Researching the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood

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Nathan Richardson, Dr. Michael Hubbard MacKay, Church History and Doctrine Many historians, both Mormon and non-Mormon, have developed ideas about the restoration of the priesthood, and there is a rich literature that describes the details of those events. However, the Joseph Smith Papers Project, for which my mentor, Dr. MacKay is an author, has uncovered […]

Reevaluating the Bronze and Iron Age Ceramic Evidence of Biblical Hebron

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Christina Nelson, Jeffrey Chadwick, Church History and Doctrine As the home to several Old Testament prophets such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and King David, Hebron holds a significant role in the biblical narrative and history of the Israelites. Today, the modern city of Hebron is located in the hill country of Judah, most known […]

“Mary is now to be The Sower”: The Rebellious Proselytizing in Mary Sturlaugson’s Memoirs

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Jennifer Duqué and Dr. Rachel Cope, Department of Church History My project focuses on Mary Sturlaugson’s memoirs, and discusses how the memoir genre allowed Sturlaugson to both faithfully and subversively voice her position on the LDS Church’s denial of salvational ordinances to Black people. The ORCA grant has generously subsidized my research, providing the financial […]

A Biography of Inez Knight Allen: The First Single Proselytizing Sister Missionary for the LDS Church

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Amy Connelly and Dr. Rachel Cope, Church History and Doctrine Introduction Inez Knight Allen, the daughter of Amanda and Jesse Knight, was born on September 8, 1876, on the Knight Family ranch just outside of Payson, Utah. Inez received a formal education at Brigham Young Academy. Originally intending to go on a study abroad to […]

The Savior in LDS Sermons

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Joseph R. Stuart and Dr. J. Spencer Fluhman: History Department, Humanities My research concerned the apostolic teachings in the General Conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­‐day Saints from 1951-­‐2007. Specifically, I was searching for evidence that the Church has always been Christ-­‐centric in its official teachings. Christ was certainly in present, in […]

Elaine Cannon Papers

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Melissa Kotter and Dr. Mary Jane Woodger, Church History and Doctrine The Elaine Cannon Papers project involved deep research through primary sources (Elaine Cannon’s journals and papers) about Elaine Cannon’s life. Once the research is completed, a proposal for a biography appearing in Richard Turley’s Women of Faith in the Latter Days volumes will be […]

Kirtland School House

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Caitlin Daniels and Dr. Dennis Wright, Religious Education The Kirtland school house restored by the LDS Church was built by studying the building’s history using historical records and research. However, little research was done into how the school operated during its time. Throughout the project, we collected and analyzed primary and secondary research concerning the […]

The Failure of the Kirtland Safety Society and Its Effect on the Faith of the Latter-Day Saints

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Jordan Bell and Dr. Richard Bennett, Church History and Doctrine Our research suggests that though the late Kirtland period was very difficult for the faith of the Latter-Day Saints, a large majority continued to identify with the Church through the Nauvoo period. Significant numbers eventually gathered with the Saints in Utah.1 On December 2nd, 1836, […]

Guide to Estonian Jewish Genealogy

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Patrick Monson and Professor Thom Edlund, Cataloging I am from Bountiful, Utah. I am majoring in Family History-Genealogy. During the 2011 Spring Term, I worked at the Estonian Historical Archives in Tartu, Estonia, and the Estonian Jewish Museum in Tallinn, Estonia. At the Archives, my major responsibility was to translate Hebrew documents into Estonian. I […]