Academic literature on the topic 'LDS missionaries'

This study offers a theoretical perspective on the role of social media in the transition home for returning missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (lds/Mormon). Despite a long tradition of strict lds institutional norms aimed at sheltering full-time church missionaries from outside media influences, missionaries are today increasingly encouraged to use social media sites in their proselytizing efforts. Through qualitative, in-depth interviews with recently returned lds missionaries, this study explores the role Facebook plays in facilitating the maintenance of mission relationships after missionaries have returned home, something interviewees said helps them retain the sense of religious commitment and identity developed through missionary service. Interview findings also complicate the potential benefits of social media use, providing evidence for the argument that returning lds missionaries are often caught between media technology, personal media preferences, institutional authority, and popular culture. These individuals seem to occupy a doubly liminal position between full-time proselytizing and life at home, between a historical religious tradition of missionary media isolation and an emerging institutional embrace of social media—all of which results in what might best be described as an uncanny experience.

John Nicholson's The Preceptor is the first book dedicated to an explicitly Mormon rhetorical theory, which he attempts to employ in the troubled landscape of LDS missionary training. This essay examines Nicholson's advice to missionaries, and argues that The Preceptor links logos and the Holy Spirit together in homiletic division of labor, connecting traditional Christian preaching with indigenous Mormon style and theology. By studying The Preceptor we can gain an appreciation for how rhetorical theories develop specific features that reflect a particular culture's location in history and society, and examine a rhetoric that served as an alternative to mainstream American religious and secular rhetorical development.

Presented at the Second Language Research Forum, Michigan State University, USA; 30 October 2009Recent years have brought increasing attention to studies of language acquisition in a country where the language is spoken, as opposed to formal language study in classrooms. Research on language learners in immersion contexts is important, as the question of whether study abroad is valuable is still somewhat controversial among researchers (DeKeyser 2007; Sunderman & Kroll 2009). In the introduction to a pioneering volume on language study abroad, Freed (1995, pp. 17–18) noted that a vital question concerns the relative linguistic benefits of a summer, a semester or a year in the foreign environment. Our purpose in this colloquium, which was organized by Lynne Hansen, was to introduce a new line of research which allows comparisons of L2 attainment over these exposure times as well as longer periods. Tens of thousands of young missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS or Mormon Church), advanced speakers of some fifty languages, return home annually after two years of language learning abroad. This natural sample of learners, in its relative uniformity of learner characteristics and learning contexts, allows for the control of variables in SLA research which can be problematic in studies of more heterogeneous groups.

SUMMARY On the basis of an analysis of ten grammars of different Meso-American indigenous languages crafted by missionaries during the 16th century, the author attempts to dress an inventory of the specific linguistic traits that characterizes them. These characteristics highlight the efforts which the authors had to make in order to penetrate these unknown and typologically distant languages from those studied at the time of the Renaissance. The present article points out that the missionaries, who had no formal linguistic training, made use of principles of classic hermeneutics, of analogy and anomaly, in order to analyze the function of the word in these new languages. It also establishes the value of these missionary grammars for the philology of the Meso-American indigenous languages, which is only at a beginning.RÉSUMÉ À partir d’un corpus de dix grammaires de différentes langues d’Amérique centrale écrites au XVIe siècle, l’auteur compte inventorier un ensemble de traits linguistiques qui leur confère leur originalité. De par ces traits on peut percevoir l’effort mis par leurs auteurs afin d’assimiler des langues inconnues et très éloignées, sur le plan typologique, de celles qu’on étudiait à l’époque de la Renaissance. Dans l’article on met en relief le fait que les missionnaires, sans formation linguistique, se servirent des principes de l’herméneutique classique, de l’analogie et de l’anomalie afin d’analyser la nature et la fonction du mot dans les nouvelles langues. On établira aussi la valeur de ces grammaires pour la philologie des langues d’Amérique centrale, alors à ses débuts.ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Aufgrund eines Korpus von zehn verschiedenen Grammatiken von mittelamerikanischen Sprachen, die im 16. Jahrhunder von Missionaren verfaßtt worden sind, versucht die Autorin ein Inventar linguistischer Charakteristika zu erstellen, welche diese Sprachen kennzeichnend sind. Mith ihrer Hilfe lassen sich die Anstrengungen der Autoren ermitteln, Sprachen zu analysieren, die unbekannt waren und sich typologisch sehr weit von denen entfernten, die man in der Zeit der Renaissance studiert hatte. Der Aufsatz hebt hervor, wie die linguistisch nicht vorgebildeten Missionare sich der Prinzipien der antiken Hermeneutik, der Analogie und die Anomalie, bedienten, um die Natur und Funktion des Wortes in diesen neuen Sprachen zu bestimmen. Gleichzeitig wird di Bedeutung dieser Grammatiken für die Philologie der mittelamerikanischen Sprachen herausgestellt, welche noch an ihren Anfängen steht.

