The problem of this thesis concerns itself with the questions: Why did Emma Smith oppose the men who were in the leading council of the Church and who were the closest friends of her husband? What was her attitude towards the Church her husband founded? What kind of woman was she, and what effect did she have upon her husband and the Church he organized?It will be the purpose of this thesis to point out some significant facts pertaining to these questions, garthered in the main, from primary sources such as the Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, news clippings from newspapers published in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri at the time Emma Hale was living and from the Woman's Exponent of the same time. A gleaning of material has also been made from the six volume History of the Church and the Comprehensive History of the Church, Mormon source books, and the one volume, Story of the Church and from the four volumes of the History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, source materials of the Reorganized church.The more personal details in the life of Emma Smith as recorded in this thesis are statements made by her mother-in-law, by a grand-daughter, and by her husband.

The purpose of this study was to show that the present Student Evaluation of Seminary (SES) provides the seminary teacher with an inadequate estimate of his credibility in the classroom, as perceived by his students. To accomplish this goal, a list of student responses to questions about their seminary teachers was developed and analyzed. The results indicated that not all factors of teacher credibility as perceived by the seminary students were being measured by the SES.Thirty-one students gave a total of 339 responses to the questions asked by the researcher. A comparison of the student statements to statements in the SES showed that 50 percent of the students statements were not discussed in the SES. The student statements were divided into the categories discovered in the research literature, with the added category, "Spirituality," These categories were compared to the categories used in the SES. A 37 percent similarity was found.Further research is recommended to develop a revised SES that would provide the seminary teacher with a more adquate evaluation of his credibility in the classroom, as perceived by his students.

This thesis pertains to the efforts of the Mormons in establishing their Church among the Irish and is arranged to give a chronological account of activities there. A brief background of the establishment of Christianity in Ireland and a knowledge of numerous conflicts between Catholics and Protestants helps to understand the complex religious interaction occurring at the time Mormonism was introduced in that country. The difficulties encountered by the first Mormon missionaries in Ireland suggest reasons why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not expand as rapidly as it did elsewhere in Britain and other European countries.Shortly after the missionaries arrived in 1840, a famine caused many Irish to emigrate to England and Scotland where some became Mormon converts. Many of the converted Irish emigrated to America, and several of them became prominent Irish Mormon Pioneers.Mormon history in Ireland can be divided into three major campaigns. The first was from 1840 to 1849; the second from 1850 to 1867; and the third and permanent campaign began 1884 and has continued to the present (1968). Each campaign is discussed in the thesis, and one chapter is devoted entirely to Irish opposition to Mormonism. Those who desired that the new religious doctrine not be taught in Ireland employed a variety of means to try and achieve their objective.After the turn of the century, the image of the Mormon Church in Ireland gradually changed from negative to positive due to many factors. Foremost was the fact that the worldwide image of the Church experienced a similar change. During the twentieth century there was a slow though gradual increase in membership among the Irish until World War II when Mormon missionaries were withdrawn. Due to their absence, a sharp decrease in activity occurred, but after their return in 1946, conversions and the membership both have steadily increased.Until 1962, missionary work in Ireland had been supervised from England to Scotland, but in that year Church leaders organized a separate Irish Mission. Within a year the number of missionaries increased from the usual eight or ten to well over 150. Consequently, the Church membership rose from about 600 to nearly 3700 by 1967, and four new chapels have been built during the same period to accommodate the increased membership. The thesis includes statements of mission presidents describing the significance of recent growth.The concluding chapter indicates that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ireland ranks eleventh among sixty-seven religious denominations according to the number of members. Other statistics point to factors which could influence Church growth. The appendices contain a statistical report of the year by year conversions and membership of the Church in Ireland. Also included are over one thousand names of Mormon missionaries who have served in Ireland since the work commenced there.

Joseph Smith organized a group called Seventies in the Mormon Church early in 1835. They are one of three primary groups in the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. They were said to be Elders with a special calling to preach the Gospel among the nations of the earth. Their calling was said to be apostolic because they were to assist the Twelve Apostles in preaching the Gospel and administering Church affairs under their direction. They were a general Church Quorum, and not considered a part of stake organization.The Seventies were established in their calling as missionaries in the time of Joseph Smith, and carried about their share or a little more, of the missionary work in the proportion to the other Priesthood groups. Under the auspices of Brigham Young, they became, for the most part, the missionary force of the Church. This was continued until after the turn of the century; at that time the policy changed and the Elders began to carry out most of the foreign missionary work of the Church. Seventies were asked to carry on missionary work in their home stakes and wards. Fundamentally, two reasons were given for the change in policy: First, the Seventies, being older men than most Elders, were hindered from accepting mission calls because of family and financial responsibilities. Second, making most missionaries Seventies had made their number too great in proportion to the other groups, and took too much leadership away from Elders quorums. However, these conditions existed for a long time before the change, and the Seventies were apparently able to fulfill their calling very well.

The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine the factors contributing to the rise and subsequent decline of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Upper Canada. Although the time period of this study spans from 1830 until 1850, the principal years of activity were from 1832 until 1840. An effort is made to discuss any major location wherein the Church made substantial progress.The major contribution of the thesis lies in the effort to stage the Mormon drama against a Canadian background of changing social factors. During the times of greatest economic stagnation, political upheaval and Methodist divisions, Mormonism made its greatest strides. In contract, once the economy had improved, the political rebellion quelled, and religious divisions healed, the Mormon influence waned. Furthermore, the Church emphasized so strongly the doctrine of gathering to America that not enough stalwart converts remained behind to form a permanent nucleus of activity.

