Abstract

This thesis applies Kenneth Burke's method of logology as exemplified in The Rhetoric of Religion to analyze the Mormon text Doctrine and Covenants Section 88. This method of logology is based on the assumption that what is said about God in theology reveals a religion's use of language to influence human motives. The logological method uses six analogies to discover the motives implicit in religious terminologies. These six analogies are as follows: words-Word, Matter-Spirit, the Negative, the Titular, Time-Eternity, and the Formal.

This study revealed that the terminology contained in Doctrine and Covenants uses motives far diferent from the motives of traditional Christianity as described by Burke. Primary differences include the existence of a cluster of god-terms that describes a universal hierarchy, and emphasis on and affirmation of the physical, and an emphasis on the positive. An examination of these terms and motives can help Mormons better appreicate the advantages inherent in their terminology as exemplified in Section 88.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; English

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/