Latter-day Saints Research Articles

Wheelchair Recipients’ Perceived Barriers to In-person and Virtual Follow-up Consultations: A Cross-sectional Study

Background. The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) is a tertiary government hospital that serves as the national referral center for Filipinos from across the country. In partnership with Latter-Day Saint Charities (LDSC), PGH has been serving patients in need of mobility devices, such as wheelchairs, through in-person services from screening to assessment, measurement, assembly, fitting, and mobility training. Given the patients’ barriers to in-person follow-up consultations, regular healthcare provision has been challenging. The use of telerehabilitation, a form of telemedicine, has emerged as a practical and innovative solution, but it needs further evaluation. Objectives. The study aimed to determine the wheelchair recipients’ perceived barriers to in-person and virtual follow-up consultations. Methods. This cross-sectional study involved a purposive sample of 413 patients who received a wheelchair from the LDSC through PGH. An original survey was prepared to determine patients’ perceived barriers to actual in-person and potential virtual follow-up consultations Consent was obtained prior to data collection. After the pretest and pilot testing were conducted, the final version of the survey was administered either electronically or through individual phone interviews. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze and present the data. Results. A total of 113 wheelchair recipients participated, with an average of 42.9 years of age. The majority resided outside Metro Manila (53.1%), and 86.7% were within the income bracket of less than PhP 9,520 per month. The majority received a standard type of wheelchair (85.8%). The top 3 reasons hindering compliance to in-person consultation follow-ups were accessibility issues (82.3%), costs of travel (79.6%), and distance to hospital/wheelchair assessor (71.7%). With respect to potential virtual follow-ups, 72% expressed willingness to experience telemedicine/ telerehabilitation in the future, despite having neither prior awareness (50.4%) nor experience (74.3%) of it. The majority had access to mobile phones (98.2%), and 67% had stable internet access. Conclusion. The main barriers to in-person follow-ups were related to accessibility, costs, and travel. Telehealth or telerehabilitation in particular, despite patients’ interest and willingness to try it, still has yet to be optimized in our country. Internet connectivity can still be improved, as well as our stakeholders’ level of telehealth awareness. Future efforts to improve and sustain the uptake of telehealth solutions are recommended, as well as studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of in-person versus virtual consultations especially among persons with lived experiences of disability.

Releasing financial pressure through released time religious education: the fiscal impact of one released time programme on a state’s funding for public education

ABSTRACT We sought to quantify the fiscal impact of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ released time programme in the state of Utah, in the United States of America, on funding for American public education. The guiding research question for this study was: How much money does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ seminary programme save public education in the state of Utah? We collected data from one school district in Utah and then extrapolated those findings, on a per pupil basis, to the entire state. Findings are reported in three approximates of the actual fiscal impact of the Church’s seminary programme in Utah: high, medium, and low. Our conclusion is that the actual fiscal impact of seminary on funding for public education lies within this reported range. We report that the Church’s seminary programme saves the state of Utah between $45,000,000 and $64,000,000 annually. While these figures only constitute 0.6% to 0.8% of the total funding for public education, this released time programme provides district officials with financial and scheduling flexibility. In addition, there are indirect fiscal benefits associated with seminary as well as direct and indirect costs.

The Secondary Sex Ratio and Male Mortality at Pre-Reproductive Ages: A Test of Selection In Utero.

The secondary sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of male to female live births; hereafter referred to as the SSR) falls in populations encountering ambient stressors. Much theory and some empirical work indicates that males born to low SSR cohorts may be "positively selected" in that excess culling in utero may correspond with greater than expected survival among live-born males in that cohort. We extend prior work by testing, in historical Utah, whether the SSR varies positively with male mortality at pre-reproductive ages. This study uses detailed records from the Utah Population Database to focus on Utahns born 1850-1940. We use rigorous time-series methods, which control for strong secular declines in mortality as well as ambient perturbations shared equally among males and females, to investigate the male culling inference. We observe a positive relation between the SSR and male mortality during youth (i.e., 5 to < 20 years; p < 0.05) but not in infancy or early childhood. In this historical population, the SSR appears to gauge hardiness of surviving male cohorts. However, whether the high fertility and/or family structure context of Latter-day Saints in historical Utah explains the age-specific pattern of male mortality warrants further scrutiny.

Navigating faith transitions: A 4-year longitudinal examination of religious deidentification among LGBTQ+ latter-day saints.