AbstractThis article seeks to shed light on a much-debated question in the history of mission and anthropology: What is the nature of religious conversion? rough archive studies of the literature produced by the Norwegian missionaries in northern Cameroon from 1943 to 1960 the author shows how the missionaries interpreted religious conversion. The missionary discourse on conversion was biased in a specific theological and cultural environment, yet it was open for negotiations with the encountered population. The missionaries used biblical images to describe conversion to Christianity that were coherent with the cultural practices of both the missionaries and the groups that accepted the message of the missionaries in order to describe conversion to Christianity. Biblical images that corresponded with the cultural practice of groups that did not accept the missionaries are, however, absent from the material. A Western Protestant discourse presented spiritual and social oppression, ignorance, sickness, and lack of moral behaviour as obstacles the Africans had to be liberated from in order to be converted to Christianity. The missionaries, lacking knowledge about the social and religious organisation of traditional society, interpreted the "spiritual oppression" as "heathendom," and interpreted it according to their own theological paradigm. The reactions of the local population to this civilising mission made the missionaries modify their approach in order for their project to fit the agency of the new Christians in northern Cameroon. Cet article cherche à éclairer une question très débattue en histoire de la mission et en anthropologie : quelle est la nature de la conversion religieuse ? Étudiant les archives de la littérature produite par les missionnaires norvégiens au Nord Cameroun, de 1943 à 1960, l'auteur montre comment les missionnaires ont interprété la conversion religieuse. Le discours missionnaire sur la conversion a été biaisé par un environnement théologique et culturel spécifique, tout en étant ouvert à la négociation avec les populations rencontrées. Pour décrire la conversion au christianisme, les missionnaires ont utilisé des images bibliques cohérentes avec les pratiques culturelles et des missionnaires et des groupes qui acceptèrent leur message. Les images correspondant à la pratique culturelle des groupes n'ayant pas accepté les missionnaires sont cependant absentes du matériel étudié. Un discours occidental protestant présentait l'oppression spirituelle et sociale, l'ignorance, la maladie et le manque de comportement moral comme des obstacles dont les Africains devaient être libérés pour se convertir au christianisme. Manquant de connaissance sur l'organisation sociale et religieuse de la société traditionnelle, les missionnaires interprétèrent l'oppression spirituelle comme « paganisme » et lui donnèrent le sens du paradigme théologique qu'ils comprenaient, celui du christianisme occidental. Les réactions de la population locale à cette mission civilisatrice ont poussé les missionnaires à modifier leur approche de façon à ce que leur projet rentre dans les schémas des nouveaux chrétiens du Nord Cameroun. Dieser Artikel versucht, eine vieldiskutierte Frage in der Geschichte von Mission und Anthropologie zu beleuchten: Welcher Natur ist die religiöse Bekehrung? Durch Archivstudien der Literatur, die norwegische Missionare in Nordkamerun zwischen 1934 und 1960 produzierten, sucht der Autor zu zeigen, wie die Missionare die religiöse Bekehrung interpretierten. Die missionarische Erklärung wurde durch eine spezifische theologische und kulturelle Umgebung beeinflusst, war aber auch offen für Verhandlungen mit der Bevölkerung vor Ort. Die Missionare verwendeten für die Bekehrung zum Christentum biblische Bilder, die mit den kulturellen Praktiken sowohl der Missionare wie auch der Gruppen übereinstimmten, die die Botschaft der Missionare annahmen. Biblische Bilder solcher Gruppen, die die Missionare nicht annahmen, finden sich allerdings im untersuchten Material nicht. Ein westlich protestantischer Diskurs stellte die spirituelle und soziale Unterdrückung, Unwissenheit, Krankheit und das Fehlen moralischen Handelns als Hindernisse dar, von denen die Afrikaner befreit werden mussten, damit sie zum Christentum bekehrt werden konnten. Die Missionare, denen die Kenntnis der sozialen und religiösen Struktur der traditionellen Gesellschaft fehlte, interpretierten die ,,spirituelle Unterdrückung" als ,,Heidentum", in Übereinstimmung mit einem theologischen Paradigma, das sie kannten, nämlich das westliche Christentum. Die Reaktionen der Bevölkerung vor Ort auf diese Zivilisierungsmission führten dazu, dass die Missionare ihren Zugang veränderten, damit sich ihr Vorhaben in das Handlungsmuster der jungen Christen in Nordkamerun einfügen konnte. Este artículo intenta aclarar un tema muy discutido en la historia de la misión y antropología: ¿Cuál es la naturaleza de la conversión religiosa? A través de estudios de archivos de la literatura producida por misioneros noruegos en el norte de Camerún entre 1934 hasta 1960 el autor muestra cómo los misioneros interpretaron la conversión religiosa. El discurso misionero de la conversión fue influenciado por un ambiente teológico y cultural específico, aunque fue abierto a negociaciones con la población que se encontró. Los misioneros usaron imágenes bíblicas para describir la conversión al cristianismo que eran coherentes con las prácticas culturales tanto de los misioneros como de los grupos que aceptaron el mensaje de los misioneros. Por el contrario, no entraron en el material las imágenes bíblicas que correspondieron con la práctica cultural de grupos que no aceptaron a los misioneros. El discurso protestante occidental presentó la opresión espiritual y social, la ignorancia, la enfermedad y la falta de comportamiento moral como los obstáculos de los que se debía liberar a los africanos para que se los pudiera convertir al cristianismo. Los misioneros, en su desconocimiento de la organización social y religiosa de la sociedad tradicional, interpretaron la "opresión espiritual" como "paganismo" y lo interpretaron de acuerdo con un paradigma que ellos sí comprendieron: el cristianismo occidental. Las reacciones de la población local a esta misión civilizadora llevaron a los misioneros a modificar su acercamiento para que su proyecto pudiera integrarse mejor en la actuación de los nuevos cristianos del norte de Camerún.

