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Theses and Dissertations

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The Symphony In America: Maurice Abravanel, And The Utah Symphony Orchestra: The Battle For Classical Music, Alex D. Smith Jan 2002

The Symphony In America: Maurice Abravanel, And The Utah Symphony Orchestra: The Battle For Classical Music, Alex D. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Between 1947 and 1979 the Utah Symphony Orchestra was transformed from an obscure, part-time, amateur orchestra into one of the major symphony orchestras in America. By 1947 the orchestra, which had begun as a Works Progress Administration organization, was barely hanging on. The symphony struggled to remain financially solvent, performing only a few concerts per year. Thirty-two years later the Utah Symphony Orchestra was one of the most prestigious musical ensembles in the country— receiving rave reviews from critics around the world, touring extensively, and with more than a hundred albums to its credit. The remarkable growth of the Utah …


The Historical Debate Among Leaders Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints On The Topic Of The United Nations, Katie Marie Lenhard Jan 2002

The Historical Debate Among Leaders Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints On The Topic Of The United Nations, Katie Marie Lenhard

Theses and Dissertations

Since the inception of the United Nations in 1945, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have made public statements regarding the international peace and security organization. To the confusion of many Church members, who often look to their leaders for prophetic guidance on numerous spiritual and temporal topics, these statements have been conflicting. Some Church leaders have clearly opposed the United Nations and others have openly supported it, offering various ideological explanations for their beliefs. Yet, it is evident that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never made an official position on the …


American Prophet, New England Town: The Memory Of Joseph Smith In Vermont, Keith A. Erekson Jan 2002

American Prophet, New England Town: The Memory Of Joseph Smith In Vermont, Keith A. Erekson

Theses and Dissertations

In December 1905, a large granite monument was erected at the birthplace of Joseph Smith on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. This thesis relates the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument from its origins through its construction and dedication. It also explores its impact on the memory of Joseph Smith in the local, Vermont, and national context. I argue that the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument in Vermont is the story of the formation and validation of the memory of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet.

Nineteenth century Mormons remembered a variety of individual memories …


A Study Of The Hill Cumorah: A Significant Latter-Day Saint Landmark In Western New York, Cameron J. Packer Jan 2002

A Study Of The Hill Cumorah: A Significant Latter-Day Saint Landmark In Western New York, Cameron J. Packer

Theses and Dissertations

Early Church member W. W. Phelps wrote, "Cumorah...is well calculated to stand in this generation, as a monument of marvelous works and wonders" (Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, November 1835, 2:221). With a stately monument of the Angel Moroni cresting its summit, and a yearly pageant commemorating salient events associated with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, it is fulfilling the exact role that Phelps envisioned. However, the general population of the Church is relatively unfamiliar with the history of this significant Latter-day Saint landmark. The following thesis is an in depth study and documentation of certain historical …


The Secret Wife, Jill Elena Sharland Jan 2002

The Secret Wife, Jill Elena Sharland

Theses and Dissertations

This master's thesis project is the first half of a historical novel concerning the involvement of Elvira Field Strang Baker, the first plural wife of James Jesse Strang, with the "Beaver Island Mormons" who followed Strang from Nauvoo shortly after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. The events portrayed are historical, although fictionalized. This portion of the novel contains a brief introduction to her childhood in Chapter One and follows her involvement with the Strangite movement beginning in April 1847 to the coronation of her husband in. Elvira was the first plural wife of James Jesse Strang who to …


"Give It All Up And Follow Your Lord": Mormon Female Religiosity, 1831-1843, Janiece L. Johnson Jan 2001

"Give It All Up And Follow Your Lord": Mormon Female Religiosity, 1831-1843, Janiece L. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1750s American women have flocked to churches. Women have consistently been the majority in church populations. Religion was the central motivation of the female life experience. Likewise, women comprised a significant portion of the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its first decade. There exists little historical analysis of the contribution and experience of these women as a whole. As a result of this lack of research some historians have made erroneous assumptions of patriarchal oppression and a lack of commitment on the part of early Mormon women. This project closely examines the …


Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen Jan 2000

Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen

Theses and Dissertations

In his 1978 biography of Dorothea Lange, Milton Meltzer appraised Lange's 1936 photography in Utah as nothing more than mundane work done for the benefit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and not for her own benefit as a photographer. Yet, her work in Utah encapsulates the aspirations, goals, and styles of Lange, and gives insight into her vision as a photographer and representative of the New Deal. Through carefully composed photographs, Lange shows the hardships and hope of life in Utah during the Great Depression.

