Joseph F. Merrill served as Church Commissioner of Education from 1928 to 1933, an era critical in the development of Latter-day Saint Education. During his tenure as commissioner several key developments occurred in Church education, among them the closing of most of the remaining Church academies, transfer of nearly all of Church junior colleges to State control, rapid expansion of the Church seminary system, and establishment of the first LDS Institutes of Religion. Merrill also initiated new efforts to encourage LDS educators to seek graduate-level education outside of Utah, and to bring religious scholarship to the teachers of the Church. In addition, during this time attempts were made by forces outside the Church to seriously curtail the continuation of the seminary program, if not to eliminate it entirely. Merrill's efforts were crucial in ensuring the survival and ultimate acceptance of this form of religious education. This study is intended to answer the following research questions: 1. What were the contributions of Joseph F. Merrill as Church Commissioner of Education? 2. How can the lessons from Merrill's administration be applied to the challenges facing Church education today? The first chapter of this thesis is intended to provide the necessary historical back to understand the events which took place during the Merrill tenure. Particular attention is paid to the work of Merrill's predecessor, Adam S. Bennion. Chapter two provides the historical background to understand Merrill's background before he was called as commissioner. The “Beginning of Institute" chapter explores the creation of the Latter-day Saint Institutes of religion. Next, the “Continuing the Transformation of Church Education" explores the decision to close or attempt to transfer to state control the junior colleges owned by the Church during this time. With the transfer of most of the Church colleges underway by the early 1930s, Church education found itself dependent on the work of seminaries and institutes. “The Released Time Seminary Crisis of 1930-31" chapter details the effects made by the report of the state high school inspector, I. L. Williamson, on seminary and Merrill's work to defend the legality of the seminary system. Next, “Joseph F. Merrill and Religious Educators" will document Merrill's dealings with the teachers who served under him as commissioner. Attention is devoted here to the effects of the Depression on Church education, as well as an account of the LDS educational venture with the University of Chicago Divinity school in the 1930s. Finally, the “Conclusions" chapter explains Merrill's departure from the office to serve as president of the European Mission. This chapter will also offer summary answers to the major research questions, and suggestions for future study The overall intent of this study is to shed light on the contributions of Joseph F. Merrill to Latter-day Saint education. It is not intended as a full biographical work, but simply focuses on his service as commissioner, with occasional ventures into other periods as necessary. It is hoped the reader will emerge with a greater understanding of this important era in Church history, as well as an improved vision of the divine hand guiding the fate of the Church.

The following thesis is a study of the founding years of the Mormon supplementary religious education between 1890 and 1930. It examines Mormonism's shift away from private denominational education towards a system of supplementary religious education programs at the elementary, high school, and college levels. Further, this study examines the role that supplementary religious education played in the changes between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. During the 1870s and 1880s, Utah's territorial schools became an important part of the battles over polygamy and the control of Utah. As the Federal Government began to wrest control of the schools from the Mormon community, the Church established a system of private academies. Economic problems during the 1880s and 1890s, however, made it difficult for the Church to maintain many of these schools, necessitating the Mormon patronage of the public schools. As a result, in 1890 the Church established its first supplementary religious education program, known as the Religion Class program. The Religion Class program suffered from a variety of problems and was criticized by both Mormon and non-Mormon officials. Despite the failings of the Religion Class program, the need for supplementary religious education became increasingly important during the first two decades of the twentieth century. In 1912, the Granite Stake established the Church's first high school seminary. Within ten years, the seminary program replaced the majority of the academies and became the Church's preeminent educational program. During the 1920s, the Church began extending supplementary religious education to its students in colleges and universities through the establishment of the institute program and the near-complete abandonment of its private colleges and schools. The successive establishment of these three programs demonstrates a shift in Mormon educational priorities and attitudes throughout this period. Whereas the academies and the Religion Class program emphasized a general fear of Americanization, the seminary and institute programs accepted the public schools and much of the Americanization that accompanied them, while at the same time providing means for the continued inculcation of Mormon values into the lives of Latter-day Saint youth.