Item Detail
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12179
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0
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0
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English
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Conversion, the Mass Media, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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San Diego, California
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United States International University
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Ph.D. diss.
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"The Problem. The problem addressed in this dissertation was the importance of mass media on religious conversion. The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of mass media in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and determine its relationship to the conversion numbers. Method. A descriptive analysis of the use of mass media in the Mormon Church provided a comprehensive background for the research. A questionnaire survey and interviews were used to secure data for the research. The instruments used for the survey and interviews were designed specifically for this study as there were no existing surveys or interview formats relevant to this research. The eight item questionnaire was principally designed to assess the importance of the three factors, mass media, family or friends, and missionaries, in conversion to the Mormon Church. The interview format followed the same line of questioning as the survey with questions asking specifics; the interviews were open-ended. The research was conducted in the San Diego area at Mormon Church buildings. The population of the subjects was 200 male and female adult members of the Mormon Church who were converts to the religion. The survey questionnaire was given to all 200 subjects. The interviews were conducted, after the survey data were collected, with six of the 200 subjects participating in the study. Results. The findings of the survey and interviews revealed several items of interest. The mass media, used in the Mormon Church, magazines, movies, and the radio program "Music and the Spoken Word" were found to be influential in the Mormon Church relative to conversion. However, the subjects in the study rated "family or friends" as the primary influencing factor in their conversion. Missionaries were found to be influential but secondary to "family or friends." [Author's abstract]