Summary On the basis of an analysis of ten grammars of different Meso-American indigenous languages crafted by missionaries during the 16th century, the author attempts to dress an inventory of the specific linguistic traits that characterizes them. These characteristics highlight the efforts which the authors had to make in order to penetrate these unknown and typologically distant languages from those studied at the time of the Renaissance. The present article points out that the missionaries, who had no formal linguistic training, made use of principles of classic hermeneutics, of analogy and anomaly, in order to analyze the function of the word in these new languages. It also establishes the value of these missionary grammars for the philology of the Meso-American indigenous languages, which is only at a beginning.

AbstractIn this paper, I explore the validity of the retranslation hypothesis – that the first translation of a text tends to be more target culture oriented than subsequent translations – in representations of certain Biblical concepts in the translations of the Bible into Igbo. Specifically I investigate instances of lexical borrowings in the first complete translation of the Bible into Igbo because, following from the hypothesis, subsequent translations of the Bible should also borrow the same items. I discover that most of the borrowings in the first translation are de-borrowed in the retranslations, while the retained borrowings undergo various forms of grapho-phonological adjustments to reflect the Igbo linguistic system. Thus, the retranslation hypothesis is not validated in this study. I trace this choice of indigenization in the subsequent translations to the agents involved in the translations. Being specialists in Igbo Studies, they understand the Igbo linguistic system better than the agents of the first translation who were mainly European missionaries with little knowledge of the language system. Unlike the missionaries, these Igbo agents are not only interested in having the Bible in Igbo, but also in having it in an Igbo that is in sync with the way the language is actually used.

