External links
- Petersen's blog
- Faculty page at UVU
- Faculty page at BYU
- VoteForBoyd.com, website for Petersen's campaigns
- Petersen's 2008 campaign blog
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Boyd Petersen | |
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| Born | February 23, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | French, international relations (B.A.) Comparative literature (M. A., Ph.D.) |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University University of Maryland, College Park University of Utah |
| Occupation(s) | University professor, author |
| Known for | Mormon scholar Editor of Dialogue Candidate for the Utah House of Representatives |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Davies Petersen Zina Nibley Petersen |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | boydpetersen.com |
Boyd Jay Petersen (born February 23, 1962) is program coordinator for Mormon Studies at Utah Valley University (UVU) and teaches English and literature at UVU and Brigham Young University (BYU). He has also been a biographer of Hugh Nibley, a candidate for the Utah House of Representatives, and president of the Association for Mormon Letters. He was named editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought for the term 2016-2020. [1]
Petersen was born in Provo, Utah, and raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). From 1980-1981, he was a proselyting missionary in Paris, France.
After his mission, Petersen attended Brigham Young University (BYU), receiving his bachelor's degree in French and international relations in 1988. In 1995, he received an M.A. in comparative literature from the University of Maryland at College Park. [2] In 2007, he completed his Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Utah's Department of Languages and Literature. [3]
Petersen has been an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives, in the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and a Senior Information Specialist for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress. [4]
In 1984, Petersen married Zina Nibley, a daughter of Hugh Nibley. [5] They have four children and reside in Provo, Utah. [2] In 2017, they were divorced.
Petersen has been a lecturer in the honors program at BYU, and for the English and Humanities Departments at Utah Valley University, where he received a Faculty Excellence Award in 2006. [6] Through his familial relationship to Hugh Nibley, Petersen authored the 2002 biography Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life. Petersen has also published articles in several journals, including BYU Studies , Sunstone , Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought , and the Journal of Mormon History . [2]
Petersen is the program coordinator for Mormon Studies at Utah Valley University. [7] He has also been on the board of directors for the Association for Mormon Letters (AML), Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, and Segullah , a Mormon-themed literary journal. [6] He served as AML's president from 2009-2010. He is book review editor for the Journal of Mormon History, and was named editor for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought for the 2016-2020 term. [8]
In March 2008, Petersen announced his candidacy for District 64 of the Utah State House of Representatives, running as a socially conservative Democrat in a heavily conservative region. He opposed Republican Rebecca Lockhart on a platform of ethics and health care reform, as well as improved public education. [9] On the November 4 election, Petersen received 30 percent of the vote, losing to Lockhart's 66 percent. [10]
In 2012, Petersen ran again against Lockhart, who had since become the Speaker of the House. [11] On November 6, Petersen lost with 24 percent to Lockhart's 76 percent. [12]
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According to most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Book of Mormon is a 19th-century translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the American continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian". This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon, are rejected by non-Latter Day Saint historians and scientists. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of the Book of Mormon, both in favor of and against the book's claimed origins.
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolific author, and wrote apologetic works supporting the archaeological, linguistic, and historical claims of Joseph Smith. He was a member of the LDS Church, and wrote and lectured on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, publishing many articles in the LDS Church magazines.
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The five-volume texts have been digitized and are available for free online via the Harold B. Lee Library's official website.
Grant Hart Palmer was an American educator best known for his controversial work, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, which ostensibly led to his disfellowshipment in 2004 from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement.
Todd Merlin Compton is an American historian in the fields of Mormon history and classics. Compton is a respected authority on the plural wives of the LDS Church founder, Joseph Smith.
Dean Cornell Jessee is a historian of the early Latter Day Saint movement and leading expert on the writings of Joseph Smith Jr.
Louis C. Midgley is a Mormon apologist and retired professor of political science at Brigham Young University. Since his retirement he has been closely involved with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, writing many book reviews, articles, and book chapters defending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from perceived critics.
Bookcraft was a major publisher of books and products for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
James Brown "Jim" Allen is an American historian of Mormonism and was an official Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 to 1979. While working as Assistant Church Historian, he co-authored The Story of the Latter-day Saints with Glen Leonard. After Ezra Taft Benson dismissed the book as secular new history, other events led to the dissolution of the LDS Church History department in 1982. Allen resigned as Assistant Church Historian in 1979, returning to work at Brigham Young University (BYU) full-time.
Richard Douglas Poll was an American historian, academic, author and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His liberal religiosity influenced his notable metaphor about "Iron Rod" vs. "Liahona" LDS Church members.
The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to "foster scholarly and creative work in Mormon letters and to promote fellowship among scholars and writers of Mormon literature." Other stated purposes have included promoting the "production and study of Mormon literature" and the encouragement of quality writing "by, for, and about Mormons." The broadness of this definition of LDS literature has led the AML to focus on a wide variety of work that has sometimes been neglected in the Mormon community. It publishes criticism on such writing, hosts an annual conference, and offers awards to works of fiction, poetry, essay, criticism, drama, film, and other genres. It published the literary journal Irreantum from 1999 to 2013 and currently publishes an online-only version of the journal, which began in 2018. The AML's blog, Dawning of a Brighter Day, launched in 2009. As of 2012, the association also promotes LDS literature through the use of social media. The AML has been described as an "influential proponent of Mormon literary fiction."
Brant Anderson Gardner is an American researcher, writer and speaker on the Book of Mormon, and Mesoamerican studies.
Eugene Edward "Gene" Campbell was an American professor of history at Brigham Young University.
Marvin Sidney Hill (1928–2016) was a professor of American history at Brigham Young University (BYU) and a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.
No, Ma'am, That's Not History is a short work written by Hugh Nibley to criticize Fawn M. Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith, No Man Knows My History. Nibley accuses Brodie of inconsistency and improper historical methodology. Scholars have criticized No, Ma'am for using the same kind of hyperbole that Nibley critiques in Brodie. Nibley's defenders explain that his acerbic satire does use similar rhetorical tools as Brodie does, which is part of its attention-grabbing intent. In 1999, The Salt Lake Tribune said the book "was wildly popular in Utah".
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
Eric Roy Samuelsen was an American playwright and emeritus professor of theatre at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is considered one of the most important Mormon playwrights, and has been called a Mormon Charles Dickens or Henrik Ibsen. He won the Association for Mormon Letters (AML) drama award in 1994, 1997, and 1999, and was AML president from 2007 to 2009. In 2012 he received the Smith–Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters.
Wesley Preston Walters was a pastor of the United Presbyterian Church in Marissa, Illinois. He is notable for his historical research critical of the Latter Day Saint Movement, specifically Joseph Smith's First Vision account. Historian Richard Bushman, who often differed with Walters' views, said that Walters, "performed a very positive service to the cause of Mormon History because he was a delver. He went deep into the heart of the archives. [He] made us realize that we can't assume anything. Everything had to be demonstrated and proved."
