Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University Division of religion.

Thesis (Electroni). Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University Division of religion. / Also available in print ed.

Thesis (M.A.) B.Y.U. Division of religion.

Thesis (M.A.) B.Y.U. Division of religion. / Electronic thesis. Also available in print ed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-300).

This work examines the word yea in the Book of Mormon, the Earliest Text and enumerates the usages found therein. Already recognized definitions in addition to new definitions are given with examples. Also included are textual variations from the Earliest Text and the current Book of Mormon used generally as scripture in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This thesis, DAVID WHITMER, A WITNESS TO THE DIVINE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON, is an attempt to give an unbiased history of the life and religious activities of a man who spent fifty years apart from the Church he was so much an instrument in establishing. His testimony has been a considerable factor in promoting its growth and success. The title of this work was suggested by a text Mr. Whitmer wrote in the year previous to his demise; the subject, by A. William Lund, assistant Latter-day Saint Church Historian. Particular emphasis has been placed upon that phase of David Whitmer's life that touched the Church, both for good and bad, and is not an attempt to elaborate upon his life prior to the year 1829 or to give a comprehensive account of his progenitors and posterity. Nearly all those who knew him in life have long since joined him in death. My thanks to those few who yet live; their contributions have become a part of this work.

This paper employs Ricoeur's Interpretation Theory to analyze the affect the exclamation mark has on the readers' interpretation of five Book of Mormon editions. Each unique instance of exclamation was obtained with its accompanying verse and these were coded by three coders for the genre they appeared in, the syntactic structures of their utterances, and the rhetorical function of the exclaimed proposition. This made possible a comparison of the exclaimed themes both within and across each genre and across each of the five editions analyzed. While the 1830 edition was found to have many exclamations in the genres of conversation and speech with emphasis on the themes of the love of God, the sacrifice of Christ, and the carnal nature of man, the 1920 edition by contrast saw emphasis mainly in the genres of prayer and aside on the call to repentance, the calamities of hell, and the need to call upon God's grace to overcome the many sins that will beset the latter generation of readers.

In 1945 the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Nag Hammadi; the founding consisted of Gnostic Gospels, the Gospels helped researcher to get a more correct view of the Gnostic Movement. In the beginning of the 19th century another founding was made, according to Joseph Smith an angel appeared from heaven giving him lost Christian Gospels on golden plates, later knows as the Book of Mormon. With the new Gospels Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day Saints, also know as Mormonism. The thesis’ purpose has been to examine and do a literature analysis on the Book of Mormon, a recently new discovery, with secondary research on the Gnostic Gospels, also a recently new discovery. This paper will guide its reader through similarities between the two movements; with the overarching research question “What Gnostic elements can be found in the Book of Mormon?”. The first chapter will introduce the reader to the Book of Mormon and the Gnostic movement, in chapter two the research results will be displayed followed by the analysis, discussion and a conclusion that will take place in chapter three.

This thesis is a study about the influence of the Book of Mormon message to the Lamanites upon the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico, primarily focusing upon the years 1875-1950. Several important events, people, and publications from the first seventy-five years of the Church's history in Mexico are evaluated as historical case studies in order to examine the extent to which the message to the Lamanites influenced the beginnings of the Latter-day Saints there. These case studies include the first mission to Mexico in 1875, early publications in Spanish, the dedication of Mexico by Apostle Moses Thatcher, the presidency of Rey L. Pratt, and the Third Convention. Though this thesis provides pertinent historical background and details, as well as analysis of key primary sources and documents, its main purpose and contribution is its focus on the theme of the Lamanites, within the context of early Latter-day Saint history in Mexico.