Alexander Campbell, a contemporary of Joseph Smith, was the first to publish a critique of the Book of Mormon after actually having read it. Among other allegations, he arraigned that Joseph Smith wrote the book to resolve, with a voice of prophecy, theological issues contemporary to its publication. This study undertakes to examine Campbell's charge with regard to atonement doctrine. To assess the statement, this study first identifies the controversies about atonement doctrine in the years prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon, in the Northeastern region of the United States. It then compares the teachings inherent to those controversies to Book of Mormon atonement doctrine. This study concludes that the doctrine in the Book of Mormon does appear to resolve some of the controversies surrounding the doctrine of the atonement in the time and place relative to its publication. However, on other important points of controversy, it does not resolve the issues. Furthermore, as it expounds atonement doctrine, it combines concepts in ways not germane to its environment. It does not fit any model of soteriology that was prevalent in the time period and place of its original publication.

The purpose of choreographing "Jacob Five: A Journey into the Olive Vineyard" was to artistically express a religious allegory in order to praise God as well as to bring the audience, dancers, and choreographer to a new understanding of the passage from which it was derived. The 39-minute dance was presented April 10, 1993 as a dance fireside. Following the performance, an informal discussion was held to give the audience an opportunity to respond to the dance. These comments were considered and recorded as part of the evaluation of this thesis. Both the thesis and video of "Jacob Five: A Journey into the Olive Vineyard" are available through the Brigham Young University Department of Dance.

This study presents a textual and grammatical analysis of 52 passages of Isaiah as they are found in Cave IV of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, the King James version, and the Book of Mormon. The objective was to determine the relationship, if any, of those verses in the Book of Mormon with the other textual traditions. Based on the differences between the Book of Mormon text and the King James version, and upon the confirmation of those Book of Mormon differences by the other traditions, it was concluded that The Book of Mormon follows its own tradition.

The problem of this thesis is: To determine whether there are Hebraic idioms in the Small Plates of Nephi in the Book of Mormon that have been retained in translation. An idiom is defined as any peculiar genius of the language: grammatical, syntactical, or verbal imagery. Non-Hebraic idioms were not considered.The assumptions underlying the problem are:1. The Book of Mormon is a record of the Nephites whose cultural, social, and lingual milieu originated in Israel.2. The Book of Mormon was originally written according to a Hebrew pattern of thought and communication.3. Joseph Smith, as a young man inexperienced with languages and inept by training as a translator, tended to translate literally.

The first section of this thesis is a diachronic examination of second person pronouns in English with special focus on variations in usage such as pronominal shifting between thou (and related forms) and ye (and related forms), as well as an examination of the second person pronoun usage in the English Bible (especially the King James Version) with a similar focus. From the thirteenth century on variations in usage have been common.The second section is a synchronic examination of second person pronouns as used by Joseph Smith and some of his contemporaries, followed by an analysis of these pronouns in the Book of Mormon. Also included is a brief discussion of Book of Mormon textual variants and revisions, especially as they pertain to pronouns of address. The second person pronoun usage and pronominal shiftings in the Book of Mormon are similar to that of other works of Joseph Smith's day except for the use of thou (and related forms) when addressing a group as individuals. This pronoun usage seems more characteristic of biblical or Hebraic usage than that of English historically.

The purpose of this study is to determine and present the Book of Mormon's contributions as a witness to the authenticity of the New Testament account of certain events of Christ's life, in order that teachers may have an effective instrument in teaching the historicity of the New Testament account of Christ's life.This study reveals 177 passages in the Book of Mormon that refer to the life of Jesus. These passages corroborated the New Testament account of Christ's life. There are 61 Book of Mormon passages that refer to the pre-existence of Jesus Christ and His anticipated coming. There are 25 passages relating to the birth of Jesus Christ and His divinity as the Son of God. There are 43 passages that refer to the ministry of Jesus Christ. There are 62 passages referring to the trials, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Section C of this study points out 115 different ideas and concepts that the Book of Mormon professes as truths concerning the life of Jesus Christ and related events.

The Book of Mormon was published over one hundred years ago. In the meantime, many articles have been written and many discourses have been published, both for and against this volume. In reflecting upon this matter the following questions arose in the mind of the author: Have the writers and speakers been concerned about the same materials, have they treated the same themes, as the years have passed? To ascertain whether or not there has been a shift in emphasis, the following investigation was undertaken.

The problem of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon is specifically a study in Historical Criticism. In nature it is a textual problem especially adapted to the methods of textual science. This includes, of course, both branches of that science, namely, lower criticism and higher criticism.

The purpose of this work is to chronicle the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from its earliest beginnings in the late 1930s to the events surrounding the revelation on the priesthood in 1978. This thesis will show that as the Church in Rio became less American and more Brazilian, Church growth accelerated. When missionaries first began working in the city, its membership, leadership, culture, and even language was based on North American society and practices, and the Church struggled to establish itself. Only as these aspects of the Church became more Brazilian did it begin to have greater success in the area. This survey history of the Church in Rio de Janeiro will begin in 1935 with the influential work of Daniel Shupe—a North American Church member who lived and worked in Rio and translated the Book of Mormon into Portuguese. We will then examine the work of the missionaries both before and after World Warr II, the growth of Brazilian Church leadership in the city, and how the Church established itself as a center of strength for the Church. Finally, our study will conclude with the 1978 revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members regardless of race and the immediate influence of that shift on the Church in the city. The focus of this work will be on the major factors and most influential individuals that affect Church growth and stability in Rio, thereby providing an in-depth study of the effects of language, culture, leadership, and race on the Church in this intriguing and influential city.

In the years since Joseph Smith completed the translation of the Book of Mormon, the English language has changed; some common phraseologies and word meanings are dissimilar to today's. Often, in reading the Book of Mormon, we impose our current definitions onto terms that in 1830 had a different meaning. Our interpretation of these words, as well as the passages in which they are found, is skewed by our modern definitions. These words, when they occur in the Book of Mormon, demonstrate dialectal and obsolete senses. In the case of some words, the dialectal or obsolete sense is so far removed in meaning from the prevailing modern sense that Book of Mormon readers may be unsure how to interpret the meaning.In this study I investigate words in the Book of Mormon text that have taken on different meanings, thus leading to potential misreadings within some passages of the text.