Mormon Studies Commons^™

Val D. Rust Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts And Their Colonial Ancestors, Jenny Hale Pulsipher

BYU Studies

Val D. Rust. Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Introductory Pages, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Principles Of The Proclamation: Ten Years Of Help, Richard G. Wilkins

BYU Studies

On September 23, 1995, while presiding at the first general Relief Society meeting held since he was sustained as prophet, seer, revelator, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Gordon B. Hinckley read “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” The Proclamation was prefaced by these remarks:

With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this, we …

"Line Upon Line, Precept Upon Precept": Reflections On The 1877 Commencement Of The Performance Of Endowments And Sealings For The Dead, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

The first endowments for the dead in Latter-day Saint history were performed on January 11, 1877 in the St. George Temple (fig. 1). Seasoned Nauvoo Temple ordinance and Salt Lake City endowment worker, Alonzo H. Raleigh, wrote of the occasion:

Endowments commenced in the [St. George] Temple and for the first time Endowments for the Dead in this Dispensation. 72 persons received their Endowments. I took the lead in the washing and anointing and instructions in the same. Washed, anointed and clothed the first person and took the general lead of the same, all through by promptings by the direction …

The Dedication Of The Oliver Cowdery Monument In Richmond, Missouri, 1911, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies

As one of three witnesses, Oliver Cowdery testified that “an angel of God came down from heaven” to display an ancient record—a record known then and now as the Book of Mormon. Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer affirmed in written testimony that they saw “the engravings thereon,” and more surprisingly that the voice of God declared Joseph Smith’s translation of the record to be true. Even though all three men eventually disassociated themselves from Joseph Smith, later members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints felt to commemorate Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris for their role in the …

London Missionaries And The Great Exhibition Of 1851, Peter J. Vousden

BYU Studies

The history of the world records no event comparable, in its promotion of human industry, with that of the Great Exhibition.” So claimed Henry Cole, the English civil servant who bore much of the responsibility for organizing the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations,” to give it its full title, in London in 1851. Cole’s claim should not be dismissed as mere hyperbole, for the Great Exhibition was on a scale hitherto unknown, and social historians invariably point to the exhibition as the preeminent symbol of Britain’s economic dominance during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth …

The Little And Gardner Hymnal, 1844: A Study Of Its Origin And Contribution To The Lds Musical Canon, Marilyn J. Crandall

BYU Studies

The purpose of this study is to research the hymnal A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Use of the Latter-day Saints, the first LDS hymnal that included musical notation along with the text. Published in 1844 by Blake and Bailey of Bellows Falls, Vermont (now part of Rockingham, Vermont), it was compiled by Jesse Carter Little and George Bryant Gardner, both of whom were living in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and both of whom converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To date, I have been unable to find a single contemporaneous reference to the hymnal. …

The Psalm 22:16 Controversy: New Evidence From The Dead Sea Scrolls, Shon Hopkin

BYU Studies

Few verses in the Bible have produced as much debate and commentary as Psalm 22:16: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” The discussions center on the last character (reading right to left) of the Hebrew כארו‎ (“pierced/dug”), assumed to be the word from which the Septuagint Greek ὤρυξαν (“they have pierced”) was translated—assumed because the original Hebrew texts from which the Septuagint was translated are no longer extant. If the last character of the Hebrew word was a waw (ו), as the Greek seems to indicate, …

Val D. Rust Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts And Their Colonial Ancestors, Stephen J. Fleming

BYU Studies

Val D. Rust. Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004

Naomi Schaefer Riley God On The Quad: How Religious Colleges And The Missionary Generation Are Changing America, Patrick Q. Mason

BYU Studies

Naomi Schaefer Riley. God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005

Book Notice, Alison Coutts

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Byu–Hawaii: A Conversation With Eric B. Shumway, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

BYU–Hawaii: A Conversation with Eric B. Shumway Interview by Fred E. Woods, Eric B. Shumway is president of BYU–Hawaii. Fred E. Woods is a professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, Provo campus.

Female Breast Cancer Incidence And Survival In Utah According To Religious Preference, 1985-1999, Ray M. Merrill, Jeffrey A. Folsom

Faculty Publications

Female breast cancer incidence rates in Utah are among the lowest in the U.S. The influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) religion on these rates, as well as on disease-specific survival, will be explored for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer in Utah from 1985 through 1999. Methods: Population-based records for incident female breast cancer patients were linked with membership records from the LDS Church to determine religious affiliation and, for LDS Church members, level of religiosity. Incidence rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population using the direct method. Cox proportional hazards …

