BYU Studies 38/4 (1999)

In this issue, BYU Professor of Anthropology Stephen D. Houston discusses the classic elements of the Maya Religion, such as covenants, community, and belief in individualized gods. Also, BYU statisticians and professors come together to quantitatively prove that the burden of tobacco-related cancers are significantly lower in Utah because of adherence to the teaching that "tobacco is not for the body" (D&C 89:8). John Durham Peters's article entitled "Bowels of Mercy" talks about that bodily expression and its meaning in the scriptures, which points to the ultimate symbol of compassion, the Atonement. Other articles talk about Moses Thatcher as the first mission president in Mexico and Parley P. Pratt as the first missionary to Chile.