As methods by which texts are to be understood, positivism and historicism have a long tradition and continue to exert wide influence in all academic disciplines. Other approaches to textual concerns have recently emerged to challenge the dominance of these two approaches. Foremost among these new approaches are hermeneutics and deconstruction. Both of the latter approaches recognize that interpretation is inescapable. The latter challenges even the possibility of determinate meaning. A theoretical discussion of historicism and positivism uncovers questionable and troublesome difficulties. Hermeneutics in its conservative or radical variations overcomes the difficulties of interpretation that positivism and historicism can't explain. As an example of the problems of positivism and historicism, several narratives from the Book of Mormon illustrate how readings by revisionist Mormon readers—those who believe it is a modern work of fiction rather than an authentic ancient document—find exactly the evidence sought, largely without consulting the text they attempt to explain. Using biblical criticism with the assumption that it will illuminate the Book of Mormon text, especially of the literary rather than the historical variety, the narratives are complex and sophisticated works. Four narratives (the stealing of the daughters of the Lamanites, the broken bow, the Nahom incident, and the building of the ship narrative) illustrate the texture of the Book of Mormon as a set of complicated narratives that draw strongly from biblical archetypes of the exodus and patriarchal narratives.

The intent of this study was to investigate those artists in early Utah art history who played an important part in the development of water color painting.

This fictional novella takes place during the narrator Smoot's two-year mission to Melbourne, Australia. It chronicles the intertwining of the lives and destinies of three main characters: Smoot, a Utah native who struggles with carnality and lack of conversion and spirituality; Babakian, an Australian convert who used to be a punk rocker and has become frustrated with Mormonism's blandness and conformity; and Samantha, a nonmember part-Tongan Utahn with whom Smoot was involved before his mission. Speaking generally, the novella is about how Babakian misuses his creative powers of art and sexuality, how Samantha explores the gospel and changes her life, and how Smoot matures spiritually and learns to sacrifice.

A major objective of the Unified Church School System is to facilitate improved student personal and social adjustment in the seminary program. Little research, as yet, has been completed in the area of seminary guidance services, yet these services offer a prodigious potential for student personal and social adjustment.The purpose of this study was to determine the extent that seminary students of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would change in their problems of social adjustment during a nine-week period of seminary classroom attendance wherein selected group guidance techniques were used. It was hypothesized that some improvement would occur in the social adjustment of the students and would result in more favorable scores on the Mooney Problem Check List and California Test of Personality.

The purpose of this study was to attempt to describe the extent and nature of what was published about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (hereafter called the "Church") in general consumer magazines in the United States between 1953 and 1964.

This thesis is a record of a journey into the pioneer past both literally and metaphorically. The physical journey retracing the Oregon and Mormon trails was made in September of 1993, the year I was a National Endowment for the Humanities/Reader's Digest Teacher-Scholar; however, my intellectual and emotional journey into the lives of pioneer women covers several years of study. I compare my life experiences with those of pioneer women whom I studied, using geographical settings on the trail trip as memory triggers. My husband, as my traveling companion, plays an important role in this journey of discovery. Major themes are the contrast between public images and private attitudes, restoration and reality, independence and dependence, stereotype and individualism. In addition, I explore needs to balance family demands with personal aspirations, to deal with illness and death, to assess the value of material possessions, and to appreciate connections with other women. The trail trip serves as a catalyst for the exploration of a personal journey defining my own womanhood and that of other women as well.

This study was made for the purpose of determining the causes, course, nature, and effects of the "Great Reformation" that spread quickly throughout the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the latter part of 1856 and the first months of 1857.

This section is a statement on the reason behind my conducting archeological excavations in West Canyon. In light of the large collections which had come out of the area, it was deemed important to excavate before any further destruction of sites in the canyon took place in order to establish, if possible, the cultural affiliations of the prehistoric inhabitants of that area. It was felt before excavation began that there was enough evidence already on hand to suggest Fremont culture affiliation, but this was not sufficient to demonstrate the same with confident conclusiveness. A second goal was to obtain a knowledge of the structural design used by the inhabitants of West Canyon insofar as it could be determined by excavation. A third aim was to locate evidence of agricultural activity in a demonstrable form. As previously mentioned Mr. Hutchings had some charred corn cobs in his display case which reportedly came from West Canyon, but these are not displayed or visibly recorded in association with other specific features of a specifically designated site as they appear in the display, so that the associations remain in question. A fourth project was a survey of the area to determine the extent of occupation and as well as the kinds of occupation, whether they were sedentary groups with definite evidences of sedentary constructions and activities, or nomadic groups whose habitation of the area was transitory. An extension of this same problem was a determination of the overall economic activity if possible, of either kind of group. As suggested in the introduction, I believe the previous archeological work that has been conducted in the canyon has not been sufficient to date. Therefore it was my goal to complete a general research in what must be considered a previously untested area. It is unfortunate that with so much activity of this kind in West Canyon, I must use the term "untested area".

This thesis was designed to determine if a significant relationship exists between credibility and effectiveness in seminary teachers.Teacher credibility was determined by an adaptation of McCroskey's semantic differential scales used for measuring teacher credibility. Teacher effectiveness was determined by a matching scripture test.Chi square tests produced significant relationships between teacher credibility and the following: student religiosity, teacher influence and class attitude. The tests also produced significant relationships between teacher effectiveness and these variables: sex, student religiosity, teacher influence and class attitude. These relationships largely were what one would expect. The chi square test also produced a significant relationship between teacher credibility and teacher effectiveness. Thus the major expectation of the thesis was supported by the data: more credible seminary teachers are more effective.

On November 17, 1980, twenty Mormon women and one man were arrested on criminal trespassing charges after chaining themselves to the Bellevue, Washington LDS Temple gate. The news media extensively covered the event due to the shocking photos of middle-aged housewives, covered in large chains, holding protest signs and being escorted to police cars. These women were part of the group Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment (MERA) and were protesting the LDS Church’s opposition to the ERA. The LDS Church actively opposed the ERA and played an important role in influencing the vote in key states leading to its eventual failure. However, ERA literature generally ignores the LDS Church and their influence, instead attributing the ERA’s failure to lack of appeal to lower class and minority women, the ratification process, and confusing messaging about the amendment. Literature that does discuss the LDS Church and its opposition to the ERA fails to tell the story of the small, but bold and attention grabbing group of Mormon women who organized a campaign in direct opposition to the position of their church. This thesis begins with an evaluation of MERA’s use of sacred space in protest, and their portrayal in the media. It then explores how MERA re-appropriated LDS hymns, rituals and language to assert their power and express discontent with the church’s position on ERA, and concludes with an evaluation of the institutional and social consequences MERA members faced as a result of their activism.