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals raised in conservative religious traditions present to therapy with questions about how to navigate tension between their sexual/gender and religious identities. For therapists, having accurate information about (a) the typical process of religious deidentification, (b) its antecedents, and (c) its outcomes is critical to empowering these clients to make the decisions that are best for them. We present data from a preregistered 4-year longitudinal study of 164 LGBTQ+ people who were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJCLDS) at baseline to examine the phenomenology, antecedents, and outcomes of religious change. Across the 4 years of our study, we found that two thirds of our sample religiously deidentified to some degree. On average, participants shifted their attendance at the worship services from weekly to a few times a year, and 40% of participants disaffiliated with the CJCLDS. Longitudinal multilevel models suggested that age predicted deidentification with younger participants deidentifying more quickly than older participants. Religious deidentification was positively related to engagement with LGBTQ+ communities, and follow-up cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that engagement with LGBTQ+ communities was predictive of subsequent decreases in service attendance rather than vice versa. No relationships were observed between religious deidentification and mental health or well-being. These data suggest that religious deidentification is normative and developmental for LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saints, this process is most active among younger individuals, and connecting with other LGBTQ+ people is a key facilitator for this process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

ДЖЕЙМС СТРЭНГ (1813–1856) И «МОРМОНСКОЕ КОРОЛЕВСТВО» НА ВЕЛИКИХ ОЗЕРАХ В СЕРЕДИНЕ XIX ВЕКА

The article examines the activities of James Jesse Strang (1813-1856), the self-proclaimed prophet of the «Latter-day Saints», the leader of one of the major movements in early Mormonism, and his followers – the Strangites. A unique religious and socio-political phenomenon: the proclamation of the monarchy in the United States remains practically unexplored in Russian historiography. This article helps fill the gap. The analysis of information about the religious movement of the Strangites, its origin, features, main ideas, major milestones of history contained in Mormon documents, materials of the American periodical press and other sources of the middle of the XIX-th century is carried out. After the death of the founder of the Mormon religion, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Strang managed to unite the intra-church opposition around him for a short time. He was supported by almost all dissatisfied with the new leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brigham Young (1801-1877) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including many family members of the first Mormon prophet). They managed to create a separate religious organization. It is shown that Strang's ideal was not just a theocracy, but a theocratic monarchy, reminiscent of the theocratic rule of the ancient Jews during the Old Testament period. This radically distinguished his teaching from the ideas about the state structure of other Mormons, who were supporters of theodemocracy – an ideal government based on faith in God and built on the principles of republicanism. The separated Mormons sought to implement their utopian religious-political and social project in practice in the colonized region of the Great Lakes. But conflicts with local residents created great difficulties for the Strangites, acquiring an increasingly acute character in 1850–1856. The conflicts ended with the death of the prophet Strang, the expulsion of his followers from the island settlement, which led to the rapid disintegration of the community. The utopia of the Strangites turned out to be unrealized.

Using Family Systems Theory in Counseling Mixed-Faith Latter-Day Saint Couples After a Religious Disaffiliation

Increasingly, marriages in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints transition from a same-faith to “mixed-faith” status as one spouse religiously disaffiliates. Due to unique beliefs and expectations in sharing beliefs, increased risks of conflict and dissolution are identified. Theorizing the phenomenon through Family Systems Theory, this article assists providers in employing a systemic diagnosis to navigate conflicting triangulations between spouses, while assisting couples in choosing a relational trajectory, deconstructing prior patterns, and creating new patterns centered on shared values. Interventions will be illustrated with a case study; limitations and implications will be discussed.

Bright Lights in the Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas. By Fred E. Woods with a foreword by Michael S. Green

Bright Lights in the Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas. By Fred E. Woods with a foreword by Michael S. Green

The Unlikely Alliance of Mormonism and Christian Nationalism

ABSTRACT American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are typically seen as politically conservative and proponents of Christian natioanalism. However, this has not always been the case. This essay provides a historical overview of how the Mormon tradition evolved from being dissenters from America’s patriotic imagination to some of its most adamant promotors. I also highlight the paradoxes at the heart of the current cultural alliance between devout Latter-day Saints and evangelical activists.

The Indian Student Placement Program: An Assessment of Mormon Theology and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Contribution to 20th Century Indigenous Child Removal Trends

This paper examines the 20th-century Indigenous child removal trends in the United States with a specific focus on Mormon involvement and influence. Due to the important role Native Americans played in Mormon prophecy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints created programs that aimed to academically and spiritually educate Native youth. More specifically, programs such as the Indian Student Placement Program (ISPP) housed Native children with predominantly Mormon families during the school year from 1954 to 1996. However, shifts in Church leadership and attitude throughout this period strongly suggested mental and physical abuse and destruction of tribal identity. By weighing scholarly arguments and referencing the Book of Mormon, this paper will evaluate the extent to which the ISPP can be justified by theology and to what degree the LDS Church contributed to 20th-century assimilation and acculturation trends.

