In this thesis, I intend to illustrate the impact that Jerry Falwell had upon the rise of religious fundamentalism within the United States during the latter part of the 20th century. By elucidating the various factors that led Jerry Falwell from a little-known minister from Lynchburg, Virginia to becoming the figurehead of the movement known as the Religious Right, I wish to show how one of more controversial figures in both the religious and political spheres of contemporary American history became one of the more influential and infamous men of recent times. By focusing on the predecessors of Jerry Falwell along with the events that helped shape his career, I hope to provide a contribution to the scholarship of the nation's religious upbringing, especially in the modern era, as well as trace the career of one of the more infamous and noteworthy figures of both American political and religious history.

The ancient Greeks are prime subjects of study for those wishing to understand the roles that religion and mythology play in a society and how the two interact with each other. This paper covers what I feel after my study of Greek mythology and religion are the eight functions of mythology: history, education, explanation - both of the natural world and the culture of each society, legality, genesis, what happens after death, and entertainment; as well as the two function of religion: civic and spiritual. In the first chapter, in order to show each of the mythological functions, I summarize and explain a myth that falls primarily into each category. The second chapter discusses and illustrates Civic Religion and the third examines the three major Mystery Religions. The goal is to offer a basic understand of some of the myths, religious beliefs, and cult practices of the ancient Greeks.

This thesis is in three parts. The first part looks at the historical scholarship on writings opposed to Mormonism, especially those from the nineteenth century. The conclusion is that, despite hundreds of works written against Mormonism in its early years, the historical scholarship has not done justice to the writings or people involved. The vast majority of the writings and writers have not been analyzed, and those that are discussed are usually the most sensational and not representative of the genre.The second part of this thesis is a a case study giving an example of the kind of work the author feels needs to be done to make up for the deficiency in this area. Specifically this part examines the religious concerns of critics who wrote in the United States and Great Britain between 1844 and 1857. The evidence clearly shows that there were many writers who expressed religious concerns about Mormonism. Criticisms were made against Mormon religious practices such as polygamy, temple ceremonies and baptism for the dead, and against Mormon religious beliefs such as the role of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and Mormon doctrines on God and the Bible.The third section contains two appendices. The first is a bibliography of imprints written against the Mormons between 1844 and 1857. The second is a bibliography of all secondary literature about opposition to Mormonism.

In December 1905, a large granite monument was erected at the birthplace of Joseph Smith on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. This thesis relates the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument from its origins through its construction and dedication. It also explores its impact on the memory of Joseph Smith in the local, Vermont, and national context. I argue that the history of the Joseph Smith Memorial Monument in Vermont is the story of the formation and validation of the memory of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet.Nineteenth century Mormons remembered a variety of individual memories of Joseph Smith that were aggregated through reminiscences, hymns, and commemorations into three dominant collective memories: Joseph Smith as prophet, martyr, and Vermont schoolboy. During the first decade of the twentieth century, these three memories of Joseph Smith were filtered through the social, religious, and political interests and concretized into the Joseph Smith Memorial Birthplace Monument. The dedication of the Joseph Smith Monument on 23 December 1905 and the messages presented at the site by Junius F. Wells over the next five years shaped a broader interpretation of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet.The impact of the monument in Vermont is examined through a case study of Royalton, Vermont. Vermont's past had been aggregated into a tradition emphasizing the virtue, patriotism, and individuality of Vermonters, and Royalton residents responded to the Joseph Smith Monument by concretizing their own memory of Royalton as a typical New England town through monuments, a town history, and an annual town holiday. Competing memories of an American Prophet and the New England town collided during construction of the Royalton Memorial Library in 1922, and settlement of Royalton's division over the definition of a New England Town validated the memory of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet. Throughout the twentieth century, the memories of an American Prophet and New England Town accommodated each other. Vermont's validation of the memory of Joseph Smith as an American Prophet represents a national transformation in the memory of Joseph Smith.

The purpose of this study is to present the history of events leading up to the division of the Mormon community of Slaterville, Weber County, Utah by apostasy. The work has been classified chronologically under the following chapter headings: The Founding of Slaterville, Joseph Morris in Slaterville, The Morrisite War, Apostasy Because of Change of Ward Leadership, Influence of Apostasy on Politics, and Influence of Apostasy on Education.

Throughout the history of the Mormon movement, certain members or groups of members, have exercised free agency in the form of dissent against the direction which the prophet of that church chose to lead his movement. The form of this dissent varied but the theme was usually quite consistant: a demand for moderation. For many of these dissenters the extremes of Mormon doctrine seemed to take them out of touch with prevailing American values.Joseph Smith III, a son of the Mormon founder, proved to be one of these moderates. He ultimately rejected all of his father's more radical theology as he created a movement in which the believers in his father's divine mission and the Book of Mormon could exercise their faith without losing the good will of the American people.

The purpose of this study was to provide a biography of Leonard John Nuttall. Special emphasis has been given to his contributions to Church and civic affairs.

The Columbia Basin of Central Washington has a relatively recent Latter-day Saint history among the regions of the western states. Most of the sparsely populated rural areas in the west that have large concentrations of Latter-day Saints were originally established as "Mormon" settlements. The basin referred to lies between the Snake and Columbia Rivers and now has thousands of Latter-day Saints who have chosen to inhabit the historically barren land and call it their home. A brief visit or casual observance of the area leads many to question what were the major factors and characteristics leading to the twentieth century growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Columbia Basin of Central Washington?

How much historical information pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is contained in the Journal of Discourses? How and where can it be found amid the nearly ten thousand pages of printed matter, much of which is non-historical? How accurate is the historical information in the Journal of Discourses? These three questions pose the problem that this study is designed to handle.

Presented here is a bibliography representing a core collection on the Celtic and Roman religion in Roman Britain. This religion, which was formed from the mixing of Celtic and Roman religions, was truly a new religion. It was formed from two powerful but different religions. The Celts believed in nature and the power it held within everything in their world. The Romans believed in the power of their pantheon of gods and goddesses. When these two factors merged it produced a religion unlike any other in the world during the Iron Age. This bibliography will list the resources to form a core collection to be used for researching the Celtic religion and Roman religion. It will also provide resources for researching what became the religion of Roman Britain and how it can be examined through burials. It provides a variety of information from historians and archaeologist who have studied these religions in depth. Many academic libraries may already include several of the primary sources in their collections, which will minimize the cost of setting up this specialized collection.