Since the beginning of Christianity, the debates over the nature of God have been frequent and ardent. Augustine, John Calvin, and John Wesley, with others, supplemented the generally accepted view of the Godhead as established at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Correctly understanding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost is one of the most critical aspects of religious worship. The Savior said, "And this is life eternal, that they may come to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Joseph Smith, the first Latter-day Saint Prophet, taught a correct understanding of God was required for any man or woman to receive eternal life. The Latter-day Saint teachings regarding the Godhead were fitted into place one piece at a time. Those that followed Joseph Smith, over time, added to the doctrinal foundation that he established from 1820 to 1844. Elder James E. Talmage added to the foundation left by previous Church leaders. The leaders of the Church utilized James Talmage's abilities, specifically as a writer, to explain and clarify important principles of the gospel. The efforts of Elder Talmage resulted in three monumental works. First, his book Articles of Faith was published and publicly endorsed by President Lorenzo Snow, the fourth President of the Church. Next, Jesus the Christ was published by the Church and endorsed by Lorenzo Snow's successor, President Joseph F. Smith. Finally, at the request of President Joseph F. Smith, Elder Talmage authored "The Father and The Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by The First Presidency and The Twelve" in 1916. The official declaration is still referred to by Church leaders when they comment on the relationship between Jehovah and Elohim. The document answered questions regarding the Book of Mormon's use of "Father" when referring to Jesus Christ. Generally, members of the Church today understand these teachings. Nearly a century passed before Church leaders taught them in their entirety and they could be compiled into one declaration. Elder Talmage's efforts, as directed and overseen by the First Presidency, assisted in clarifying his predecessors' teachings on the Godhead.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered Albania in 1992. Albania was a unique and difficult place to establish the LDS Church. Under the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha religion was systematically eliminated from Albania and replaced with atheism. Additionally, missionaries were twice evacuated in the first decade in the country and the Book of Mormon was not available in Albanian until 1999. Despite these setbacks the LDS Church grew at a steady rate in Albania due to native Albanian interest and individual attention by missionaries.

This thesis is a study about the influence of the Book of Mormon message to the Lamanites upon the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico, primarily focusing upon the years 1875-1950. Several important events, people, and publications from the first seventy-five years of the Church's history in Mexico are evaluated as historical case studies in order to examine the extent to which the message to the Lamanites influenced the beginnings of the Latter-day Saints there. These case studies include the first mission to Mexico in 1875, early publications in Spanish, the dedication of Mexico by Apostle Moses Thatcher, the presidency of Rey L. Pratt, and the Third Convention. Though this thesis provides pertinent historical background and details, as well as analysis of key primary sources and documents, its main purpose and contribution is its focus on the theme of the Lamanites, within the context of early Latter-day Saint history in Mexico.

According to recent research, Latter-day Saint young people are achieving desirable social outcomes at a higher rate than their peers of other backgrounds. As reasons for those findings have been offered, only social aspects of the LDS faith and culture have been given any attention. This thesis will provide an alternate interpretation of the data and provide new data through the administration of the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Results from the LDS ROS/NPI Study indicate that LDS young adults continue to score overly intrinsic on the ROS and score significantly lower on the NPI than their peers.

Literary historian Terryl L. Givens referenced the visions of Moroni as "exhibit A" of Mormonism for nineteenth century believers. The 1823 visions constituted one of the core tenets of the religion as an underlying premise of The Book of Mormon. The significance of the visions, however, has not translated into many studies on the 1823 visions. This thesis seeks to fill portions of this gap by evaluating the visions within post-Revolutionary evangelical and treasure seeking culture. I contend that the visions drew upon various elements of the culture, but ultimately diverged from the culture. The introduction recounts the vision from the perspectives of Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, and Lucy Mack Smith. Chapter one provides a historiographical review of the literature and some methodological considerations. Chapter two describes the evangelical and treasure seeking cultures. The examination emphasizes the cultural belief in visions and dreams that contained angels, guides, guardians, or other preternatural beings. Chapter three examines the significance of the dates of the 1823 visions, September 21-22. Three traditions associated significance with the date, witchcraft, astrology, and Christianity. I show that either the date did not match with the holiday of these traditions or that Smith probably did not know of its significance. Many people called the vision a dream, which led Oliver Cowdery to refute that claim. Chapter four analyzes whether the visions constituted dreams or visions, before proceeding to evaluate the imagery of dreams and visions. Smith's visions lacked much of the imagery of other contemporary visionaries. Chapter five evaluates Moroni's message to Smith. I contend that Smith considered the plates a treasure and they fit the cultural pattern of treasure. Moroni, though, directed Smith's attention from the money seeking elements toward religious purposes. Many elements within the vision follow the cultural beliefs concerning visions and dreams, which make the visions appear as a cultural product. Careful evaluation of the details of the visions, shows however, the 1823 visions diverged from many cultural tenets.

