The Globalization of Latter-Day Saint Education
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2012-07-09 The Globalization of Latter-day Saint Education Casey Paul Griffiths Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Leadership Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Griffiths, Casey Paul, "The Globalization of Latter-day Saint Education" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 3335. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3335 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Globalization of Latter-day Saint Education Casey Paul Griffiths A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy E. Vance Randall, Chair Scott C. Esplin Clifford T. Mayes Steven J. Hite Dennis Wright Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations Brigham Young University August 2012 Copyright © 2012 Casey Paul Griffiths All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Casey Paul Griffiths Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, BYU Doctor of Philosophy This work traces the development of the global educational system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After a long period of providing schools for its membership in the Intermountain West of the United States, the Latter-day Saints ultimately settled on a system of supplementary religious education, designed to work in concert with public education systems. During the 1950s as the Church began to gain an international following, Church leaders moved to establish an international system of schools to meet their needs. These schools were largely supervised and directed by Americans personnel. Under the leadership of Church president David O. McKay, large school systems were constructed throughout the Pacific, Mexico, and Chile. As the costs and complexities of these systems multiplied, Church leaders began to take a more structured and systematic approach towards their educational system. Under the direction of Harold B. Lee and other leaders, the Church chose once again to emphasize religious education among its membership, and a large system of supplemental programs were launched across the globe. These new programs were staffed primarily by indigenous personnel, providing strong local leadership. Eventually the majority of the international schools closed in favor of these supplemental programs. By 1980 the basic policies governing the Church Educational System were in place and for the most part these policies continue to govern the system today. Keywords: Church Educational System, Latter-day Saint Education, Global Mormonism, Internationalization, Globalization. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must also express my gratitude to my responsive and supportive committee. E. Vance Randall, my doctrinal chair, has allowed me a large measure of freedom to follow the trails I wanted to pursue, and has displayed a firm but gentle hand when I have gone off on the wrong track. Scott C. Esplin has been a constant support and wise guide throughout my entire graduate experience, beginning with my Master’s degree and on this project. Cliff Mayes is delightful to work with, has a ready sense of humor, and keen skills as a writer. He has helped in a multitude of ways to make me a better writer. Steven Hite is responsible for helping me to see the bigger picture, and training me to speak in a language familiar to scholars who might not be familiar with the idiosyncrasies of Latter-day Saint culture. Finally, Dennis Wright’s experience with these events and many of the participants has provided an invaluable perspective on this topic. Outside of the university, I must express my gratitude to Robert Ewer, the managing director of the project to write the history of Seminaries and Institutes. Brother Ewer discovered the LeBaron papers, and generously allowed access to the leadership and resource of the Church Educational System. I must also express a deep gratitude to Roger G. Christensen, the Secretary to the Church Board of Education, who allowed himself to be interviewed on several different occasions, and even reviewed portions of this manuscript and offered suggestions on the content. In addition to these individuals, a number of retirees from the Church Educational System, particularly Frank Day and Marshall Burton, were very gracious with their time during the preparation of this study. Finally, I must express my deep gratitude to my family, who have suffered through several years of having a father who was constantly running to this or that interview, who spent long hours sequestered away, and left his mind other places when he was at home. My wife, Elizabeth, has made this work possible, offering support and encouragement, and keeping me from being overwhelmed. My children, Acacia and Josh, have served as a constant reminder that there are more important things in life than historical data and writing the next chapter. My parents, siblings, and friends have all assisted in this journey, and I can never repay my debts owed to them. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Scholarship on Mormonism as a Global Phenomenon ............................................................... 3 Key Definitions in this Study .................................................................................................. 4 Background on Latter-day Saint Culture ................................................................................ 5 Organization of the Church Educational System .................................................................... 7 Overview of Education in Latter-day Saint Culture ................................................................... 8 Research and Methodology....................................................................................................... 13 Works Addressing Global Latter-day Saint Education ......................................................... 16 The Need to Capture Recent History .................................................................................... 17 Goals of This Study .............................................................................................................. 17 Key Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 18 Delimitations ......................................................................................................................... 18 Sources and Methodology..................................................................................................... 20 Source Limitations. ............................................................................................................... 22 Potential Sources of Bias. ..................................................................................................... 22 Special Challenges in Writing International Latter-day Saint History ................................. 24 Outline of the Study .................................................................................................................. 26 Chapter Two: Historical Overview of Latter-day Saint Education, 1830-1950 ........................... 31 Early Latter-day Saint Education in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois ............................................. 31 Creation of Church Schools in the Intermountain West ........................................................... 34 Creation of the Church Board of Education ..................................................................... 37 Establishment of Latter-day Saint Academies .................................................................. 38 Supplementation of the Academies with Religion Classes............................................... 39 Decline of the Church Academies .................................................................................... 41 Creation of the Seminary Program ........................................................................................... 42 Focus Shifted to Seminary .................................................................................................... 45 Seminaries on the Collegiate Level: The Institute Program ................................................. 50 Discussions Concerning Whether Seminaries Should Replace Church Schools .................. 54 Legal Challenges to the Seminary Program.......................................................................... 58 Concerns over the Orthodoxy of the Seminary & Institute Teachers ................................... 61 Attempts to Reform Religious Education ............................................................................. 69 Development of the Early Morning Seminary Program ....................................................... 73 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 80 Chapter Three: Church Schools – The First Wave of International Expansion ........................... 82 David O. McKay’s Impact on Church Education ..................................................................... 82 Relation with the Church