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Esther Cain is living on her own for the first time, trying to make sense of a childhood as a missionary's daughter in Alaska, a past that was defined by prophecy, visions, and the voice of God as interpreted by her father. Alex Fuller is studying medicine and muddling through a relationship with his first boyfriend. But when Alex and Esther are drawn back to the mountains of South Carolina where they briefly knew each other as children, they must each confront questions of faith, sexuality, and the painful ties of family.

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The Lectures on Faith, important since 1834 to the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are of disputed authorship. In an attempt to ascribe the lectures to their true author from five possible candidates, Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, and W. W. Phelps, the use of 738 function and other words in the lectures was compared with the use of the same words in known writings of the candidates.The study showed that Sidney Rigdon's use of function words corresponded very closely with that in Lectures One and Seven, and fairly well with Two, Three, Four, and Six. Joseph Smith's use of function words matched closely those in Lecture Five, with some evidence of his having co-authored or edited Two, Three, Four, and Six.

This project will begin to close the gap between traditional methods of spiritual formation and the digital evolution by offering a framework for virtual spiritual formation based on digital and social media trends, the reimagination of traditional spiritual formation practices, Linda Harasim’s “Online Collaborative Learning Theory,” Carey Nieuwhof’s insights on the digital church, and Julie Lytle’s methods for effective social and digital media use. Spiritual formation can be defined as the process one undergoes to develop their religious beliefs, understanding of God, spiritual practices, and identification of self in the world. Whereas individuals have customarily participated in this process through in-person practices, this project seeks to hone in on virtual methods faith leaders may use to guide one’s spiritual development. Through one’s participation in corporate virtual practices of worship, discussions, classes, small groups, and other exercises, they are invited to gain knowledge of principles and rituals that guide their embodiment of Jesus’ teachings. Alongside being engaged in the life of the church in new ways, individuals will be supported in forming their spirituality apart from participating in a community of faith’s in-person programming. / 2024-05-13T00:00:00Z

The Light of the World Church in East Boston is a minority church that has historically served the Latino immigrant community. Its tight connection to the mother church in Mexico and the continual growth from immigration established its religious identity as a minority church with the social function of ethnic preservation. As a minority church, it also sacralized sociocultural elements from the mother church’s context that were not part of the church’s official theology but helped its growth by providing a cultural safe haven for its immigrant members. As the church developed and grew, the ethnic religious identity was challenged by the US-born Latino members who were assimilated to American culture and by the church’s own people of God theology, which called for a multicultural congregation. The ethnic nature of the church, on the one hand, and the universal nature the church’s own theology called for, on the other, as opposing views of what the church should be, created an identity crisis. The crisis threatened congregational unity by leading towards the creation of two distinct churches, the ethnic immigrant church and the assimilated American church. This thesis project begins to close the gap between the culturally conflicted Light of the World Church in East Boston and the multicultural people of God envisioned in its theology, by reimagining identity through the adoption of a Christ-like consciousness, the creation of a multicultural congregational ethos and modified gender power structured within.

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<p> Churches have often struggled to nurture mature and lasting faith among their young people. This is generally due to a lack of understanding about how beliefs form in adolescents and therefore the ability to shape ministry accordingly. This thesis proposes that adolescents form and mature their beliefs by interpreting significant life experiences. This thesis also offers suggestions for the practice for ministry based upon this understanding of belief formation. These suggestions are intended for church-based youth ministries and draw in part upon practices observed in summer camp ministries.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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