Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Register Analysis Of Public Prayers, Lindsey Newton, Brett Hashimoto

BYU Studies

Prayer, as defined by scholars Corwin and Brown, is “a form of ritual language . . . [that] affords humans the possibility to communicate with non-human others.” As a linguistic register (that is, a variety of language defined by an area of use, such as academic research articles, text messages, sermons, or blog posts), it denotes communication with an unseen being, primarily in a religious context. However, “despite the importance of religion and ritual in anthropology, prayer, a key component of religious practices and institutions, has received very little empirical attention.” This is partially because the complexity of religion as …

“The Gospel Of Intelligence And Culture”: Literature And Literary Instruction In The Twentieth-Century Mia Curriculum, Michael Austin, Rachel Meibos Helps

BYU Studies

In his journal for April 29, 1888, Bishop Orson F. Whitney recorded a curious meeting that he had with an Apostle. “Had a long conversation in the morning with Apostle Moses Thatcher,” wrote Whitney. “He gave me a blessing and set me apart to deliver a lecture on Sunday, June 3rd next, at the Mutual Improvement Conference in the Tabernacle. My subject is Home Literature. I consented to deliver it, though very busy and overworked, at the request of the Authorities.” This remarkable assignment— he was called and set apart to give a speech in the way men at the …

The Baptismal Chair, Ellis William Leroy Jr.

BYU Studies

It was a cool cloudy day when I arrived at his home some years past. His hospice nurse was attempting to console his family. He was nearing the end of his life. He was frail and partially conscious but knew we were there. He had always been a stoic man and had worked until disability forced him to retire. He had been confined to a wheelchair for several years. There were no complaints that day, and he was comfortable. He had no desires other than to be with his wife, who had preceded him in death. Now he lay in …

Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre And Its Aftermath By Richard E. Turley Jr. And Barbara Jones Brown, Kent P. Jackson

BYU Studies

September 11, 1857.

Thirteen years earlier, the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered while in state custody. The Latter-day Saints had been driven from their homes in Missouri and Illinois, with no protection from those states or from the United States. The U.S. Army was on its way to the Utah Territory to put down a rebellion that didn’t exist, and Utahns thought they might be driven from their homes once again. Because of the anticipated military invasion, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had recently told settlers in Utah not to sell food, including grain, to …

Documents, 1 January–15 May 1844: Vol. 14 Of The Documents Series Of The Joseph Smith Papers, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

Having grown up on a diet of Joseph Fielding Smith’s Essentials in Church History, B. H. Roberts’s Comprehensive History of the Church, and the six-volume History of the Church, which for me and so many others was once the gold standard for the study of Church history, I am convinced that the Joseph Smith Papers are a shaft of incredible new light, a welcomed revelation of sorts, a coming-out party to document Joseph Smith’s life and ministry.

I Have Dreamed With Her: The Fruitful Relationship Between Minerva Teichert And Alice Merrill Horne, Laura Paulson Howe

BYU Studies

Minerva Teichert was asked to give the eulogy at the funeral of her agent, mentor, and friend, Alice Merrill Horne, in 1948. “I think one of the greatest things [Horne] did,” Teichert mused in her speech, “was to insist that I get a washing machine. I had lived too long in Fort Hall Bottoms. I looked open-eyed, almost horror stricken, as I said—‘You don’t mean an electric washer, do you?’ ‘Of course I do,’ she answered, ‘why not? No one deserves one more than you. I’ll sell some thing and help you out. You’d have your washing done in an …

“Life And Death, Blessing And Cursing” New Context For “Skin Of Blackness”: In The Book Of Mormon, T. J. Uriona

BYU Studies

For many readers of the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5 can prove rather challenging. Not only does this chapter contain the actualization of a curse and the apparent genesis of an outgroup, but it also states that “the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon” this group because of their iniquity (2 Ne. 5:21). Given the prevalence of racial thought in society today, this passage has been interpreted as a hurtful reference to a phenotypic change in skin color brought on by a divine curse, leading many researchers to propose alternatives to a purely racialized …

Thoughts, In Threes, Isaac James Richards

BYU Studies

Between husband and wife, a vow.

Between past and present, the now.

Boxwoods, Andrew Maxfield

BYU Studies

Your canvas drop cloth pressed like guest linens

even for yard work,

pungent green bits collecting at your knees

as you worked the hedge flanks

with the gray rechargeable clippers.

The King Follett Sermon: A Biography By William V. Smith, Matthew B. Christensen

BYU Studies

The King Follett Sermon: A Biography by William V. Smith is a carefully crafted book that delves into the life and significance of one of the most influential sermons in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Smith brings to light the story behind the creation and reception of the King Follett Sermon, delivered by Joseph Smith on April 7, 1844.

Learning Eternal Truths In Joseph And Emma Smith’S Restored Kirtland Home, Aaron L. West

BYU Studies

At the beginning of 2023, the historic sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints featured twenty-five toured historic homes.1 That’s a lot of old houses. And the number recently increased by one. On August 29, 2023, the restored home of Joseph and Emma Smith in Kirtland, Ohio, opened for guided tours (fig. 1).

So the Church now has another historic home, restored after more than a decade of meticulous work, including historical research, architectural studies, and archaeological excavations. What makes this home worth so much time and so many resources?