AbstractThis paper examines ways that narrative studies can influence both mission theologies and mission theories. Narrative studies has historically been a part of mission studies. This analysis goes a step further to show how insights gained from studying the lives of particular missionaries in their contexts leads to new theologies and theories of Christian mission. Theologies of mission refer to beliefs about the content and direction of Christian mission. What should we be aiming for – the salvation of individuals, the shalom of Christian community, the realization that mission comes from God and is God's project, the building of God's kingdom, the expansion of the church? How shall we go about attempting to reach those goals – social service, political action, evangelism projects, planting churches, faithful liturgical practice? Mission theory is the way one understands the role and impact of Christian mission in the world. It deals with such questions as: What is the connection among mission theologies and political or economic realities? How does a particular mission theology influence the church itself? What has Christian mission accomplished in the world and through what kinds of beliefs and mission efforts? This paper addresses the relationship among these concepts – narrative studies, theologies of mission, and mission theories. It utilizes grounded theory to show that studying the lives of missionaries provides insights about their theology of mission that may not be obvious in the way they state their own mission theology and may not be articulated by their biographers. Through such research, narrative studies can overcome stereotypes about mission and missionaries, broadening and deepening theologies of mission. The paper demonstrates ways that narrative studies can also influence mission theory. Understandings of the content and role of mission in the world can be augmented on both the theological and the theoretical levels by studying the lives of particular missionaries. Cet article examine la façon dont les études narratives peuvent influencer à la fois les théologies et les théories de la mission. Historiquement, les études narratives ont fait partie de l'étude de la mission. Cette analyse fait un pas de plus pour montrer comment on a gagné en perception en étudiant la vie de missionnaires particuliers dans leur contexte spécifique, ce qui a conduit à de nouvelles théologies et de nouvelles théories de la mission chrétienne. Les théologies de la mission concernent les idées sur le contenu et les fins de la mission chrétienne. Quel devrait être notre but – le salut des individus, la paix de la communauté chrétienne, la réalisation que la mission vient de Dieu et est le projet de Dieu, la construction du royaume de Dieu, l'expansion de l'Eglise? Comment devons-nous procéder pour essayer d'atteindre ces buts – service social, action politique, projets d'évangélisation, implantation d'Eglises, pratique liturgique fidèle? La théorie de la mission est la manière dont est compris le rôle et l'impact de la mission chrétienne dans le monde. Elle traite de questions telles que : quel est le lien entre les théologies de la mission et les réalités politiques ou économiques? De quelle façon une théologie de la mission particulière influence-t-elle l'Eglise elle-même? Qu'est-ce que la mission chrétienne a accompli dans le monde et par quelle sorte de convictions et d'efforts missionnaires? Cet article examine la relation entre ces concepts – études narratives, théologies de la mission et théories de la mission. Il utilise une théorie argumentée pour montrer que l'étude des vies de missionnaires apporte un éclairage sur leur théologie de la mission, ce qui n'a pas toujours été pris en compte par leurs biographes. Cette recherche peut amener les études narratives à surmonter les stéréotypes concernant la mission et les missionnaires, élargissant et approfondissant les théologies de la mission. Cet article montre comment les études narratives peuvent également influencer la théorie de la mission. On peut ainsi accroître la compréhension du contenu et du rôle de la mission dans le monde au niveau théologique et théorique en étudiant la vie de missionnaires particuliers. Dieser Artikel untersucht Weisen, in denen narrative Studien sowohl Missionstheologien als