"Becoming the Great Church University": A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Brigham Young University, 1875-1925

Keywords

Brigham Young University, history, economics, religious studies, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Abstract

Brigham Young Academy was initially envisioned as an institution to meet the primary and secondary educational needs of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The school later added college courses in 1899, and was renamed Brigham Young University in 1903. The university was accredited as a college in 1925 and a university in 1928. While academics have always played an important part at the university, its central purpose has been to build Christian character and foster faith in Jesus Christ. This paper will explore the longitudinal effects of attendance at Brigham Young Academy/Brigham Young University during its first fifty years of existence, using both archival sources and descriptive statistics from the government and genealogical sources. Together, this analysis suggests how Brigham Young University sought to achieve its central goal of building Christian character and fostering faith in Jesus Christ during these years. The paper also looks at the impact of a Brigham Young University education on the temporal well-being of the students that attended the university. It concludes by examining efforts to improve the academic stature of Brigham Young University and proposes future research to understand the impact of these efforts on the longitudinal effect of a Brigham Young University education.

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2025-12-10

Language

English

College

Harold B. Lee Library

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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