This thesis investigates Lange's photographs in order to gain a greater understanding of the …


Becoming Mormon Men: Male Rites Of Passage And The Rise Of Mormonism In Nineteenth-Century America, Bruce R. Lott Jan 2000

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 …


Multiple Discourses In Early Mormon Religion, Jon M. Duncan Aug 1998

Multiple Discourses In Early Mormon Religion, Jon M. Duncan

Theses and Dissertations

The development of early Mormon religion is best viewed in the context of multiple discourses, each of which contained various competing symbols. These discourses shaped the mind and world-view of early Latter-day Saints and determined in part their behavior. Prophetic symbols existed simultaneously with other, more American symbols; and while neither discourse excluded the other, a prophetic discourse gradually came to dominate. At the same time, however, the American discourse in Mormon religion remained intact and continued to influence the behavior and actions of early Mormons.


Gemeindegeschichte Als Vergleichende Geschichte: The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In East Germany, Bruce W. Hall Jun 1998

Gemeindegeschichte Als Vergleichende Geschichte: The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In East Germany, Bruce W. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

From 1945 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) endured the hardships of existing as a religious organization under a Communist regime. An evaluation of the LDS Church within the category of general and minority religions, which serves as a microcosmic evaluation of religion in the GDR, constitutes one part of this study. The uniqueness of the LDS Church and its experience - especially its American ties, ironically earlier a liability and later an asset - make it a candidate for a …


Political Priming: A Study Of The North Dakota Nonpartisan League, William Langer, And Newspapers Effect On The Vote Return, Sarah Ann Link May 1998

Political Priming: A Study Of The North Dakota Nonpartisan League, William Langer, And Newspapers Effect On The Vote Return, Sarah Ann Link

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Keep The Flyin' Eight Balls Rollin': Military Leadership In The 3360th Quartermaster Truck Company, Grant T. Weller May 1998

Keep The Flyin' Eight Balls Rollin': Military Leadership In The 3360th Quartermaster Truck Company, Grant T. Weller

Theses and Dissertations

The 3360th Quartermaster Truck Company, originally Company D of the 2639th Quartermaster Truck Battalion, was created in 1942 by drawing troops and officers from anti-aircraft units stationed in North Africa, to meet an emergency need for highway transportation to support the Allied advance East across North Africa. The reassigned troops and officers received no training in their new duties, but were instead immediately dispatched to the front with vital supplies. The company continued operations through North Africa, and on into Sicily and Italy. While in Italy, Elmer H. Puchta, previously assigned to the company as a platoon commander, took command. …


Mormon Culture Meets Popular Fiction: Susa Young Gates And The Cultural Work Of Home Literature, Lisa Olsen Tait Jan 1998

Mormon Culture Meets Popular Fiction: Susa Young Gates And The Cultural Work Of Home Literature, Lisa Olsen Tait

Theses and Dissertations

The few studies of Mormon home literature that have been published to date dismiss it as inferior artistry, an embarrassing if necessary step in the progression towards true Mormon literature. These studies are inadequate, however, because they divorce the texts from their context, holding them up to standards that did not exist for their original audience. Jane Tompkins' theory of texts as cultural work provides a more satisfactory way of looking at these narratives.

