Religion Commons^™

On The Way To Becoming An Authentic Reader, Richard H. Cracroft

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Weaving The Covenant, Sharon Price Anderson

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

“Give Me Any Situation Suitable”: The Consecrated Life Of The Multitalented Paul A. Schettler, Jacob W. Olmstead, Fred E. Woods

BYU Studies

In October 1860, this letter arrived in Brigham Young's office (fig. 1):

Great Salt Lake City

October 23rd 1860

President Brigham Young,

Dear Sir,

Having found no suitable occupation yet, and being desirous of making myself useful, I take this opportunity, to recommend myself to your memory for the case, that any vacancy might have to be filled, and also in order to give you an idea of my handwriting.

I am a native of Prussia, 33 years of age, and am perfectly acquainted with practical bookkeeping by double entry, and I am conversant with the english, low dutch and …

Hispanics In The Mormon Zion, 1912-1999 Jorge Iber, Mark L. Grover

BYU Studies

Jorge Iber. Hispanics in the Mormon Zion, 1912-1999. College Station: Texas A&M University, 2000.

The English Editor And The “Mormon Scare” Of 1911, Peter J. Vousden

BYU Studies

In 1911 the Latter-day Saints in Great Britain found themselves, to an unprecedented degree, the focus of often intense public and official attention. Extravagant allegations were made against the Church and the missionaries in the national press, and questions were asked on the floor of the House of commons. Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary, conducted an official inquiry into the activities of the Church. Although he concluded that the accusations were of no substance and that no action by the government was required, the matter did not end there; the popular press continued to publish fanciful accounts of Mormon elders …

End Matter, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Photographs Of Church Meetings Among The U.S. Military In World War Ii, Robert C. Freeman, Dennis A. Wright, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

BYU Studies

In the dark days of World War II, U.S. service personnel found themselves suddenly far from home, uprooted not only from the physical safety of their native soil but also from the nourishment of loved ones and religious fellowship. In the spiritual desert of war, Latter-day Saints in the military did what they could to tap into the wellspring of their faith, as these photographs of Mormon meetings attest.

Hymn For The Nauvoo Temple, Casualene Meyer

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Learning To Float, Rebecca W. Clarke

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

“Strange Ramblings”: The Ideal And Practice Of Sermons In Early Mormonism, Davis Bitton

BYU Studies

People who attended meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during its first seventy years heard many sermons preached (fig. 1). But the sermons often seemed different from those heard in Protestant and Catholic congregations. For the Saints, this was further evidence that Mormonism was not tied to a professional clergy but, like primitive Christianity, allowed wide participation by parishioners. Outsiders, however, were often less than favorably impressed with Mormon sermons. According to one observer, most Mormon speakers he heard were guilty of "strange ramblings." Before examining in detail the peculiarities of preaching among the Latter-day Saints, …

An Introduction To The Kirtland Flats Ashery, Benjamin C. Pykles

BYU Studies

Reflecting a recent resurgence of interest in one of its most important historic spaces, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is currently restoring a number of historic structures in Kirtland, Ohio, including buildings in the lowland area known as Kirtland Flats (fig. 1). These buildings are part of a major restoration plan designed to significantly increase the quantity and quality of historical interpretation at the site by introducing visitors to the major doctrinal and historical developments of the Church during the seven years its followers resided in Kirtland (1831-1838).

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Brothers Across Enemy Lines: A Mission President And A German Soldier Correspond During World War I, Jeffery L. Anderson

BYU Studies

The First World War destroyed millions of lives and billions of dollars' worth of property. In peacetime, each death is a tragedy, while in war the deaths of millions become a statistic. One of the lives lost among the statistics is that of Wilhelm Kessler (fig. 1), a German citizen and Latter-day Saint who cut short his mission to enlist in the German army. His correspondence with his mission president, Hyrum W. Valentine, reflects both his patriotism and his love for the gospel and the Saints. Valentine's letters in return express his love for this young man, a love that …

Muslim Perspectives On The Military Orders During The Crusades, William J. Hamblin

BYU Studies

On July 4, 1187, the armies of Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria, surrounded thousands of Crusaders surmounting the Horns of Hattin (fig. 1) near Tiberias in Galilee. Exhausted by heat, thirst, and days of marching and fighting, the Crusaders were forced to surrender. Thousands of the resulting prisoners were sold into slavery, but not all. While King Guy and the Frankish aristocrats who had led their followers to disaster were allowed for the most part to ransom themselves, the knights of the Military Orders faced a different fate. After his triumphant victory, Saladin singled out the captive Templars and …

Front Matter, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Photographs Of Jerusalem, 1903, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Thomas R. Wells

BYU Studies

In 1903, just before the dramatic changes of the last century engulfed Palestine, Salt Lake City photographer Charles Ellis Johnson (1857-1926) found himself in Jerusalem, Johnson was the earliest Mormon professional photographer to capture views of the city and its inhabitants and thus freeze a unique, peaceful moment in time.