auch Missionstheorien beeinflussen können. Narrative Studien gehören geschichtlich zur Missiologie. Diese Analyse geht einen Schritt weiter und zeigt, wie Erkenntnisse, die von der Untersuchung bestimmter Missionare in ihren Kontexten gewonnen werden, zu neuen Theologien und Theorien der christlichen Mission führen. Missionstheologien beziehen sich auf den Glauben bezüglich Inhalt und Ausrichtung der christlichen Mission. Worauf sollen wir zielen – die Rettung der Einzelnen, der shalom der christlichen Gemeinschaft, die Umsetzung der Mission, die von Gott kommt und Gottes Werk ist, die Errichtung des Reiches Gottes, die Ausdehnung der Kirche? Wie sollen wir diese Ziele erreichen – sozialer Dienst, politisches Handeln, Projekte der Evangelisierung, Einpflanzung von Kirchen, gläubige liturgische Praxis? Die Missionstheorie ist die Weise, wie man die Rolle und die Wirkung der christlichen Mission in der Welt versteht. Es geht um Fragen wie: Wie hängen Missionstheologien und politische oder wirtschaftliche Realitäten zusammen? Welchen Einfluss nimmt eine bestimmte Missionstheologie auf die Kirche selbst? Was hat die christliche Mission in der Welt erreicht und durch welche Arten von Glaubensinhalten und Missionsleistungen? Dieser Artikel spricht die Beziehung dieser Begriffe an – narrative Studien, Missionstheologien und Missionstheorien. Er verwendet eine gegenstandsverankerte Theoriebildung (grounded theory) um zu zeigen, dass die Untersuchung des Lebens von Missionaren Erkenntnisse über ihre Missionstheologie liefert, die sich nicht so offenlegen muss in der Weise, wie sie ihre eigene Missionstheologie darstellen und die von ihren Biografen möglicherweise nicht herausgearbeitet wird. Durch solche Forschungen können narrative Studien die Stereotypen von Mission und Missionaren überwinden und die Missionstheologien ausweiten und vertiefen. Der Artikel zeigt Weisen, wie narrative Studien auch die Missionstheorie beeinflussen können. Das Verständnis von Inhalt und Rolle der Mission in der Welt kann sowohl auf theologischem wie auch theoretischem Niveau ausgeweitet werden, wenn man das Leben bestimmter Missionare untersucht. Este trabajo examina las maneras de cómo el estudio de casos puede influenciar tanto las teologías de la misión como las teorías de la misión. Históricamente, los estudios de casos han sido parte de los estudios misiológicos. Este análisis también demuestra cómo los conocimientos adquiridos al estudiar la vida de ciertos misioneros en sus respectivos contextos pueden producir nuevas teologías y teorías de la misión cristiana. Las teologías de la misión se refieren a creencias acerca del contenido y la dirección de la misión cristiana. ¿Hacia dónde apuntaremos – la salvación de las personas, el Shalom de la comunidad cristiana, la comprensión de que la misión proviene de Dios y es proyecto de Dios, la construcción del reino de Dios, la expansión de la iglesia ? ¿Cómo trataremos de lograr esas metas – servicio social, acción política, proyectos de evangelismo, el plantar iglesias, una fiel práctica litúrgica? La teoría de la misión es una manera de entender la función y el impacto de la misión cristiana en el mundo. Hace preguntas tales como: ¿Cuál es la conexión entre las teologías de la misión y las realidades políticas o económicas? ¿Cómo influyen ciertas teologías de la misión sobre la iglesia en sí? ¿Qué ha logrado la misión cristiana en el mundo; y qué tipos de creencias o esfuerzos misiológicos se utilizaron para realizarlos? Este artículo trata sobre cómo estos conceptos se relacionan entre sí – estudios de casos, las teologías de la misión, y las teorías de la misión. Utiliza un muestreo teórico para demostrar que el estudio de la vida de los misioneros proporciona información adicional acerca de la teología de la misión que quizás ni ellos mismos ni sus historiadores pudieron articular. A través de este tipo de investigación, el estudio de casos puede ayudar a superar estereotipos sobre la misión y los misioneros; además amplía y profundiza las teologías de la misión. El trabajo muestra cómo el estudio de casos puede influir en la teoría de la misión. Al estudiar la vida de ciertos misioneros se hará posible incrementar la comprensión del contenido y la función que cumple la misión en el mundo tanto en niveles teológicos como teóricos.