Home literature is thoroughly enmeshed in the cultural discourse of its day. Beneath the surface, these didactic stories about young Mormons finding love with their foreordained …


Dear Father, Rochelle A. Fankhauser Jan 1998

Dear Father, Rochelle A. Fankhauser

Theses and Dissertations

Dear Father is a memoir of one year of the life of Shelly Fankhauser. Experiencing the death of her grandfather and husband, she is forced to reexamine her basic belief system as a New Zealand Maori LDS woman. Through her losses and the process of her grief, she discovers the identity that she was struggling to find did not come from her culture or her religion as she had once thought, but from within herself.

Dear Father is an autobiographical account of finding inner strength and discovering hope.


Utopian Marriage In Nineteenth-Century America: Public And Private Discourse, Brenda Olsen Andrus Jan 1998

Utopian Marriage In Nineteenth-Century America: Public And Private Discourse, Brenda Olsen Andrus

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of utopian discourse about marriage in mid-nineteenth-century America. Although utopian communities are usually approached within the fields of history and sociology, a rhetorical analysis adds to the discussion by uncovering the discursive complexity of marriage beliefs within a rapidly changing culture. Discursive features of the Shaker, Oneida Community and Latter-day Saint texts are outlined and compared according to the following format:

Chapter One examines the textures of conflict within the dominant culture's views of marriage and gender roles in nineteenth-century America, with a brief overview of reform efforts of the day. This chapter provides …


An Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Mormon Humor, Sherlene Hall Bartholomew Jan 1998

An Annotated Bibliography Of Literary Mormon Humor, Sherlene Hall Bartholomew

Theses and Dissertations

This "Annotated Bibliography of Literary Mormon Humor" includes over five hundred sources, cross-referenced to pertinent commentary and criticism, and divided into seven sections: "Humor in Mormon Fiction," "Humor in Mormon Non-Fiction," "Mormon Criticism Assessing ‘Inside Humor,’" "Gentile Criticism of the Saints' Humor," "Gentile Humor About Mormons," "Mormon Criticism of Gentile Humor," and "Mormon Internet Humor," all made accessible to scholars by a comprehensive index of more than one thousand topics. The author has filed selected photocopied pages of alphabetized, annotated items by author, or chronologically as periodicals, into a twenty-volume Archive of Mormon Humor in Literature, housed at the Center …


Epideictic Rhetoric And The Formation Of Collective Identity: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women In Praise Of Polygamy, Robbyn Thompson Scribner Jan 1998

Epideictic Rhetoric And The Formation Of Collective Identity: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women In Praise Of Polygamy, Robbyn Thompson Scribner

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will proceed as follows: my first chapter will be a general overview of epideictic rhetoric, focusing on the limitations of how it has traditionally been viewed and understood by theorists. At the end of that chapter I will establish a working definition of epideictic which extends traditional views about how epideictic can function in certain types of writings, focusing on the important role of the speaker in epideictic rhetoric and how it can work in enabling a community to create a collective identity. In the remainder of the thesis, I will analyze two texts in which …


The Logistics Of Mobilizing And Supplying The Union Army During The Initial Stages Of The American Civil War, Trey G. Burrows Sep 1997

The Logistics Of Mobilizing And Supplying The Union Army During The Initial Stages Of The American Civil War, Trey G. Burrows

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the logistics involved in mobilizing and supplying the Union Army at the onset of the Civil War. The main elements discussed are the sources, procedures, and items needed for the mobilization and supply efforts. Initially, the Union relied on the States to mobilize the military with the majority of the military being militia members or volunteers. The number of volunteers declined later in the war and the Union used both the bounty system and the draft for recruitment. Eventually, the Federal Government replaced the States as the primary mobilizing entity. The military needed supplies of weapons, clothing, …


An Analysis Of Tactical Military Airlift, James H. Donoho Sep 1997

An Analysis Of Tactical Military Airlift, James H. Donoho

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines tactical military airlift operations conducted during three historical battles - Stalingrad, Dien Bien Phu, and Khe Sanh. Aspects of tactical military airlift operations are identified from these scenarios. The list of important issues that results can be considered when employing tactical military airlift in the future. Using inductive reasoning, tactical military airlift operations in each scenario, and their success or failure, are examined to develop a pattern for recognizing and describing similar situations in the future. Experiences at Stalingrad, Dien Bien Phu, and Khe Sanh indicated that there are nine elements that should be considered when employing …


