Item Detail
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26075
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2
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0
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English
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Joseph F. Smith and the First World War : Eventual Support and Latter-day Saint Chaplains
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Joseph F. Smith : Reflections on the Man and His Times
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Provo, UT
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Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center, BYU; Deseret Book
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434-455
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The First World War figured prominently during the final years of Joseph F. Smith’s Church presidency. After decades of rising international tension fueled by European imperialism and an increasingly complex network of treaty obligations, the first truly modern war was triggered on June 28, 1914, when Francis Ferdinand, archduke of the Hapsburg imperial dynasty, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Serbia. One month later, on July 28, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia and, in rapid succession, numerous countries followed suit, turning the regional conflict into a world war. Before the war ended, over fifty-nine million men had been mobilized, and tens of millions of soldiers and civilians had died. This essay considers the increasing role that President Joseph F. Smith played in supporting the American war effort, with an emphasis on his selection of three Latter-day Saint chaplains and their wartime service. [From the text]