A fronte delle scarse informazioni esistenti sulle riduzioni dell'antica Provincia del Paraguay, il "Libro de Ordenes" rappresenta un punto di osservazione privilegiato per analizzare la complessitÀ dell'esperienza missionaria dei gesuiti tra i guaraníes. L'ambito giuridico in cui il Libro venne concepito riflette ancora il sistema del casuismo; infatti le circostanze e i fatti stanno alla base della legislazione. In tale senso avvicinarsi alla legge significa avvicinarsi a ciň che l'ha prodotta. L'insistenza delle prescrizioni presente nel Libro attesta la loro mancata osservanza o le resistenze che esse provocarono. Perciň, attraverso le pagine del Libro, č possibile ricostruire la strategia missionaria dei gesuiti, intesa come spazio del potere, individuandone nel contempo i limiti. Tali limiti si presentano come delle crepe che fanno emergere la tattica. Secondo Michel de Certeau la tattica, che scommette sul tempo, č assimilabile alla metis greca che non avendo un proprio spazio occupa quello altrui. Il "Libro de Ordenes" puň presen tarsi come uno strumento in grado di "sconvolgere il punto di vista" dello storico, permettendogli di porre nuove domande e di elaborare nuove riscritture.

The numerous and voluminous reports and letters which the Jesuits wrote on the Moro mission, as on all their missions in Asia, are perhaps of less interest to us now for what they reveal of the methods adopted by the Society of Jesus in this remote corner of their mission field or the details they contain about the successes and failures of individual missionaries, than for the wealth of information they provide on the islands where the Jesuits lived and the indigenous societies with which they came into contact through their work of evangelization. In other words, it is not theprimary purpose of this essay to analyse the Jesuit documents with a view to reconstructing the history of the Moro mission in narrative form but rather to glean from them some of the informationthey contain about the social and political conditions in Moro during the forty years or so in the sixteenth century when both the Jesuit missionaries and the Portuguese were active in the regio Because the Jesuits were often in close touch with local rulers and notables, whether or not they succeeded in converting them to Christianity, and because they lived among their subjects for long periods, depending upon them for the necessities of life and sharing their hardships, their letters and reports often show a deeper understanding of the social, economic and political conditions of the indigenous societies and, one suspects, give a more accurate and measured account of events and personalities than do the official chroniclers and historians of the time, most of whom never ventured further east than Malacca and who in any case were chiefly concerned to glorify the deeds of the Portuguese and justify their actions to the world.

This study investigates the pragmatic transfer Chinese Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries speaking English display when responding to compliments in English conversations. Previous studies have shown that native American English speakers have a higher rate of compliment acceptance in their compliment response (CR) strategies. While, native Chinese speakers have a higher rate of denial in their CRs (. A common research question is whether or not CR strategies transfer from a Chinese English speaker's first language (L1) into their English conversations. To measure this, 40 missionaries from the LDS church participated in naturalized role plays. Half were native Chinese (10 male, 10 female), and the other half were native American (10 male and 10 female). Each missionary participated in two role play situations, once with a male researcher and once with a female researcher. These role plays were conducted in English. In each role play the researcher complimented the participant in four areas: 1) ability, 2) native culture/hometown, 3) the LDS church, 4) a small possession (e.g. watch, tie, skirt, etc). CRs were recorded then organized on a CR continuum. A series of univariate and related measures ANOVAs was used to measure significance. Results suggest that Chinese missionaries tend to downgrade and disagree with compliments more than American missionaries. Additionally, female Chinese missionaries tend to overgeneralize using the appreciation token when responding to compliments. Other significant findings include the effect of gender and compliment topic on the missionaries' CR strategies.

Missionaries serving in foreign countries provide a unique perspective on culture that they chronicle on public blogs. A content analysis of these blogs showed that missionaries use their own cultural and religious frame to make observations, some good and some bad, about cultural habits and beliefs foreign to their own. Through the medium of blogging, we see how missionaries use self-narratives to understand and make sense out of differences in culture and beliefs that ultimately impact how they identify themselves.