Cholera And Its Impact On Nineteenth-Centry Mormon Migration, Patricia Rushton

BYU Studies

Nineteenth-century migrants traveling across America suffered from many diseases as they journeyed to new homes in the West. The disease that was most common and caused the highest rate of illness and death was cholera. Historian Robert Carter notes, "It was a disease with which people were... familiar, yet it was little understood. It would strike suddenly, with no warning, often killing the victim within hours of the first symptoms. It was so uncontrollable that often entire families, even whole emigrating companies, would be wiped out." While cholera was not always fatal, it brought fear and suffering into the lives …

A Superlative Image: An Original Daguerreotype Of Brigham Young, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Thomas R. Wells

BYU Studies

In July 2005, the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City published a story with the punning headline "Old Young Photo donated to BYU." Even though Mark and Suzanne Richards had donated the rare 1850s daguerreotype of Brigham Young to BYU in December 2004, the donation did not draw media attention until just days before the July 24 pioneer holiday in Utah. For historians, especially photographic historians, the story was compelling—one of those rare moments when something thought to have vanished suddenly reappears. It was known that this particular precious daguerreotype had been created because a later photographic copy of …

Setting A Standard In Lds Art: Four Illustrators Of The Mid-Twentieth Century, Robert T. Barrett, Susan Easton Black

BYU Studies

Prints of paintings of Christ and other people from the scriptures and Church history are displayed in Latter-day Saint meetinghouses, visitors' centers, and temples throughout the world and are used in Church magazines and manuals. Many of these artworks were created in the 1950s and 1960s by American illustrators Arnold Friberg, Harry Anderson, Tom Lovell, and Ken Riley. While the religious works of these illustrators are familiar, less known are the career paths these artists took and the other works of art they created. This article aims to acquaint the reader with the lives of these illustrators and the circumstances …

“Twenty Years Ago Today”: David O. Mckay's Heart Petals Revisited, Mary Jane Woodger

BYU Studies

David Oman McKay and Emma Ray Riggs were married January 2, 1901, making them, as David noted, the first couple sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in the twentieth century. As David's public profile rose with his call as Apostle in 1906 and then as President of the Church in 1951, the McKays became known popularly as the Church's happiest couple. During their marriage, President McKay wrote poems and other expressions of endearment for Emma Ray. He delivered these "heart petals," as he called them, from the Tabernacle pulpit and in the Deseret News Church Section on their anniversary, her …

Sheep, Marilyn Nielson

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Hugh Nibley's Articles Of Faith, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

So, Hugh Nibley has two lawyers speaking at his funeral. Good thing he appreciated irony! I have laughed and wept as I have written this final examination.

The Israelite Background Of Moses Typology In The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds

BYU Studies

Nephi tells the story of the founding events of the Nephite people in such a way that his readers will see him as a second Moses. Although Nephi's use of the Moses typology has been previously noted, what has not been noticed before is that his father, Lehi, also employs this same typology in his farewell address in 2 Nephi 1-4 in order to persuade his descendants of his own divine calling and of their new covenant relationship to the same God who had given the promised land to ancient Israel. The fact that Nephi and Lehi both saw themselves …

Full Issue, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Introductory Pages, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Memoirs Of The Relief Society In Japan, 1951-1991, Yanagida Toshiko

BYU Studies

My poems are my tears,

as my eyes are moistened at once

in joy and in sorrow.

—Yanagida Toshiko

Behold I, Kent P. Jackson

BYU Studies

On two occasions while he worked on his New Translation of Genesis in 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated to his scribe Oliver Cowdery a word combination that in English is awkward and ungrammatical, though in the Hebrew it is not: "Behold I." The first occurrence reads, "Behold I I am the Lord God Almighty." The second reads, "Behold I send me." Both passages are in the Book of Moses in the Pear of Great Price, but "Behold I" is not found in either of those passages today because, after the time of Joseph Smith, each was edited out of …

“The Scriptures Is A Fulfilling”: Sally Parker's Weave, Janiece L. Johnson

BYU Studies

Sally Bradford Parker is not a name most LDS Church members recognize, but her faith, exemplified through the letter featured below, weaves an important fabric distinctive to early Latter-day Saint women. The limited number of known early Mormon women's voices, especially prior to the organization of the Relief Society in 1842, makes this document particularly valuable. As Sally shares her experience, she augments and supports the testimony of Hyrum Smith as a Book of Mormon witness and particularly the witness of another woman—the Prophet's mother, Lucy Mack Smith. When Sally arrived in Kirtland she was in awe of the many …

As Fire, Richard Tice

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Desert Patriarchy: Mormon And Mennonite Communities In The Chihuahua Valley By Janet Bennion, Mark Metzler Sawin

BYU Studies

Janet Bennion. Desert Patriarchy: Mormon and Mennonite Communities in the Chihuahua Valley. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004.

Reverence: Renewing A Forgotten Virtue By Paul Woodruff, George Bennion

BYU Studies

Paul Woodruff. Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001

End Matter, Byu Studies

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.