How Can Sexual and Gender Minority Latter-day Saints Resolve Identity Conflict and Improve Their Mental Health? Results From a 2- to 4-Year Longitudinal Study

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) clients who are raised in conservative religious traditions often find themselves caught between competing narratives about how to best improve mental health and resolve conflict between their sexual/gender and religious identities. In an effort to guide these individuals and the therapists who serve them, we present longitudinal data from 359 sexual and gender minority individuals raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., SGM Latter-day Saints). These data, gathered at baseline in 2020 or 2022 and then again 2 and/or 4 years later in 2022 and/or 2024, answer the question “What can I do today that is most likely to yield positive mental health and conflict resolution in the future?” All analyses were preregistered prior to data collection of the most recent longitudinal wave. Bivariate analyses between baseline variables and depression/conflict resolution in 2024 suggest that (a) self-compassion, (b) social support, (c) authentic religious engagement, (d) reduced internalized homonegativity, (e) outness, and (f) seeing masturbation as more acceptable were all related to subsequent alleviated depression or enhanced conflict resolution. Regression analyses conducted separately for conflict resolution and depression suggest that only self-compassion, internalized homonegativity, and authentic religious engagement emerged as indicators of subsequent depression or conflict resolution. These findings suggest that the most important actions SGM individuals can take today to have better mental health and less conflict in 2 or 4 years include developing compassionate stances toward themselves, reducing stigmatizing views of themselves, and engaging authentically with their faith (if applicable).

Exalting Blackness in Wynetta Willis Martin's: Black Mormon Tells Her Story

ABSTRACT: Black and Mormon were seemingly irreconcilable identities during the priesthood/temple ban against people of African descent (c. 1852–1978). But in 1966, Wynetta Willis Martin converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And in 1972, Martin published Black Mormon Tells Her Story . In this book, Martin interwove her African American and LDS identities in a powerful way. Challenging anti-Black racism in the LDS community, Martin produced a new story about Black Mormon identity: past, present, and future. Previously underestimated as a problematic book, this article retheorizes Black Mormon Tells Her Story , emphasizing Martin's agency in race-making. This article extends Judith Weisenfeld's theory of Black new religious movements to analyze a "religio-racial narrative" authored by a Black member of the predominantly white LDS Church. Demonstrating how Martin positively reconstructed the meaning of Blackness, this article fills a gap in the scholarship on Mormon racial construction.

"This whole journey was sacred": Latter-day Saint parents' process in coming to accept a transgender child.

This constructivist grounded theory (CGT) study examines Latter-day Saint (LDS) parents' process in coming to accept a transgender or gender diverse (TGD) child and the factors that impact acceptance. Data come from interviews with 38 LDS parents of TGD children and 130 Facebook posts from the same population. Data were analyzed using CGT methodology in coding and theory construction. A model of LDS parents' process in accepting a TGD child and the factors that impact that process are presented. The results indicate that coming to accept a TGD child tends to engage LDS parents cognitively, emotionally, socially, and spiritually, and is a developmental process. We identified four stages of parents' process: assimilation of new information, deconstruction and disequilibrium, reconstruction and accommodation, and acceptance; as well as typical emotional responses in each stage. We found that factors thatimpacted parents' process included parents' pre-process characteristics and contexts, religiously defined meaning making, social embeddedness, external resources, community building, and spiritual autonomy. Additionally, we found that parents' commitment to their child's wellbeing and connection with their child (i.e., attachment) motivates their process and that their personal spiritual experiences tend to guide it. Parents in the study who reached a state of acceptance expressed that their process had been both deeply challenging and profoundly, personally meaningful. This study strengthens the case for using attachment-based therapies with this population and indicates the value of incorporating spirituality into the therapeutic work.

Mitigating the Impact of Religiously Based Family Expectations on Depression Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Role of Authenticity

ABSTRACT Although it is clear that religious beliefs can motivate family rejection among sexual and gender minorities (SGMs), ultimately harming their mental health, researchers have not examined the direct link between religiously based family expectations and mental health. In the present study, we first developed the Religiously Based Family Expectations Scale. The scale demonstrated good reliability and factor structure. It evidenced convergent and divergent validity with other measures of religiousness and sexual identity, as well as incremental validity in predicting mental health outcomes above and beyond these measures. Next, we examined how religiously based family expectations related to depression in a sample of 534 SGMs with a conservative religious background (raised as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). We found that religiously based family expectations were positively related to depression but that this relationship was moderated by authenticity such that religiously based family expectations exerted a much stronger relationship with depression among SGMs who evidenced less authenticity.