Missionary work has long been an important aspect of Christianity. At least as early as the 1870's, Protestant women began journeys to foreign lands to work as missionaries and teach people about Christianity, both the spiritual dimension and the lifestyle. These were primarily independent women who sought to enlarge the women's sphere from the confined, domestic life to which they were accustomed and because of its decline by the 1930's, historians have often labeled these missions as a "feminist movement." Meanwhile, in 1898, their counterparts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also began filling missions, but with a different purpose. These women, known as "Lady Missionaries," did not seek out the new role, but were assigned by Church leaders to share the Mormon message and to show that Mormon women were something other than the stereotypical downtrodden, polygamous wives often portrayed by the media. The greatest evolution of the Lady Missionary program occurred during its first three decades as the LDS Church defined the role of the Lady Missionary and established guidelines for all to follow. Three women of this period are Inez Knight, Stella Sudweeks, and LaRetta Gibbons. Knight, the first Lady Missionary, labored in England from 1898-1900, where she stood on corners as an example of a "real, live Mormon woman" and faced religious persecution from non-Mormons. Sudweeks filled her mission in the mid-West from 1910-1912, where she had been motivated by anti-Mormon sentiments, but faced less difficulties than Inez while sharing her message and also had more training and established expectations than those previously. Finally, Gibbons worked form 1933-1935, mostly in Colorado, where she spent comparatively more time among new converts teaching them their role within the Church and encouraging them to share their religion with neighbors. Their accounts and experiences show that women have long had a steady and significant role in the LDS Church's missionary program, which has long gone unnoticed and offers a new perspective on Mormon women.

This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions' serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider's perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered on this topic on the same global scale, and to the same academic level. However, such a study is extremely necessary and beneficial towards refining the focus of the missionary taught English language classes, as well as the quality of teaching that the missionaries provide as they strive to serve and benefit the communities around them.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the foundations of prejudiced attitudes toward Mexicans held by White Americans and to investigate a means of reducing it, paying specific attention to prejudice found within a subpopulation of White Americans. The origins of American prejudice toward Mexicans are outlined using both historical and psychological explanations. An understanding of these origins leads to the notion that increased favorable contact is the best method for reducing prejudice. A field study focusing on prejudice toward Mexicans among ecclesiastical volunteers demonstrated that missionary service can be considered a means of favorable contact. Eighty-one White American Latter-day Saints were measured on their levels of prejudice toward Mexicans and the amount of favorable contact with Mexicans before and during their service assignments in the American Southwest. Results indicated that individuals reported significantly more favorable contact after six months of service and significantly less prejudice. There were no significant differences in the amount of favorable contact or levels of prejudice between individuals who were assigned to Spanish-speaking or English-speaking service assignments.

In 1840, apostle missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compiled, printed, and began distributing a hymnbook that eventually would become the basis for all subsequent LDS hymnbooks published in English in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This thesis, as a contribution to the literature of communication, book history, and hymnology, as well as the intellectual and cultural history of the early years of the LDS Church, focuses on analyzing the poetry of the 1840 Mormon Manchester hymnbook. Using qualitative root-metaphor analysis, the author identified and analyzed expressions, supporting an emergent journey root-metaphor. He then divided the expressions into eight categories, each describing important and distinct aspects of the Journey. These categories include the following: 1) the travelers, 2) the activities on the journey, 3) the way, 4) the destination, 5) the guide, 6) the invitation to come, 7) the motivations, and 8) the lost wanderers. This thesis is based on the assumption that cultures and religions can be understood through the stories they tell. The story of the journey as told through the poetry of the 1840 Manchester hymnbook illuminates one aspect of the religious experience of early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Taken together, the eight aspects of the journey root-metaphor identified in this thesis tell a story about LDS members as travelers on a journey home, who walk on a straight and narrow path, away from a dark and fallen world, through snares, darkness, and other dangers, toward a glorious destination where rest, joy, and other rewards await them. Ultimately the travelers must rise above this world and follow Christ to a place where they may live with God to serve and praise him ever more.

ix, 115 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
Friar Bernardino de Sahagún's Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva Espana, more commonly known as the Florentine Codex, begun in 1558, is arguably the most comprehensive source of information concerning the pre-colonial and colonial indigenous cultures of New Spain. This compilation, produced both by Sahagún and indigenous aides, documents the convergence of Aztec and European cultures. As such it represents the hybrid nature of colonial culture and is best approached from an understanding of both its European and Aztec influences. It is the aim of this thesis to consider the Florentine Codex, and Book Eleven ("Earthly Things") specifically, in the context of the European bestiary tradition. This thesis will illuminate Sahagún's role as a Franciscan missionary and the ways in which he utilized Aztec animal imagery syncretically, for the purpose of evangelization. Analysis takes the form of case studies concerning the jaguar, birds, and serpents.
Committee in Charge: Dr. James Harper, Chair; Dr. Lauren Kilroy; Dr. Robert Haskett

