't Burned All The Bright, Rachel Billings

The Utah English Journal

Ain't Burned All the Bright captures the anxieties, fears, and tensions of 2020 clearly and vividly even though it consists of only three long sentences. Jason Reynolds tells the story of a Black boy and his family during the Covid-19 quarantine and pandemic. Through the prose of Reynolds and illustrations of Jason Griffin, the reader learns what the pandemic was like from the point of view of a typical teenager.

An Incomplete Success, Elva Shule Escobedo

The Utah English Journal

Once, I wrote a letter to my US senator, a request from my older brother who had left the country voluntarily just a few months before. In the letter, I explained my brother's complicated situation with his legal status and pleaded for his case. This letter became the catalyst for a writing assignment in my classroom. Students wanted to write their own letters and pleas to government officials, too, explaining their different family members' situations in hopes that their letters would make a difference. And so, they set out to write. They wrote like I had never seen them write. …

Playing With Poetry, Jessica Ashurst

The Utah English Journal

In my experience, the average student claims that they hate poetry. But, what if we try to get them to experience poetry by trying it in various forms instead of just digging for meaning in obscure poetry? This poetry unit encourages them to play with words and author's craft choices. Each poem becomes part of the poetry portfolio they tum in at the end of the unit.

Asian American Identity And Museum Collections, Natasha Wang

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

In June of 2022, the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act was passed in Congress (Commision to Study 2022, 117-140):

As part of the report, the Commission will need to address: (A) The availability and cost of collections to be acquired and housed in the Museum (B) The impact of the Museum on existing Asian Pacific American history-related museums. (Hirono 2022)

Membership Report, Ernie Thurston

Swiss American Historical Society Review

To: Members of the Swiss American Historical Society From: Ernie Thurston, Membership Secretary Subject: Annual Membership Report

IN BRIEF: We have 194 current members, a 2% decrease from the 198 reported last year at this time. Several members made extra contributions this year totalling $865.00. And one member paid the $500.00 to be come a Life Member: Joseph H. Smith.

Annual Report Of The Swiss Chapter, Switzerland, Barbara Müller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society annual meeting was held at Basel, Switzerland, on September 7, 2022. It began at 11:30 AM with a motion by Barbara Müller, President of The Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society and Vice President of the Swiss Chapter of the Swiss American Historical Society, to approve the minutes from last year’s annual meeting. It was seconded and approved. The minutes from the meeting held on September 8, 2021, in Zurich, Switzerland include:

• Draft Minutes for the annual meeting on September 3, 2020, were approved.

• A gift and thank you …

End Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Poem For My Wife, Christina, On Our 8th Wedding Anniversary, Dante Di Stefano

Inscape

No abstract provided.

Fall 2023 Editor’S Note, Mikayla Johnson

Inscape

We all believe in something, we have to believe in something, otherwise what keeps us going, really, at the end of the day, in the twists and turns and ups and downs and heartbreaks and heart stops of day-to-day living; this is what I tell myself, what you tell yourself, what he or she and they and we all tell ourselves, whenever the clock stops, or the eyes close, or the screen turns black.

The Girl Who Couldn't Cook, Jenedy Paige

Inscape

No abstract provided.

When Big Brother Blinks, Josh Eyre

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

When discussing modern Japanese literature, works of the late 1930s and early 1940s are largely left out of the discussion. Stories written during this time are ignored by scholars, forgotten by readers, and at times even excluded from an author’s “complete works” by publishers (Keene 1987, 906–907). These works are often thought to be devoid of literary merit or not worth studying due to the high levels of scrutiny and censorship that Japanese authors were subjected to by the far right and intensely nationalistic Japanese government of the time. I would argue, however, that the near total dismissal of Japanese …

Full Issue

Inscape

No abstract provided.

The Mountainside Girl, Samuel Charles

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

A Truly Remarkable Book, Louis Midgley

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

Saving Faith is a truly excellent book, designed especially for families concerned about their children. It is also a book appropriate for those getting ready to serve as missionaries, or for newly married couples, young couples about to be married, or even for those about to bring children into this world to undergo their mortal probation.

The Nephite Metaphor Of Life As A Probation: Rethinking Nephi’S Portrayal Of Laman And Lemuel, Noel B. Reynolds

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

Commentaries on Nephi’s first book tend to interpret the fraternal struggles it reports as historical facts that are meant primarily to invite readers’ evaluative responses. While recognizing the historical character of the facts marshalled by Nephi, this paper will argue that the author transposes that history into an allegory meant to inspire his readers in all times and places to abandon prevailing metaphors of life that are focused on the attainment of worldly goods and pleasures. In their place, Nephi offers the revealed metaphor of life as a day of probation taught to him and his father in their great …

Why Are Utahns Paying Sales Tax On Tampons But Not Viagra?, Hannah Rigby Johnson

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

If you're perused a drug store recently, you likely noticed that for being 0.3527 of an ounce of cotton with a string attached to it, tampons are expensive, Like, really expensive. The average menstruator spends $20 on period products per month according to the National Organization of Women (Kim 2021). Oh, and that's just for the products themselves--Utah women will collectively spend about several billion dollars in their lifetime on just sales tax for pads and tampons. That's a big deal for anyone, especially a single mother trying to feed her family on one paycheck or a sixth-grade girl with …

Zipper Lips (First Person), Emily May

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

Not Alone, Naomi Worth

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

Gifts From Mother God, Emily Felt

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

All Things Denote, Rachel Sumsion

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

Joy Of A Different Kind, Edward Lee

Inscape

No abstract provided.

Interview With Michael Lavers

Inscape

Michael Lavers has poems that have recently appeared in Best New Poets 2015, The Hudson Review, Arts & Letters, 32 Poems, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. He teaches poetry at Brigham Young University.

That They May Be Light, Stephanie Hock

BYU Studies

When covenant women are together, they become each other’s shelter. The storms might be raging around them, but they don’t feel the rain or hear the thunder because they’re so busy laughing and loving each other. They carry burdens collectively as they walk forward toward the light. They encourage each other to keep going and lean on each other when it’s hard. I have found that walking through the storms of life with these women at my side has brought more relief than I could ever imagine.

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"He Is God; And He Is With Them", Matthew L. Bowen

BYU Studies

The prophet Isaiah foretold to Ahaz and the house of David: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). Latter-day Saints often interpret and teach the “Immanuel” prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 as a simple, straightforward messianic prophecy with a single fulfillment in the birth of Jesus Christ. Most pay little attention to the historical circumstances in which Isaiah gave the prophecy—namely, the Syro-Ephraimite crisis prior to the Assyrian invasion in the eighth century BCE. The idea of a more immediate, contemporary fulfillment …