The purpose of this study was to study the effects of increased teacher knowledge of students' individual characteristics on students' religious attitudes and achievement in Seminary. It was based upon the rationale that when teachers have more knowledge of each student's characteristics, they can be more effective in planning for individual needs. One result will be that students' behavior and attitudes will be affected positively because their needs are more fully satisfied and interests more effectively utilized.

The Holy scriptures abound in references to the use of dance as a means of worship. It would seem that there is a need to understand how present day members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feel in regard to the kind of dancing referred to in the Scriptures.This study will be concerned with the production of "Desert Journey," a religious dance-drama depicting an episode from the Book of Mormon. A record of "Desert Journey" will be made with a movement notation system adapted from Motation, an architectual movement notation system developed by Laurence Halprin of San Francisco."Desert Journey" will be presented to a selected group of Latter-day Saint dance directors attending the 1965 June Quarterly Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their responses and attitudes toward the production as a means for religious worship will be determined with a questionnaire.The information gained from the production of "Desert Journey" and the responses to the questionnaires will be used to make suggestions for the effective production of religious dance-dramas in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The concept of worship projected in this study is the broad Isaiah pattern of worship of awareness of God, restructuring of the life of the individual, and dedication of the worshiper in service. From this concept, standards of worship are set forth by which Latter-day Saint worship is evaluated.

This thesis is a study of the development, use and value of a method of teaching the scriptures called Seminary Bowl from its beginning in 1964-65 to the present day.The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which the full-time teachers of the seminary program are using Seminary Bowl and to have teachers and students evaluate this method of teaching the scriptures.The results of this study have shown that both teachers and students alike feel very favorably towards Seminary Bowl as a method of teaching the scriptures. The results also show that although there are many areas where Seminary Bowl can be improved, it is helping to accomplish many objectives of the seminary program.

The problem of this study was to determine the relative levels of physical fitness of male L.D.S. Missionaires who were commencing and those just concluding their missionary service. The study was conducted with 50 randomly chosen subjects in each group.The following conclusions were drawn based on the findings of the study:1. Returning missionaries were found to have experienced a significant decrease at the .01 level in the following areas: leg and back strength, total strength score, strength quotient, total seconds ran, total endurance score and over-all fitness score.2. Returning missionaries increased in gripping strength at the .01 level of significance.3. There was no significant difference at the .01 level between the two groups in the areas of body weight or arm strength.4. Ninty percent of the returning missionaries were found to be below McCloy's National Strength Norms at .01 level of significance.5. Eighty-six percent of the returning missionaries were classified as being in poor over-all condition as opposed to 26 percent prior to their departing for the mission field.

This thesis was designed as a follow up of a study completed in 1959 which developed nine criteria for measuring religious maturity. The objective of this study was to develop a scale based on the nine criteria and administer it to seminary teachers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to explore the possibility of measuring differences in religious maturity. It was assumed that younger teachers who obtained a degree in a human behaviorally-oriented field of study would show the greatest level of religious maturity.

The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand begins with the arrival of Mormon missionaries in New Zealand in 1854. They established themselves firmly among the Maori people during the 1880's. Their success was influenced by certain Maori prophecies and by the translation of the Book of Mormon into Maori. The LDS church made successful efforts in educating it's members by establishing schools as early as 1886. The mission established the Maori Agriculture College in 1913 and the Church College of New Zealand in 1958. A highlight in the history of the mission was the building of a temple near Hamilton. Both the Church College and the temple were built by labor missionaries.Material for the thesis was obtained from the LDS Church Historian's Office in Salt Lake City, and from the Brigham Young University Library in Provo, Utah.

Although tabernacles do not hold the sacred meaning of Mormon temples, they are symbolic landmarks of the culture of the early Mormon Saints. Tabernacles were once an integral part of each community in which they were located. They were often the main buildings in the community, reflecting the coherent, orderly nature of a Mormon town. Today, many of the original tabernacles have been torn down and others are under the threat of destruction.The first tabernacles built in the Mormon Culture Region were constructed in the 1850s. They were large meetinghouses built for the purpose of holding large general meetings. They were preacher centered houses of worship with few classrooms or recreational facilities. Over time the tabernacles became larger and often more ornate. Because of the growth of the Church, change in Church programs and technological advancement tabernacles are no longer built. Those remaining are threatened with destruction because of high maintenance costs, and low practicality.

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for L.D.S. priesthood home teachers.A twelve week workshop was written and field tested in the Fullerton California Stake. The evaluation pointed out the need for a structured and ongoing program with emphasis on the fostering of interpersonal communication and relationship skills among individual priesthood home teachers. The outcome of this project was the development of a functional product entitled "A Home Teacher's Training Manual."

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of seminary home study materials within the early morning seminary classroom as a supplementary aid to the teacher, measuring changes in student's attitude, church activity, and knowledge of the New Testament.The sample consisted of 130 students in experimental and control groups in six early morning seminary classes in the San Diego, California area during the 1968-69 school year. Six teachers participated in the study and an instrument was used as a pre and a post test to evaluate progress. The data was tabulated by an IBM computer.It was found that (1) the use of seminary home study materials as a supplementary aid to the early morning teachers had a positive effect on attitude, church activity, and gaining knowledge of the New Testament; (2) although there was some loss of factual knowledge from the pre test to the post test, the loss was not as great among students using the home study materials; (3) the use of the home study materials seemed to be flexible and useful to the teachers who worked with them; and (4) student drop-out was less in the classes where home study materials were used than in the control group classes.