This chapter examines the personal sacrifice that is required of Latter-day Saints (LDS) missionaries, and the deep faith that sees them through tough times; the positive feelings most missionaries have about their experience; the sense that a mission demarcates a bright line between childhood and adulthood in Mormon culture; the growing presence of women in the mission force; and the great statistical likelihood that returned missionaries who served the full tenure of their assigned time will remain as lifelong members of the LDS Church. Mormonism's culture of responsibility extends to the mission experience itself—young people are asked to give up between eighteen months to two years of their lives to volunteer wherever in the world the Church elects to send them. What is more, they are often expected to help pay for it. Nevertheless, Mormons who served a mission regard it as a positive experience that helped them in many areas of their lives.

With morning sun gleaming on the hills of Yokohama, David O. McKay and Hugh J. Cannon took in their initial view of the Japanese mainland on December 23, 1920. McKay was the first LDS apostle to visit the Japan Mission since 1903; overwhelmed by scenery, customs, and languages so different from his native rural Utah, McKay records his personal observations of jinrikisha rides and site visits as they toured the mission with Joseph H. Stimpson, its president. The duo spent Christmas and New Year’s Day in Japan, visiting with church members, missionaries, and other locals. The church’s only Asian mission struggled mightily in its first two decades to maintain its missionary force and convert the natives. By 1920, there were only 127 baptized Japanese members.

The Australian Mission marked the last official stop of McKay and Cannon’s ecclesiastical tour. Before their three-month journey home, the two men spent nearly a month gauging the state of LDS affairs in Oceania. In the following weeks, they spoke at meetings across Australia. McKay recognized the difficulties faced by Mormon missionaries in Australia—prejudice, religious apathy, and English conservatism. The apostle was struck by the distinct variety of terrain, plants, and animals he encountered. When it was time to say good-bye, McKay concluded his diary entries for the Pacific portion of his world tour, thus fulfilling his apostolic assignment. He and Cannon completed their circumnavigation of the globe just before Christmas 1921, happy to be home with family and friends in Utah.

The collapse of empires in the central and eastern Mediterranean was matched in the far west by the disintegration of Almohad power. The caliphs lost their enthusiasm for the extremist doctrines of Almohadism, and were accused of betraying the principles of their movement. Following military defeat at the hands of Christian kings of Spain at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 the caliph is said to have been strangled by one of his slaves. The Almohad territories in Spain and Tunisia fell into the hands of a new generation of local kings who only paid lip-service to Almohadism. The Hafsid rulers who gained control of Tunis proclaimed themselves successors to the Almohad caliphate, though more as a way of asserting their legitimacy than out of deep commitment to Almohad beliefs. The Berber Marinids broke Almohad power in Morocco in the mid-thirteenth century, after a long struggle. At the same time the Nasrid dynasty established itself in Granada, where it would last until 1492; it adhered strictly to Sunni Islam, not Almohadism. The thirteenth century also saw a major transformation in the Christian western Mediterranean: Pisa’s rivalry with Genoa for mastery over the waters around Corsica and Sardinia culminated in Pisan defeat at the battle of Meloria and the loss of iron-rich Elba in 1284. Although the Pisans did not yet lose control of the large areas of Sardinia they ruled, and even recovered Elba, a new rival to both Pisa and Genoa emerged, not a maritime republic but a group of cities led by Barcelona and backed by the growing power of the king of Aragon and count of Catalonia, James I ‘the Conqueror’. The Mediterranean vocation of the kings of Aragon was not obvious before the thirteenth century. Lords of a small, mountainous kingdom that only toppled the Muslim emirate of Saragossa in 1118, they dissipated much of their energy in attempts to interfere in Christian Castile and Navarre. But in 1134 King Alfonso ‘the Battler’ of Aragon died, having failed to produce an heir; his brother, a monk, was forced out of his convent in order to breed.