Journal of Undergraduate Research

Jason Olson and Dr. Donald Parry, Hebrew Language I had an incredible ORCA mentoring experience with Dr. Donald Parry. Our research project was focused on the textual variations in the Dead Sea Scrolls that cause theological differences. Our main premise was to compare the Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew Biblical texts with the traditional Masoretic Biblical […]

John Manis and Dr. Kristian Heal, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship My experience with the ORCA mentoring program has been a useful look into scholarship as well as a valuable experience which will aid me in future educational and academic endeavors. Our main project objectives were met with a few adjustments, and I […]

Seth Kohrman Abstract The Bible (the Old and the New Testaments) condemned magic. The Church Fathers followed the biblical example and also denounced magic. However, magic continued to exist among Christians and was even largely based upon biblical passages for its source of power; thus, magic survived partially on account of Christians and their ironic […]

Michael Call, Jacob Ekins and Professor Byron Merrill, Ancient Scripture French Protestants (also known as Huguenots) came under increasingly severe persecution by the monarchy during the last half of the seventeenth century, culminating in the revocation of all their religious rights in 1689. Condemned as heretics and traitors by the state and yet also forbidden by […]

Jason Olson and Dr. David R. Seely, Religion My ORCA project was the experience of a lifetime! I actually had the opportunity to assist Dr. Seely in creating a manuscript for publication to Yale Anchor Bible, the most prestigious and respected Biblical commentary in the world. We were assigned the Book of Deuteronomy, the last […]

Courtney Innes and Dr. Wilfred Griggs, Ancient Scripture Introduction Brief Introduction: Over the course of two days, February 17 and 18, the cluster burials 18, 19, 20, and 22 in the north-west area were uncovered from the square by the Egyptian workers and taken to the in-the-field lab station for analyses. Due to limited space, […]

Robert Ehlers and Dr. Terry Ball, Religious Education Abstract Phytoliths are silica deposits in plants that remain long-term in the soil after a plant dies. Phytoliths have unique characteristics that can be used to identify the phytolith’s original species. Phytolith morphometrics is a tool in archaeobotany that is used to identify ancient environments and landscapes. […]

Audrey Crandell and Dr. Kerry Muhlestein When I began my research with BYU’s Egyptian Excavation team, my chosen focus was to study the ceramics found at Fag el Gamous Cemetery. My original research intent was to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to read and understand the context of Egyptian ceramic pottery samples from the […]

Michael Biggerstaff and Dr. Jared Ludlow, Ancient Scripture “Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying […]

Mallory Hales Perry and Dr. David Whitchurch, Department of Ancient Scripture My project, made possible by generous funding through the ORCA grant program, focused on the social and political situation surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the turn of the twentieth century. Along with the help and guidance I received from […]