This study describes the historical development of the Nauvoo, Illinois, public school system, 1841-1845. Many church, civic, and social organizations offered a wide variety of learning experiences to the citizens of Nauvoo. A set of questions was devised for this study to distinguish and to describe the Nauvoo school system from the multiplicity of educational offerings.

The problem of this study was to discover and classify "Mormon" ideas current between 1830 and 1844 relating to educational theory and practice, and to compare the theory and practice. The hypothesis is that there were discrepancies in the theory and the practice.

The purpose of this study was to supplement the Dale word list with a list of terms that are familiar to most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and thus increase the precision of the Dale-Chall readability formula when it is applied to LDS materials. The Dale word list consists of 3,000 words that are familiar to 80 percent of fourth graders. The procedure involved identifying non-Dale words that occur frequently in LDS church publications and testing them on LDS fourth graders in a three-alternative multiple-choice format.Of the 850 words tested, 249 were identified correctly by 80 percent of the LDS fourth graders tested and could, therefore, constitute a valid addition to the Dale word list when the Dale-Chall formula is used to test materials prepared for a Mormon audience.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not LDS seminary teachers are aware of (1) the Church standards with which their students feel they themselves are failing as far as adherence and understanding is concerned and (2) to what degree decree the students adhere to and understand the Church standards and principles.

No formalized philosophical system has officially represented the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to this time. Some claim there is need for one while others believe that none is forthcoming or necessary. Let the question be argued elsewhere. It is to be observed that metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and science are all essentially represented in mormonism and should at least be recognized in comparison with their kind. The useful practices of various epistemologies were employed for verification purposes although authoritarianism dominated the acquisition of knowledge in the infant Church. This need not indicate that the submitting authority was held in doubt. Various methods were found helpful in converting to personal knowledge that which had been given publicly. Thus, rationalism, mysticism, empiricism, pragmatism - any and all possible contributors - were utilized in the learning process. Some of the keenest minds in the Church were turned to the consideration of the philosophical implications of revealed doctrine. Outstanding among those minds was that of Orson Pratt.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the years 1852-1877, introduced to its membership a form of rhetoric (writing system) called the deseret alphabet (phonetic alphabet). This experiment was intended to alleviate the problem of non-communication which was created by the great influx of foreign speaking Saints into the great Salt Lake Valley. The alphabet was developed and encouraged by the Prophet Brigham Young and a few followers. Much to their dismay the members of the Church did not have the same vision of its workability as did its promoters. This new alphabet appears not to have met the needs of the people nor did it interest them. Its use and development was hindered by temple building, farming, settling, new doctrine, and possibly little faith in following their prophet, president, and leader. The Deseret Alphabet died with Brigham Young in 1877. Yet, it appears to have been a noble experiment towards a spelling reform. Perhaps it would have worked under different situations and different environment.

This thesis is a biography of Joseph Smith Sr., first patriarch to the Church and father of the illustrious Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. The overall purpose of this treatise is of a four-fold nature. First, it proposes to reveal the kind of personality and character he possessed. Second, it intends to present a near complete and accurate account of his deeds and experiences. Third, it hopes to relate him to the historical period in which he lived. And fourth, by fulfilling the three purposes named, it will attempt to evaluate the assertions that have been frequently made that the Prophet Joseph came from an ignorant, shiftless, and unworthy family. All of this can be done only to a limited extent, because of the small amount that has been written about Joseph Smith, Sr. In organizing the research of this thesis I have attempted to accomplish my desired purposes by giving an overall evaluation of Father Smith's life from both favorable and unfavorable sources; this is followed with the formative influences that helped to shape his personality and character; then is given the part he and his family played in the restoration of the true Gospel and the service he rendered as a member of the true church; added to this are the trials and tribulations he witnessed and suffered for the faith he had in the divine mission of his son; circumstances of his death and contributions he made conclude the treatise. With this information, it is hoped that in judging Joseph Smith Sr., one may more fully take into account these influences that surrounded him and place oneself in a position to look at things from his point of view and thereby form at least a partially correct estimate of his character.

Oakley is located in southern Idaho in the Goose Creek Valley, an area traversed by trappers and explorers who named the streams and left accounts of their experiences and travels. It was a rendezvous for Indians who went there to gather pine nuts and get wild game for their winter's meat.An emigration trail was located south of Oakley, where thousands wended their way to California. Emigrants going to Oregon from the East branched off this trail at the City of Rocks and came down Birch Creek to the Rock Creek Stage Station, southeast of the present town of Twin Falls, Idaho, and there met the established Oregon Trail.

The Nauvoo Legion takes its name from the city in Illinois which was the center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 1840's, when the Mormon militia was organized. When the Mormons were driven to the Rocky Mountains they revived the militia, in 1849, under its original title.The legislative organization of the Utah Nauvoo Legion was carried out through enactments of three lawmaking bodies, the High Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Legislature of the State of Deseret, and the Legislature of the Territory of Utah.

Millard County, Utah is located one hundred and fifty miles south of Salt Lake City in the west central part of the state. The county is bounded on the north by Juab County, on the west by Nevada, on the south by Beaver County, and on the east by Sevie, Sanpete, and Juab Counties.There are interesting formations of extinct volcanoes. Fossils can be found and well marked evidences of an ancient lake named Bonneville.A short account of the early explorer, Father Escalante, is given in the thesis. This tells of his travels in Millard County in the year 1776.An account of the Gunnison Massacre is related, which is a story of government surveyors being killed by a group of Indians. Also, a group of interesting pioneer experiences is included.