The study of media as it relates to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has increased appreciably over the past few years. The Church's first sustained centralized effort began with the creation of the Radio, Publicity, and Mission Literature Committee in 1935. However, little research has been conducted in regards to the creation, products, or impact of the Committee. This thesis examines the circumstances under which the Radio, Publicity, and Mission Literature Committee was formed in 1935. It further describes the Committee's production of filmstrips, radio programs, and exhibits. The impact of these products in missionary work and public image is also explored.

This thesis contends that youth from age twelve to twenty-five played a pivotal role in the revivals of the Second Great Awakening in New York and New England. Rather than merely being passive onlookers in these religious renewals, the youth were active participants, influencing the frequency, spread, and intensity of the Christian revivals. Relying heavily upon personal accounts written by youth and revival records from various denominations, this work examines adolescent religious experiences during the first half of the nineteenth century. Chapter 1 explores the impact parents had on youth religiosity, showing how the teaching and examples they saw in their homes built the religious foundation for young people. The next chapter discusses how the youth continued to build upon what they were taught in their homes by seeking for personal conversion experiences. This chapter contends that conversion experiences were the crucial spiritual turning point in the lives of young people, and explores how they were prepared for and reacted to these experiences. Chapter 3 outlines personal worship among the youth and describes the specific tactics that churches implemented in helping convert and strengthen the young. As churches used revival meetings and clergy-youth relationships to fortify these converts, young people implemented the same practices in helping their peers. Finally, chapter 4 utilizes revival records and Methodist church data to provide quantitative evidence of the widespread and crucial role that young people had in influencing revivals. Understanding the widespread impact of these youth on nineteenth-century revivals provides new insight into the ways in which young people impacted the greater social, religious, and culture changes sweeping across America at the time.

First, this thesis acknowledges that Jesus Christ is the central figure in the plan of salvation, and that the principal doctrine in the young women's curriculum should detail the Lord's atoning sacrifice (see Helaman 5:12). Second, it emphasizes the importance of God's law of witnesses (see Duet 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1, D&C 6:28). Third, it discusses the principles of edification within the young women's learning environment. Fourth, it explains the need to focus curriculum on universal and unchanging doctrine. The doctrine is the most crucial component in measuring the young women curriculum according to the latest standards offered by the Church Curriculum Department, the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (S&I) and the Young Women Department. Brief histories of how these organizations developed their tools justify their use in this thesis. Finally, I share how the research was conducted and report findings. All of these sections are to aid the reader's vision of the lessons contained in the curriculum designed for young women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This thesis emphasizes lessons rooted in universal and unchanging doctrine in order for young women to formulate timeless and true principles. These principles, if lived, will then allow the young women to obtain testimonies that assist them in safely navigating their course in the spiritually treacherous environment spoken of in scripture (see 2 Tim 3:1). This thesis recognizes the family as the primary focus of gospel instruction, accentuating how the Young Women Department is support to the family. The General Young Women leaders exemplify the virtues requisite in today's faithful young women of the Church, and is it essential to follow their lead in curriculum updates. This thesis is meant to present timeless principles, historical witnesses of these principles (including an abbreviated doctrinal history used in the early organization), an analysis of young women curriculum in an effort to provide the Young Women organization information useful in further developing curriculum that requires minimal updating. In addition, I will offer a simple suggestion to assist in the development of a curriculum proposal which would have the enabling power to successfully teach a world-wide audience of young women.

Not too much is known today about religion of ancient Mesoamerica, and it will only be through an intensive comparative study of the various deities as presented in the heiroglyphic manuscripts and native writings, and of the symbolic religious art in the architectural and sculptural remains, that greater knowledge of the subject will be gained. The "Tree of Life," one of the most striking religious symbols of the area, may be one key to such knowledge.

In the last thirty years, Chinese Christianity has experienced severe persecution. Communism actively sought its subjugation. Despite this, Chinese Christians maintained their faith. When their church organizations became puppets of the state, Christians went underground and continued to worship in house churches. The recently li eralized political climate in China has allowed Christians to more openly practice their faith. The official Protestant and Catholic churches have been rehabilitated. House churches have come out of the closet. Capitalizing on an acute spiritual malaise in China, Christians are experiencing a major and sustained revival. There are ample opportunities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to benefit from China's Christian revival. However, any missionary work will require considerable preparation by Latter-day Saints.