Islam: An Introduction And Bibliography, James A. Toronto, Cynthia Finlayson

BYU Studies

Long before the events of September 11, 2001, BYU Studies began working on this special issue focusing on Islam. The authors and editors who worked on this issue have tried to capture the spirit of a religion that provides guidance to the lives of millions of people worldwide. The ever expanding influence of Islam extends to the prominent and often controversial role that Islam plays in contemporary politics. In addition, Muslim theology, scripture, art, science, and communal values have made significant contributions to world civilization. And in quiet yet significant ways, dialogue and contact between Latter-day Saints and Muslims have …

Mormonism And Islam Through The Eyes Of A “Universal Historian”, James K. Lyon

BYU Studies

In 1912 the internationally known German historian Eduard Meyer published a book that ranked as a curiosity among his writings to that point. In it this remarkably prolific scholar, who in the previous thirty years had published a monumental five-volume history of the ancient world and 274 other books, treatises, and articles, explored two topics that were so alien to the mainstream of his previous work that it baffled his learned peers. Those topics were Mormonism and Islam. Entitled Ursprung und Geschichte der Mormonen, mit Exkursen über die Anfänge des Islâms und des Christentums (The origin and history of the …

Brief Notices, Morgan Davis, Steven Bitner, Doris R. Dant

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Respect For Life: Abortion In Islam And The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Donna Lee Bowen

BYU Studies

While the indiscriminate taking of life is condemned by major religions and ethical systems worldwide, killing in some well-defined situations is less clearly condemned. For example, most major religious traditions put killing in war in a separate category. Euthanasia, which the Netherlands legalized in 2000, is passionately debated. Probably today's most debated means of taking life is abortion, for the purposes of this discussion abortion means not the unintentional loss of a fetus but a purposeful termination of pregnancy.

Foreword, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Language Of God: Understanding The Qur'an, Daniel C. Peterson

BYU Studies

The faith of Islam, one of the three great "Abrahamic" religions, as they might be called, is closely akin to the other two, Judaism and Christianity. It is tightly bound to and thoroughly permeated by its holy book, the Qur'an. Strangely, though, despite the historical and contemporary importance of Islam and despite Islam's kinship with the faith that has dominated Western civilization, neither Islam in general nor the Qur'an in particular is well known in the West. Nor do Westerners typically know very much about the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the story of Muhammad is a dramatic …

Behind The Arabesque: Understanding Islamic Art And Architecture, Cynthia Finlayson

BYU Studies

God is the light of the heavens and the earth. A likeness of His light is as a pillar on which is a lamp—the lamp is in a glass, the glass is as it were a brightly shining star—lit from a blessed olive-tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof gives light, though fire touch it not—light upon light. God guides to His light whom He pleases. And God sets forth parables for men, and God is Knower of all things.

—Qur'an 24:35

Tradition Amid Social Upheaval: The Palestinian Muslim Family, Bruce A. Chadwick, Camille Fronk, Ray Huntington, Tim B. Heaton, Brian K. Barber

BYU Studies

In 1994 and 1995, a research team from Brigham Young University conducted a survey of residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Motivated in part by our strong interest as Latter-day Saints in understanding and strengthening family life, we wished to study several aspects of the Palestinian family including prominence of marriage, family size, gender roles, education of women, marriage between relatives, and location of residence after marriage. By comparing our data with that of earlier surveys, we can ascertain changes occurring in the Muslim world.

Saudi Arabia: The Islamic State, Frederick W. Axelgard

BYU Studies

In the two decades since Iran's Islamic revolution, the rapid pace of change in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa has focused attention on the societies there that proclaim loyalty to Islam. Is Islam on a collision course with Western civilization? Can adherence to its principles be reconciled with living and governing in a modernizing world? How will extremists that speak in the name of Islam affect the future of the Middle Est and neighboring regions? These and many similar questions have been debated at length. Yet, after volumes of political, social, and doctrinal analysis, the impression remains that exaggerated …

Mormonism And Islam: From Polemics To Mutual Respect And Cooperation, Arnold H. Green

BYU Studies

The world's fastest growing religion is either Islam (if considering annual growth in total numbers) or Mormonism (if considering annual growth in percentage terms). These two rapidly expanding global faiths are certain to increase interactions with each other. Already, in the minds of some clergymen, the two faiths have become associated in several ways, including Mormonism's being called "the Islam of America." While Muslim leaders have so far paid little attention to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Church's General Authorities have expressed opinions about Islam. At first, they reacted negatively to being equated with it. Later, …

Medieval Texts For A Modern Audience: The Islamic Translation Series At Byu In Light Of Two Early Antecedents, D. Morgan Davis

BYU Studies

Since the publication of its first volume in 1997, the Islamic Translation Series at Brigham Young University has gained recognition as a significant academic endeavor. From a historical perspective, however, the series, which seeks to make available to a new audience texts from the medieval efflorescence of Islamic civilization, is hardly unprecedented. Indeed, when compared with past undertakings, it is quite modest. This essay traces the outlines of two earlier translation movements, one centered in Baghdad from the mid-eighth to the tenth centuries C.E., the other in Spain during the twelfth century. These movements resulted in the transference and augmentation …

The Incoherence Of The Philosophers: A Parallel English-Arabic Text Translated, Introduced, And Annotated By Michael E. Marmura Al-Ghazali, David Paulsen, Eric Madsen

BYU Studies

Al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers: A Parallel English-Arabic Text Translated, Introduced, and Annotated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2000. xxxi, 258 pp. Notes, index. $29.95.

Index, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.