“Regarding the Mormons”: Danish Lutheran Pastors’ Reports to the Bishop of Zealand on Latter-day Saints in 1854

“Regarding the Mormons”: Danish Lutheran Pastors’ Reports to the Bishop of Zealand on Latter-day Saints in 1854

A hybrid approach to skill retention following neonatal resuscitation training: Assessing effectiveness.

Perinatal death, a global health problem, can be prevented with simple resuscitation interventions that help the baby breathe immediately at birth. Latter-day Saint Charities (LDSC) and Safa Sunaulo Nepal (SSN) implemented a program to scale-up Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) training in Karnali Province, Nepal from January 2020-February 2021. The interventions were implemented using a hybrid approach with on-site mentoring in the pre/post COVID period combined with remote support and monitoring during the COVID period. This paper reports overall changes in newborn outcomes in relation to the unique implementation approach used. A prospective cohort design was used to compare outcomes of birth cohorts in 16 public health facilities in the first and last three months of program implementation. Results showed significant decreases in intrapartum stillbirths (23%), and neonatal deaths within (27%) and after (41.3%) 24 hours of life. The scale-up of HBB training resulted in 557 providers receiving training and mentoring support during the program period, half trained during the COVID period. Increased practice sessions, review meetings and debriefing meetings were reported during the COVID period compared to pre/post COVID period. The evaluation is suggestive of the potential of a hybrid approach for improved perinatal outcomes and scaling-up of newborn resuscitation trainings in health system facing disruptions.

The Missionary Voice: Perceptions of an emerging register

In this paper, we report on what we are calling “Missionary Voice,” or a particular way of speaking characteristic to missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first study elicits perceptions of Missionary Voice by Latter-day Saints in the Intermountain West without reference to any particular recording or person. We find a complex, multifaceted indexical field as well as potential linguistic features, uses for Missionary Voice, and speculative origins. In the second study, we play audio clips and ask listeners to identify the missionaries among them. While people did no better than chance, we zero in on certain speakers and compile a tentative list of acoustic correlates of Missionary Voice. As this is the first study on the language of Latter-day Saint missionaries, we open more questions than we answer, but we hope to show that Missionary Voice is very much a part of Latter-day Saint culture.

“I Know That Goes Against My Religion”: Explaining Intrafaith Religious Dissent in Latter-Day Saint Views on Abortion with Religious Reflexivity

While there are a number of studies that note religious individuals do not adhere precisely to the formal doctrines and policies of their faith, few prior studies have attempted to explain why religious individuals dissent from their religion’s official positions. We draw on a religious reflexivity framework with a mixed-methods approach to data collection. The quantitative data is from a survey of Utah residents ( n = 1,909) and provides a rough estimate of the percentage of Mormons who do not hew perfectly to the official position of the religion. The qualitative interviews ( n = 20) illustrate that the members who hold more permissive attitudes toward abortion are aware of their dissent and articulate clear reasons for it. Members who hold more restrictive attitudes appear to be unaware that their views are more extreme than their religion’s teachings. Yet, both more and less restrictive groups tend to use their religion’s teachings—interpreted through varied moral systems—to justify their dissent.

Understanding How Religiousness Shapes Perceptions of Compulsive Sexual Behavior

In the present study, we test the model of moral incongruence by examining whether moral disapproval of pornography mediates the relationship between organizational religious activity and self-reported CSB and whether the frequency of viewing pornography moderates the relationship between moral disapproval and self-reported CSB in two samples: a general population sample and a sample of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”). Analyses revealed that, among both samples, frequency of pornography viewing moderated the indirect effect of organizational religious activity on perceived CSB via morally disapproving of pornography. Specifically, moral disapproval of pornography mediated the relationship between organizational religious activity and compulsive sexual behavior when participants viewed pornography approximately monthly or more (mean and +1 SD among the general population sample, +1 SD among the Latter-day Saint sample). Findings suggest that individuals who attend worship services more frequently are more likely to perceive their pornography viewing as compulsive at higher frequencies of usage – even when their frequency of pornography viewing is unlikely to be associated with actual functional impairment – and that this distress is better understood in relation to experiences of moral incongruence.

Perceptions of divine grace among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Perceptions of divine grace among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

How serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might affect individuals’ self-esteem?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine how serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might affect individuals’ self-esteem. By analysing the results of a survey filled out by undergraduate students at a state university in Utah, this research has several findings: (1). About 71% of those who served a mission believed that the mission increased their self-esteem, and one major reason is that the mission helped them step outside their comfort zone and finishing a challenging task gave them a sense of achievement; (2). About 17% of those who served a mission believe that the mission decreased their self-esteem, and one major reason was that they felt that they could not meet the expectations. (3). The results of multivariate analysis indicated that those who served a mission had higher self-esteem than those who had never served a mission.