This study investigated two aspects of masculine gender role strain—gender role conflict and gender role stress—and their relationship to religious orientation, spiritual well-being, and sex-role egalitarianism among Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) men. To investigate these variables, a sample of 201 LDS undergraduate men who were predominantly White/Caucasian and single completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale, Masculine Gender Role Stress Scale, Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale-Revised, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale. As predicted, LDS men who reported higher levels of religiosity and spiritual well-being reported lower levels of gender role strain. This study also found that participants who reported more egalitarian sex-role attitudes reported lower levels of gender role strain. Separate stepwise regression analyses found that, of the five predictor variables (intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, existential well-being, religious well-being, and sex-role egalitarianism), existential well-being and sex-role egalitarianism were the strongest predictors of variance in gender role conflict and gender role stress. The discussion focuses on explanations of significant findings, limitations, directions for future research, and implications for clinical practice.

Research by a number of scholars working with different data has shown validity for a contextual model of relationships whereby a person's background characteristics affects or predicts her/his interpersonal style, which then affects or predicts her/his relationship satisfaction. This study tests if this relationship model is equivalent across four different cultural samples. This research also presents descriptive family data on a sample from Micronesia, a culture that has not previously been described in family science literature, compared to three other cultural groups. A total of 550 individuals from Micronesian (N=131), Hispanic-Americans (N=139), Non-LDS Caucasians (N=140), and LDS-Caucasians (N=140) filled out an extensive relationship assessment survey (RELATE). Descriptive and diagnostic data will be provided for each of the items and constructs in the data for each of the four samples. Comparisons between the samples on categorical variables show many unique patterns. The Micronesian and US samples especially show a number of patterns that were unique from the other samples. This test of the contextual model shows that the model seemed to work in general for all four cultural samples, although the specific items within different parts of the model seemed to show unique patterns in the various cultures.

This thesis argues that in studying the missionary work of the followers of James J. Strang, one gains a better understanding of the expectations and complexities of first generation Mormons. The introduction provides a background of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) from 1844 through 1850. Chapter One discusses the reasons why former Mormons joined Strang, which included their dissatisfaction with Brigham Young and their attraction to the doctrines and positions of Strang. Chapters Two and Three analyze and discuss the successes and failures of Strang's actual missionary work. The work initially succeeded because of the converts' desire for a prophet, the use of the Latter-day Saint networks, and the effectiveness of the Strangite missionaries. The work ultimately failed, however, because of internal dissension, newly introduced and controversial doctrines, and the countering efforts of the LDS Church and other Mormon Restorationist groups. The fourth chapter provides a case study of the Strangite missionary work by discussing the church's activities in England. Chapter Five concludes the thesis by giving an account of an unsuccessful mission to the Native Americans, providing a brief history of the movement after 1850, and discussing the ultimate failure of Strangism. In essence, this thesis argues that a correlation generally existed between the Strangites' view of how Strang was following the perceived principles of Mormonism and their belief in Strang's prophetic mission. In other words, Strangites, like all early Mormons, had their individual ideals concerning Mormonism and what it represented. This thesis will use the Mormon-to-Strangite conversion to illustrate the complexities involved in finding their version of Mormonism.

A review of the development and implementation of a DVD-based kiosk for the Young Women (YW) organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Young Women desired to implement a public kiosk to display several multimedia-based presentations relating to the YW program. This paper describes the development, usability evaluation, and implementation of the kiosk. Recommendations for improvements and further enhancements are included. The project was successfully developed and implemented to the satisfaction of the Young Women General Presidency.

Although research has been conducted on marriage and volunteerism in later life, little is known about the impact of volunteerism on marital quality, particularly intense volunteer experiences. Missionary couples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) leave their homes for a period ranging from 6-18 months and dedicate the majority of their time to working in church assignments. Qualitative interviews were collected from couples who had served senior couples missions for the LDS Church and returned home in the last year. The mean age of participants was 69, and the mean length of marriage for couples was 37 years. Twelve couples were interviewed conjointly about the experience of their missions, and their perceived marital quality before, after, and during their missions. Qualitative analysis was conducted on these interviews, and several themes emerged from the data, as well as subthemes. The themes were divided into those that occurred prior to serving a mission, those that occurred during the mission, and a separate section for marital themes. Pre-mission themes included factors affecting decision to go on a mission, prior experience. Mission themes included type of mission, adjustments, things enjoyed, and things not enjoyed. Marital themes included arguments, closeness, power, and stress. Each section included an in-depth discussion of what each theme incorporated, as well as quotes from the interviews. Overall, couples felt like their missions had a positive impact on their marriages. Comparisons were done among couples serving different types of missions, as well as couples in first, second, and third marriages. Type of mission and number of marriages had little overall impact on a couple's perception of the effect of their mission on their marriage. Therapists can use these results to inform couples who are contemplating an intense voluntary experience.