Political Culture On The Northern Plains : North Dakota And The Nonpartisan Experience, Thomas P. Shilts Aug 1997

Political Culture On The Northern Plains : North Dakota And The Nonpartisan Experience, Thomas P. Shilts

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the history of North Dakota during the era of the Nonpartisan League (roughly 1915 through 1921). A significant body of research on the League exists, but no study has yet specifically addressed itself to exploring the political culture of the League and of its opponents in such a way that the full nature of the Nonpartisan "revolt" is made clear. The League was indeed the result of farmers’ perception of economic exploitation at the hands of big business, yet it was more basically a proactive struggle for inclusion. While employing elements of agrarian ideology, the League was …


A Mormon Cultural Study Of Musical Preference, Alden L. Weight Jan 1997

A Mormon Cultural Study Of Musical Preference, Alden L. Weight

Theses and Dissertations

Music is an important yet relatively unnoticed part of the everyday world almost all of us take for granted. Whether in the car, watching television, shopping, at work or at home, even waking up in the morning or going to sleep at night, and so forth, music surrounds us, soothes us, disturbs us, and occasionally goes so far as to persuade us. Although music plays a significant role in many areas of life, its relationship to society is especially evident in the religious sphere. Therefore, the religious sphere is an ideal place to examine what music does and what it …


Children On The Mormon Trail, Jill Jacobsen Andros Jan 1997

Children On The Mormon Trail, Jill Jacobsen Andros

Theses and Dissertations

Using first person, reminiscent accounts, this thesis examines children's lives on the Mormon Trail. It attempts to shed further light on the story of the Mormon Trail by sharing the perspectives of pioneers who crossed the plains as children. This study focuses on such issues as the children's impressions of the trail, their experiences on it, their duties, their family life, and the influence of religion. This study highlights the symbiotic relationship between children and the trail: children affected trail life and at the same time were affected by their experiences on the trail. Children shouldered responsibilites that were essential …


The Concept Of Overcoming The Political: An Intellectual Biography Of Ss-Standartenfuehrer And Professor Dr. Reinhard Hoehn, 1904-1944, Joshua A. Katz Jan 1997

The Concept Of Overcoming The Political: An Intellectual Biography Of Ss-Standartenfuehrer And Professor Dr. Reinhard Hoehn, 1904-1944, Joshua A. Katz

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the interconnection between the ideas and political activities of Reinhard Hoehn during the Weimar and Nazi Eras. In particular, Hoehn's political writings, which are closely analyzed, indicate a continuing commitment to the ideals of the Conservative Revolution through his changes in political affiliations. It serves as a case study of the much debated relationship between the Conservative Revolution and Nazism.While developing as a radical right-wing Weimar intellectual, Hoehn joined a succession of Revolutionary Conservative Kampfbuende. His political writings and affiliations showed a commitment to the destruction of liberal conceptions in politics, sociology, and legal theory. His ultimate …


The Real Utah War: The Mountaineer's Efforts To Combat The Valley Tan, Robert E. Fleming Jan 1996

The Real Utah War: The Mountaineer's Efforts To Combat The Valley Tan, Robert E. Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

The Utah War and its aftermath changed Utah and the Mormons forever. This change came because of the growing Gentile influence in the territory and was reflected most adequately in the current periodicals of the period. The Valley Tan and the Mountaineer are especially important because their opposition to one another brought many important issues to the forefront of discussion. These issues would be important to the Mormons learning to live and work with those not of their faith and to share in their Zion.