What’S In A Name?: The Growing Focus On Jesus Christ (By Name) Since 2000 In General Conference Talks, Grant Madsen, Joseph Corey

BYU Studies

In the last talk of the Sunday morning session of the October 2018 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter “the Church”), President Russell M. Nelson felt “compelled to discuss . . . a matter of great importance.” He recognized that nicknames such as “Mormon Church” or “LDS Church” had a certain acceptance and utility, particularly in a world dominated by social media. Still, he called on members to rely on the full and proper name of the Church moving forward. “What’s in a name or, in this case, a nickname?” President Nelson asked. “When …

Blessings For Jean, Heather Sundahl

BYU Studies

I get the call on Monday. Grandma Jean is being transported from her nursing home to the ER. There is blood in her urine. Her body has still not healed from the pelvic fracture a month prior, and I wonder—all of us do—if this is it. At ninety-five, my husband’s fierce grandma is failing in body and fading in mind.

One Week Before Kindergarden, Ali Benson Moulton

BYU Studies

I see you from the window

As I do dishes

Again—

Sunshine soaking your hair

Mud soaking your dress

As you pet the cat and eat garden peas.

Crack

Peel

Chew

Pet

Again and again

For an hour or more.

The Annotated Book Of Mormon Edited By Grant Hardy, Joshua M. Sears

BYU Studies

Grant Hardy’s The Annotated Book of Mormon shares its literary DNA with four previous works. Hardy’s first take on a specialized Book of Mormon edition was The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition, published by the University of Illinois Press in 2003. It reformatted the text so that poetry was presented in poetic stanzas, and prose text appeared in paragraphs with the punctuation modernized (most notably by including quotation marks). Section headings helped readers easily navigate literary units. Footnotes were used sparingly and identified dates, the source of quotations, narrative threads, and the locations of original chapter breaks. Appendices …

End Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Misreading C. S. Lewis On Friendship: The Charges Of Sexism, Secrecy, And Snobbery, Jason Lepojärvi

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

C. S. Lewis’s published writings comprise some forty-odd books in multiple genres, hundreds of essays, and thousands of letters. The theme that arguably rises above other themes is love, and within the family of different kinds of love, the love of friendship holds prominence. Although Lewis is often credited for accessible writing, there exists a number of popular misunderstandings about his ideas of friendship in particular. Several writers—theologians, philosophers, and literary scholars—have leveled serious charges against Lewis’s understanding of friendship. This article will evaluate three of these charges in more detail, those of sexism, secrecy, and snobbery. The article shows …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 65, No. 1.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Wisdom From The Center Of The Heart: The Life And Work Of Pamela Ayo Yetunde So Far, Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde has emerged as a prominent figure in the Black, Buddhist, and queer communities. As I caught a glimpse of her amidst the excited crowds at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto in 2018, a gathering of 10,000 delegates from 80 countries and nearly 200 religious, spiritual, and Indigenous traditions, her humble free spirit immediately captured my attention. Unpretentious, unaffected by the grandeur of the immense gathering, and unfazed by the power and prestige of the luminary figures assembled there, she flowed through the hallowed halls with confidence and grace. In an …

Introducing A Discussion On Jean-Pierre Ruiz’S "Revelation In The Vernacular", Jacqueline Hidalgo

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Ministry Essentials For The 21 Century Post Pandemic African American Urban Church, Kenneth Sullivan Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

It is the goal of this research to explore the needs of the urban African American church in the post-pandemic era, and the adjustments it can make to remain a thriving, relevant entity within the culture. This body of work is designed to examine and explore how the African American church can pivot on a massive scale in this era. To pivot means to change course and/or direction. It refers to turning the body from one position or orientation to another. The church is referred to as the body of Christ in scripture, a body that may benefit by shifting …

The Sabbath In The Old Testament, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

The scriptures consistently depict the significance of sacred space and sacred time in the lives of the Lord’s covenant people. Sacred time is still experienced today, as in the past, through commemorations and celebrations on specific days that are dedicated to God and thus regarded as holy. These days punctuate the passing of ordinary or common time and are intended to help bring focus and clarity to relationships with the divine.

How Does Religious Faith Impact Positive Youth Outcomes, Michael A. Goodman, W. Justin Dyer

Faculty Publications

This study investigates the protective aspects of religiosity in young adolescents and explores the potential processes involved. Specifically, we examine the influence of three measures of religiosity—religious salience, intrinsic religiosity, and daily religious experiences—on delinquency and anxiety. The study sample consists of 636 families located in the state of Utah. Additionally, we explore how positive youth development (PYD) constructs may mediate the relationship between religiosity and adolescent outcomes. The findings indicate that religious salience and daily religious experiences are directly and indirectly associated with lower levels of delinquency and anxiety. Furthermore, two PYD constructs—character and connectivity—serve as mediators between religious …

Divorce Recovery, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Writing, The Bible & Me, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modern Applicability Of The Book Of Leviticus For Joyful Obedience, Roy Gane

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Discipling The Whole Student, Scott R. Ward, David Sedlacek, Rogelio Paquini, Jasmine Fraser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Distributional Synoptic Perspective On The So-Called "Historical Present" Tense Of Mark's Gospel, Oliver Glanz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Critical Look At Modern Graduate Education Through The Lens Of Ancient Textbooks, Oliver Glanz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Healing A Broken Spirit, David Sedlacek, Beverly Sedlacek

Faculty Publications

Abuse of any kind as well as significant losses such as death of a loved one can result in a broken spirit (Proverbs 15:13, 17:22). However, we have a wonderful God who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Isaiah 51:3). He often leads us into communities where we can experience being seen, soothed, safe, and secure. This chapter describes the experience of brokenness and the process of healing integrating both biblical and interpersonal neurobiological perspectives.