The "History of the Southern States Mission, 1831-1861," traces the development of a system of proselyting in the southeastern United States, and its effect on the lives of both missionaries and converts who embraced the principles of the restored gospel taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.This study includes an examination of twenty-eight personal missionary journals, and consequently gives a valid picture of Latter-day Saint objectives and the sacrifices necessary to achieve them. Their objectives were to carry the message to the world and build up the Kingdom of God.To reach their goal, the Mormons developed an enthusiastic and extensive proselyting system. As members joined the movement and caught the spirit of the Kingdom, they were zealous to carry the message to their friends and relatives. The free-lance method developed into a system wherein definite calls were made to a particular field of labor.One of the earliest and most fruitful fields of Mormon proselyting activity became known as the Southern States Mission – an area of thirteen southeastern states.The South was first contacted by two Mormon missionaries in June, 1831. Each succeeding year, the number of laborers increased. By 1861, at least 230 missionaries had served in the South. Some of them returned again and again, as many as five times, to spread the gospel. Even the threats of mobs did not stop their work. They not only preached the gospel, but also collected money to finance the temples and help the poor, sold subscriptions to L.D.S. newspapers, campaigned for Joseph Smith as a presidential candidate and organized Saints for emigration.The mission was a field of training for leadership. Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Jedediah M. Grant, George A. Smith and others received valuable training for Church responsibilities.The hospitable and religious nature of the Southerners made success possible. Approximately 2000 Southern converts joined the Church during the thirty year period. They came from the various strata of society--from Negro slaves to the wealthy plantation owners. They responded to their profession of faith by contributing their time, talents and money to the Church.As soon as the number of converts in a locality justified an organization, they sustained a local member as president of their "branch." The first branch was established in Cabell County, Virginia, in 1832. A larger ecclesiastical unit composed of branches, was developed into a "conference" in 1836.When Joseph Smith designated ‘gathering places’ for his followers, approximately fifty per cent of the Southern Saints joined the emigration movement to Missouri, Illinois and Utah.Proselyting activities focused on Texas after the body of the Church moved to Utah in 1847, and hundreds of Texans were affected by the "spirit of gathering." They had a long distance to travel, and experienced much hardship and discouragement.The "History of the Southern States Mission, 1830-1860," shows the effect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of men. It reflects the successes, joys, sorrows and satisfactions that came to those who embraced the Latter-day Church. For thirty years, before the outbreak of the Civil War, the South was a fruitful missionfield. However, in 1861, the war brought a cessation of missionary work and ended the first era of the Mission's history.

This thesis depicts in a visual format the settlement geography of early Utah.Several topics in Utah's historical geography were mapped by conventional cartographic techniques to give an overview of processes and patterns of settlement.This thesis points to the utility of maps in portraying information concerning settlement activity. It indicates that visual correlations enable the student to better understand settlement through spatial relationships.Of special interest are the use of color maps, and the creation of physical relief impressions by photographically screening a raised relief map of Utah.

This study addressed itself to identifying dominant motivational influences prompting seminary attendance of ninth and eleventh grade students living along the Wasatch Front in the state of Utah and to determine if these motivational influences were related to stated objectives of the LDS seminary program. The sample consisted of twelve randomly selected cluster groups of seminary classes from the Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo-Orem areas. Factors relative to stated objectives and to entertainment were incorporated in the survey questionnaire, Survey of Attendance Rationale, used for data collection. Data were collected in February 1981 and submitted to factor analysis, analysis of variance, and the Chi-square test of homogeneity.Results of the hypotheses tested indicated that primary motivational factors influencing seminary attendance were related to the stated objectives of the seminary program, accompanied by the strong influence of and desire for entertainment related activities.

The purpose of this thesis was to test the antecedents of religiosity on religious commitment. Specifically, what dimensions of religiosity predict if a young-adult Mormon male will serve a mission. Both Logistic Regression and LISREL were used to examine data from the Young Men's Study, in order to predict Mission. The six variables, Religious Intention, Public Religiosity, Religious Negativism, Family Structure, Tithing, and Smoking were found to have direct effects on missionary service. Four more variables were found to have important indirect effects on Mission. The four variables are Parents Church Attendance, Home Religious Observances, Agree With Parents' Values, and Private Religiosity.

Nephite government was essentially theocratic, with both the monarchy and reign of the judges paralleling the similar institutions of the ancient Israelites. Ultimate political authority resided in the prophet. The laws were given by the Lord, and the principle of popular consent was recognized. The role of government was primarily national defense and the punishment of crime, not social reform.Lamanite government was monarchal and despotic, with notable exceptions when the nation was converted to the gospel. The Jaredites theoretically lived under a theocratic monarchy, but intrigue, tyranny, and oppression were the rule rather than the exception.In all three cases, righteousness was more important to the well-being and security of the people than the form of government. The greatest danger to free institutions was the rise of secret combinations with public tolerance and support. The authors of the Book of Mormon wrote in part to warn their readers of the dangers of such combinations and to enable them to profit from the political experiences of their predecessors on the American continent.