This work traces the development of the global educational system of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After a long period of providing schools for its membership in the Intermountain West of the United States, the Latter-day Saints ultimately settled on a system of supplementary religious education, designed to work in concert with public education systems. During the 1950s as the Church began to gain an international following, Church leaders moved to establish an international system of schools to meet their needs. These schools were largely supervised and directed by Americans personnel. Under the leadership of Church president David O. McKay, large school systems were constructed throughout the Pacific, Mexico, and Chile. As the costs and complexities of these systems multiplied, Church leaders began to take a more structured and systematic approach towards their educational system. Under the direction of Harold B. Lee and other leaders, the Church chose once again to emphasize religious education among its membership, and a large system of supplemental programs were launched across the globe. These new programs were staffed primarily by indigenous personnel, providing strong local leadership. Eventually the majority of the international schools closed in favor of these supplemental programs. By 1980 the basic policies governing the Church Educational System were in place and for the most part these policies continue to govern the system today.

There are few women in the highest levels of leadership in most industries, including higher education. This intrinsic case study provides insight into the leadership journeys of 15 female leaders at Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Four prevalent themes emerged about their leadership journeys. First, a leadership role was not part of the participant's life plan. The remaining three themes related to acceptance of a leadership role. Participants reported feeling nudged to consider a leadership role, feeling a sense of relational responsibility in accepting a leadership role, and receiving a spiritual confirmation that they should accept a leadership role. Many Latter-day Saint women are not actively thinking about or seeking leadership opportunities. Leaders at Brigham Young University can encourage women to consider and accept leadership roles by intentionally nudging women to recognize their potential, understanding how relational responsibility motivates women, and encouraging them to seek for spiritual confirmation.

Minerva Teichert (1888-1976) was a twentieth-century American artist, who spent most of her life residing in remote towns in the West, earnestly balancing the demands of family and ranching, and painting scenes of her beloved Western frontier. Her steady and significant production of art is remarkable for any artist, and particularly compelling when one considers her time constraints, inaccessibility of art supplies, distance from other artists and art centers, and lack of public attention. The success of women artists during the first half of the twentieth-century was dependent not only upon their artistic aptitude, but also upon external forces, such as family, friends, and mentors. As an artist during this era, Teichert benefitted especially from the circles of women who surrounded her, offering sympathy, encouragement, assistance, a ready network of support, and who enabled her to pursue her passion, which she succinctly described, “I must paint.” This thesis employs a methodological framework informed by feminist, collective conscience, and social network theories in order to elucidate an artist's vision that transcends feminist viewpoints and western heroic individualism. The reality of female networks in Teichert's life translates not only to the certainty of women within a Western mythology dominated by men but also to a powerful counter-narrative where collaboration and community are essential to the success of settlements in the American West. Here Teichert introduces an altogether different vision and story. In her pioneer paintings, composed during the 1930s and 1940s, one sees a reflection of her own life, and that of her pioneer ancestors, which emphasizes the feminine, the importance of collaboration, and the centrality of community.

The present study explored the relationship between Latter-day Saint (LDS) seminary students' in-class oral participation and their perceived in-class spiritual experiences according to LDS theology. Since the release of the Teaching Emphasis in 2003, LDS seminary leadership has consistently emphasized the facilitating relationship between student in-class oral participation and desired spiritual outcomes of LDS seminary students. However, no known studies to date have gathered and analyzed data specific to varied amounts of LDS seminary student in-class oral participation or perceptions of in-class spiritual experience to evaluate the relationship between these two variables. Data regarding in-class oral participation and perceived spiritual experience were obtained via a self-report survey from 563 LDS seminary students. Participants were from classes of 25 randomly selected released-time LDS seminary teachers in Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch counties in the state of Utah. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and analysis of variance. Findings indicated a statistically significant correlation (r = .32, p < .01) between self-reported amounts of participant seminary students' in-class oral participation and perceived spiritual experience, with four significant (p < .05) oral participatory predictors of perceived spiritual experience (reading/reciting something out loud, explaining LDS doctrines to others, singing, and testifying to others by expressing beliefs), and significant mean differences (p < .05) of perceived in-class spiritual experience between low, medium, and high oral participating seminary students. The present study explores the practical implications and recommendations for future research from these findings.

Education and learning have ever been at the core of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout its history that now extends nearly one hundred ninety years, the Church has made numerous attempts to provide educational opportunities for its members. Some attempts have failed, and others were met with some success—though limited, to be sure. In hindsight, most of these efforts were simply laying the foundation for something far greater. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the groundwork for global Church education had been laid, and the seeds planted. Beginning with a pilot administered through BYU-Idaho, a program known as “Pathway” grew into a worldwide effort that is successfully providing educational opportunities to individuals distanced from such occasion. The Church-affiliated university also created a robust online program, that coupled with Pathway, was providing a largely affordable, yet high-quality education to Church members and even a few other individuals across the globe. Not without its barriers, Pathway and the BYU-Idaho online degree program worked to overcome legal and other limitations in order to create and expand a vigorous offering across cultures, time, and space. Recently, these programs have given root to what is now a global education initiative, collaborating a united effort from each institution affiliated with the Church Educational System.