Most rhetorical studies of evolution/religion debates have addressed the media version of the debates that pits fundamentalist religion against science. Yet, most of the rhetorical studies in this area have not been nuanced enough to appreciate the complexity of the rhetoric resulting from this rich area of discourse. This study provides a rhetorical analysis of the evolution rhetoric in one particular religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and focuses on the discourse of two prominent leaders in the LDS Church, B.H. Roberts and Joseph Fielding Smith. In the LDS Church there is a clear distinction among members (Mormons) between official and unofficial discourse, and discerning the distinction between official and unofficial discourse revolves around the rhetorical concept of ethos. The ethos of a Mormon rhetor in intra-Mormon evolution discourse depends on an audience's perception of the concordance between written or canonized revelation, the words of living oracles, and priesthood position. However, citing more scriptures and prophets, or possessing a higher priesthood position does not automatically make a rhetor's argument supreme in the LDS Church. A rhetorical analysis of the Roberts/Smith debate demonstrates that rhetoric in the LDS Church is not judged solely by the rhetor's position of authority or by the rhetor's citation of authority (e.g., canonized scripture or modern prophets); rather, the rhetor's rhetoric is judged, at least to a degree, on its own merits. Ethos provides one approach or window into the rhetoric of evolution discourse, but uncovers many other possible approaches. More rhetorical studies of the evolution debates taking place in the LDS Church and in other specific religious settings will likely reveal much more about the way that ethos and other elements of rhetoric inform the seemingly endless evolution/religion discussion.

Community journalists, most of whom work and live in small towns, are likely to create personal relationships with sources and local organizations because of their proximity and involvement in the community. Such relationships may raise ethical questions that explore how journalists manage personal ties in the community. Using a grounded theory approach, the researcher analyzed 15 qualitative, in-depth interviews, this research examined ways in which journalists in six Western communities weigh their personal relationships against traditional journalism norms such as objectivity and detachment. Analysis of these interviews found community journalists fear conflicts of interest, and many of the interview subjects said that if they know a source personally or are a member of an organization, they often try to rescue themselves from coverage of a story. The research also explored ways in which the community journalists take advantage of their community involvement, especially as it pertains to gathering information and developing sources. Respondents were asked how they suggested a reporter balance membership in the local dominant faith with coverage of church issues. The community journalists who were interviewed mostly did not see a conflict between membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and coverage of church issues. Analysis also showed that the editors had few policies governing community involvement, instead relying on reporters' personal judgment and counsel from leadership—while examining each case individually based on its prominence. Finally, this study attempted to explore the differences in community involvement between smaller and larger community newspapers. However, the research suggests that other causes, such as demographics, roots and ties to the community, leadership, and formal training, may play an equal role in encouraging involvement.

America invests large amounts of money in K-12 education to develop its human capital. As such, K-12 student success is vital to the human capital development and future of America's children and adolescents. There is significant concern for the K-12 students who are predictably at risk of not graduating from high school (e.g., low-income, ethnic minority, and first generation college students) let alone qualifying for and enrolling in postsecondary education. Over the past four decades student success has primarily been explained by sociological research on status attainment as well as social capital and cultural capital. However, very little research addresses the relationship between this sociological research and motivation theory from the field of psychology. Specifically, student success research generally neglects describing how social capital and cultural capital become contextually and motivationally relevant for K-12 students. This study explored the pathway of success for students from the following backgrounds: low-income, first generation in college, active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Hispanic, graduated from a Utah high school in 2009 and who were admitted to Brigham Young University the same year as new freshmen. Case study methods were employed initially in phase one of the analysis using a grounded theory or emic paradigm, allowing data and patterns to emerge. In phase two of the analysis, using a post-positivist or etic paradigm data were contrasted with existing research. The findings revealed a new model that explains the conditions of student motivation. While the findings support existing research on the influences of social capital and cultural capital on student success, all students in this study experienced a triggering relationship that caused them to contextualize and assign value to various forms of capital in the past and present and leveraged them towards student success. This contextualization also served as a motivation for students to be successful and to pursue additional forms of capital to assist them on their pathway to success. The implications of this triggering relationship theory can assist parents, educators, and many others who facilitate the human capital development of children and adolescents.

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.

Only There Were Two, a full-length three-act play, is written as a reminder to us all of the faith and endurance of a handful of Mormon settlers. I have endeavored to capture the dramatic spirit of a man who would not let bigotry and prejudice run him from his home.