The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its membership felt a substantial impact from the effects of World War I. Although other authors have attempted to bring forward the events of these hostilities, they are few in number and the research in this area is small. Additionally, few have focused on the effects of the war on the Church. In order to increase the understanding of this influence, this work examines how the First World War affected the lives of Latter-day Saints both during and after the conflict. The entire world felt the effects of the world war and the Latter-day Saints were not exempt. Yet during this war, the LDS soldiers had an opportunity to change the way that others viewed the Church. Whether during times of training or on the battlefield, the valiant actions of these men often caused other soldiers to rethink the way they felt about the Saints. One incorrect stereotype that these men helped to remove was that the Latter-day Saints had no feelings of national loyalty. Soldiers of other faiths could not continue to hold such misconceptions after having spent time working with LDS servicemen. In addition to attitude-changing influences, Church President Joseph F. Smith was particularly conscious of the effects this conflict would have on the Church. The war would disrupt missionary work as its violence closed certain areas and missionary age young men were called on to bolster the armed forces. President Smith also feared the cost of the war in lives, which deaths increased with the outbreak of the influenza epidemic. In addition to these misgivings, the president of the Church worried about the possibility that Latter-day Saints of opposing countries would have to fight one another. it would have on missionary work, the cost in lives, and the possibility of LDS servicemen having to fight against other Saints. The influence of the war was not only felt by the soldiers. Those who remained at home learned to live thriftily and to give generously to the war effort. In addition to the general ways in which the war influenced the Church, individual soldiers also had a chance to help the Church. During this war the Church appointed for the first time multiple chaplains: Brigham H. Roberts, Calvin S. Smith, and Herbert B. Maw. These three men had opportunities to work with individual soldiers and influence them for good. Veterans from this war returned home and served in positions of leadership. Some continued military service, while others sought political positions and yet others were called to serve in general leadership positions. So, in both broad and specific ways, World War I changed the lives of Latter-day Saints.

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In dieser Dissertation wird die historische Genese einer Entwicklung untersucht, die zum Entstehen eines „evangelikalen Ethos“ in Teilen der US-Streitkräfte und weiteren Bereichen des National Security State geführt hat. Den Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit bilden Daten zur religiösen Zusammensetzung der amerikanischen Streitkräfte aus dem Jahr 2009. Sie verweisen auf einen überproportional hohen Anteil evangelikaler Protestanten in den amerikanischen Streitkräften. Der Untersuchungszeitraum reicht vom Aufbau des National Security State im Zweiten Weltkrieg bis zum Ende des Vietnamkrieges. Die Annäherung evangelikaler Protestanten an den nationalen Sicherheitsstaat fand bereits im Zweiten Weltkrieg statt. Vor allem im Kontext des Kalten Krieges setzte zudem die Erkenntnis einer ideologischen und kulturellen Nähe zwischen beiden Sphären ein, während die neoevangelikale Erweckungsbewegung zu neuer Blüte gelangte und eine religiöse Mobilisierung der Vereinigten Staaten im frühen Kalten Krieg stattfand. Die Arbeit beruht u.a. auf teil unveröffentlichten Archivbeständen des Billy Graham Center und des Wheaton College. Methodisch ist die Untersuchung der von Philip Sarasin geprägten Wissensgeschichte verpflichtet. Damit kann eine Vielfalt von Wissensbeständen analytisch gegriffen und ihre Bedeutung für politisches und militärisches Handeln entsprechend gefasst werden. Die Arbeit endet mit einem Ausblick auf die Gegenwart: Das missionarische Sendungsbewusstsein evangelikaler Gläubiger führt zu Konflikten innerhalb der Streitkräfte. Auch im Rahmen der Auslandseinsätze der amerikanischen Streitkräfte ereignen sich bedenkliche Vorfälle, in denen etwa das Verbot der Missionierung durch Militärangehörige missachtet wird. / This dissertation examines the historical genesis of a development that lead to an „Evangelical ethos“ within the U.S. Arnmed Forces and other institutions of the National Security State. The starting point for this dissertation are empirical data from 2009 about the religious composition of the U.S. military. This data refers to a disproportional quota of Evangelical Protestants in the military. The period investigated reaches from the creation of the National Security State during World War 2 until the end of the war in Vietnam. The convergence of Evangelical Protestants and the National Security State began with World War 2. Furthermore, in the context of the Cold War a sense of shared ideological and cultural values developed, while the Neoevangelical revival movement blossomed and a religious mobilization of the United States during the early Cold War took place. This work is based on partly unpublished material from the Billy Graham Center and Wheaton College archives, among others. Methodically, it is committed to Philipp Sarasins approach of a history of knowledge. In this way, a variety of stocks of knowledge can be grasped analytically and their significance for political and military action can be grasped accordingly. This dissertation ends with an outlook on the present times: the evangelical zeal of the believers in uniform leads to conflicts within the military. Furthermore, during assigments abroad highly problematic incidents take place, e.g. the disregard of the prohibition of proselytizing by members of the military.

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