These newspapers were successful in giving to its reader, both past and present, a glimpse …


Journey: Connections To A Pioneer Past, Judy Shell Busk Jan 1996

Journey: Connections To A Pioneer Past, Judy Shell Busk

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a record of a journey into the pioneer past both literally and metaphorically. The physical journey retracing the Oregon and Mormon trails was made in September of 1993, the year I was a National Endowment for the Humanities/Reader's Digest Teacher-Scholar; however, my intellectual and emotional journey into the lives of pioneer women covers several years of study. I compare my life experiences with those of pioneer women whom I studied, using geographical settings on the trail trip as memory triggers. My husband, as my traveling companion, plays an important role in this journey of discovery. Major themes …


A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey Jan 1996

A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey

Theses and Dissertations

This interpretive study investigated the "quilt" and its significance to Latter-day Saint Women. Mormon master quilters were chosen because of their knowledge of fabrics, patterns, and symbolism, their skill levels, and their intense interest in quilting. The researcher conducted interviews with the master quilters from July 1995 to April 1996. Field notes were taken and data concerning both observed actions and verbal comments regarding the importance of the quilt were collected, charted, coded, and analyzed.

Several dominant patterns and themes emerged from analyses of the data, including: quilting is an enjoyable and active art form among Mormon women, pattern selection …


Teachers Of The Lost Year, 1958-1959: Little Rock School District, Sondra Hercher Gordy Jan 1996

Teachers Of The Lost Year, 1958-1959: Little Rock School District, Sondra Hercher Gordy

Theses and Dissertations

The Little Rock Central High Crisis of 1957 has been examined by numerous scholars from a variety of perspectives. Much less research has been devoted to the following year--the Lost Year, 1958-59--when Little Rock high schools were closed to all students, black and white. The entire period surrounding these two academic years found this Southern American community electrified with racial conflict, societal disruptions, and political machinations. Though all people in the community were affected by such unsettling times, no lives were more disrupted than those of teachers. Closed schools meant the interruption of professional careers. The confusion within the community …


History Of The Lds Southern States Mission, 1875-1898, Heather M. Seferovich Jan 1996

History Of The Lds Southern States Mission, 1875-1898, Heather M. Seferovich

Theses and Dissertations

This in-depth study of late nineteenth-century missionary work in the Southern States Mission examines the encounter of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the American South. It highlights some of the region's varying conditions affecting missionary work and reports the elders' responses to new and different situations, peoples, and subcultures. Examining missionary work from the elders' viewpoint creates a better understanding of what the missionaries experienced and how they reacted to new situations outside the Mormon "corridor" of settlement in the American West. The statistical analysis of the 1,689 elders in the Mission reveals new details about …


Military Assistance Policies During The Eisenhower Administration, Robert J. Schutt Dec 1995

Military Assistance Policies During The Eisenhower Administration, Robert J. Schutt

Theses and Dissertations

When World War II ended, the U.S. was left as one of the remaining superpowers. Although the Soviets were also very strong militarily, the U.S. found itself as the one nation with the most stable political and economic conditions, as well as being one of the two remaining military superpowers. With the U.S. home soil untouched by war, the economic and manufacturing infrastructures of the U.S. were stronger than ever. This situation set the stage for the start of U.S. assistance programs. In the late 194Os and throughout the Eisenhower Administration, world events shaped the U.S. military aid policies for …


"Yet I Must Submit": Mormon Women's Perspectives On Death And Dying 1847-1900, Julie Paige Hemming Savage Jan 1995

"Yet I Must Submit": Mormon Women's Perspectives On Death And Dying 1847-1900, Julie Paige Hemming Savage

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores Mormon women's experiences with death as revealed in their personal writings from 1847-1900. The study includes an examination of women's involvement in caring for the sick and tending to the dead, as well as an exploration of women's personal reactions to death. A careful reading of Mormon women's writings from this period reveals that Mormonism equipped believers with powerful doctrines and rituals which helped women cope with the sorrow and profound grief that accompanied the deaths of those they loved. In addition, members living in Mormon communities rendered invaluable physical, emotional, and spiritual support to each other …