The purpose of this study is to document the history and the contributing factors that led to the formation of the Current Teaching Emphasis (2003), the Objective (2009), and the Gospel Teaching and Learning Handbook (2012) within Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The analysis of this history, contained herein, clearly identifies the principles that have driven the changes in S&I's description of teaching and learning, describes how these adjustments differ from previous approaches, illustrates the significance of this shift, and presents the contemporary issues that influenced the increased clarity and direction from senior Church leaders to S&I.

The project consists of three parts: a summary of the research, a collection of sixteen oral histories of Latter-day Saint Electronic Media and Public Relations professionals who contributed to the development and growth of media in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a one-hour documentary film, Pioneers in Mormon Media, which gives a brief history of the development of modern mass communications and its use by the Church. This qualitative study investigates who has been involved in Church media, what projects have been accomplished and provides some explanation as to why the Church uses media. The oral histories which are in DVD format are available in Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. The library has also made them available online at http://byugle.lib.byu.edu. Transcriptions of the oral histories are located in the appendix. The documentary film is available through BYU Broadcasting and the Harold B. Lee Library.

A personal mode of discourse is central to Latter-day Saint culture. This mode is both pervasive throughout the culture and significant within it. Two specific genres-the personal experience narrative and the personal testimony-illustrate the importance of this discourse mode in LDS culture. Understanding the LDS personal mode of discourse is essential to properly understanding Mormonism. The personal orientation in LDS discourse mirrors a tendency towards personal expression which has become common throughout Western culture. This tendency has important roots in the Protestant religious movement. In particular, Puritanism represents a significant point of origin for American personal expression. Such expression has been further encouraged by the democratic climate of America and has become an important part of American religious discourse. However, LDS personal discourse cannot be explained by merely reducing the Latter-day Saint tradition to outside influences. Latter-day Saints, while deriving influence from many points, have fashioned a tradition of using personal expression in their religious discourse which deserves independent consideration. Within Latter-day Saint culture, the LDS tradition of personal discourse has special significance because it draws upon a host of doctrinal and cultural associations that are religiously significant to Latter-day Saints. LDS doctrines about the necessity of personal revelation and the importance of pragmatic action legitimate a religious focus on personal experience. Likewise, cultural encouragements towards personal religious involvement and spiritual expression foster a culture of personal expression. Because of these philosophies and commitments, LDS audiences respond powerfully to personal discourse. A personal style of discourse is important in mediating authority in the LDS religion. Personal expression is a means through which official LDS doctrine is conveyed. This mode of expression also allows individual Latter-day Saints to locate their identities within the structure of the LDS religion. Culturally-encouraged genres of personal expression allow LDS speakers to enact their religious beliefs. These genres reinforce fundamental LDS doctrines and serve an acculturating function in LDS culture. They teach Latter-day Saints how to experience, interpret, and speak about the world in ways consistent with the Latter-day Saint community's doctrines and commitments.

In 1852, the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made the pivotal decision to publicize the doctrine and practice of plural marriage—something they had worked to keep out of the public eye for years. This decision came in response to federal and social pressures. They quickly moved to announce and defend plural marriage among Church members as well as broader society, including those in the federal government. Orson Pratt was chosen by Brigham Young to be the face and the voice of the Church concerning plural marriage, both in Salt Lake City among members and in Washington D.C., where he preached sermons and published a periodical on the subject. This thesis a) demonstrates why Orson Pratt was the ideal candidate for such an undertaking; b) assesses the motivation for and context of the public unveiling and defense of plural marriage; c) analyzes Pratt’s rhetoric of the first public treatise on the subject given to a Latter-day Saint congregation at a special conference on 29 August 1852; and d) compares the rhetoric and reasoning between Pratt’s sermon to the Saints and his persuasive periodical written to the nation from Washington D.C. titled The Seer. Pratt’s rhetoric is incisive and carefully tailored to his audience. Important nuances in argumentation arise as he publishes the Seer and strives to convince his fellow citizens that plural marriage is right before God, improves society, and that the Saints should be allowed to practice polygamy as an expression of religious freedom. Orson Pratt ultimately fails to make a difference in the national opinion of plural marriage, but is successful in establishing a foundation of principles and reason that would be employed by the Saints to defend the practice of plural marriage for decades.

This study sought insight into the religious and cultural identity of emerging adults belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints(LDS) and the impact such identity had in relation to volunteering motivation. Participants included 24 emerging adult college students belonging to the Church. Thematic analysis was used to determine influencing factors that led to Church membership and how Church membership shaped self-perception. Participants shared volunteer experiences and motivation to volunteer in relation to Deci and Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT) was examined. The motivation of relatedness was identified among 100% of participants as compared to competence (37.5%) and autonomy (16.7%). Findings suggest participants regard being children of God and serving children of God as an important factor of religious identity that influenced volunteer work. This study provides a guiding framework for volunteer organizations and how they can target recruiting efforts toward emerging adult Church members.