Terryl Lynn Givens is a senior research fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU). Until 2019, he was a professor of literature and religion at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

, where he held the James A. Bostwick Chair in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. Givens is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). As a young man, he served a mission in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, and later graduated from BYU with a degree in comparative literature. He did graduate work in intellectual history at

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and earned a PhD in comparative literature from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

, working with Greek, German, Spanish, Portuguese and English languages and literature. A longtime collaborator with his wife,

Fiona Givens Fiona Givens is an American writer, teacher, and speaker who focuses on matters of history, theology, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Biography and Career Givens was born in Nairobi, Kenya as the old ...

, he is the co-author of ''The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life'' and ''Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith''. ''The New York Times'' referred to his work as "polemical" and "provocative" while ''Harper's'' praised him for being "fair-minded and unbiased."

Personal life

Givens has served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

in a local

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

Publications

Books

* ''Dragon Scales and Willow Leaves.'' Putnam Juvenile, 1997. * ''The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy.'' Oxford University Press, 1997. * ''By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion.'' Oxford University Press, 2002. * ''The Latter-day Saint Experience in America.'' Greenwood Press, 2004. * ''People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture.'' Oxford University Press, 2007. * ''The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction.'' Oxford University Press, 2009. * ''When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence in Western Thought''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 2010. * ''Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism'' (with Matthew J. Grow). Oxford University Press, 2011. * ''The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life'' (with Fiona Givens).

Ensign Peak Ensign Peak ( ) is a peak in the foothills near downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is approximately north of the Utah State Capitol and sits almost directly behind it. On July 26, 1847, Brigham Young and other early members of the Church of Jesus ...

, 2012. * ''The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections On the Quest for Faith'' (with Fiona Givens).

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), th ...

, 2014. * ''Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, Humanity.'' Oxford University Press, 2014. *''The Christ Who Heals: How God Restored the Truth that Saves Us'' (with Fiona Givens). Deseret Book, 2017. *''The Pearl of Greatest Price'' (with Brian M. Hauglid). Oxford University Press, 2019. *''All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between'' (with Fiona Givens). Faith Matters Publishing, 2020. *''Mormonism: What Everyone Needs to Know®''. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Edited volumes

* ''Joseph Smith, Jr.: Reappraisals After Two Centuries'' (with Reid L. Neilson) Oxford University Press, 2008. * ''The Columbia Sourcebook of Mormons in the United States'' (with Reid L. Neilson) Columbia University Press, 2014. *''The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism'' (with Philip L. Barlow) Oxford University Press, 2015.

Articles and papers

* ''Mimesis and the Limits of Semblance''. Ph.D. Diss. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1988 * "Blind Men and Hieroglyphs: The Collapse of Mimesis." '' European Romantic Review'' 2.1 (1991): 61–80. * "Aristotle's Critique of Mimesis: The Romantic Prelude." '' Comparative Literature Studies'' 28.2 (1991): 121–136. * "Romantic Agonies: Human Suffering and the Ethical Sublime." ''Romanticism Across the Disciplines'' (1998): 231–53. * "'This Great Modern Abomination': Orthodoxy and Heresy in American Religion." ''Mormons and Mormonism: An Introduction to an American World Religion'' (2001). * "Joseph Smith: Prophecy, Process, and Plenitude." in ''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

'' 44.4 (2005): 55–68.
"'Lightning Out of Heaven': Joseph Smith and the Forging of Community."
''BYU Speeches'' 24 (2005).
"New Religious Movements and the Orthodoxy: The Challenge to the Religious Mainstream."
''

FARMS Review of Books ''Mormon Studies Review'' is an annual academic journal covering Mormon studies published by the University of Illinois Press. Previously, until and including its 2018 issue, the journal was published by Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwel ...

'' 19.1 (2007): 201–221. * "'There Is Room for Both': Mormon Cinema and the Paradoxes of Mormon Culture." ''

'' 46.2 (2007): 188–208. * "'Common Sense' Meets the Book of Mormon: Source, Substance and Prophetic Disruption." ''Revisiting Thomas F. O'Dea's The Mormons: Contemporary Perspectives'' (2008): 79–98.
"Joseph Smith's American Bible: Radicalizing the Familiar."
''

Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization * Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, ...

'' 18.2 (2009): 4–17.
"Paradox and Discipleship."
''

Religious Educator The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of BYU Religious Education, Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on the Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, cul ...

'' 11.1 (2010): 142–155.
"Fraud, Philandery, and Football: Negotiating the Mormon Image."
''

International Journal of Mormon Studies The ''International Journal of Mormon Studies'' was a peer-reviewed open access academic journal of Mormon studies, that was established in 2008 as the ''British Journal of Mormon Studies'', before obtaining its current title later in 2009. Its 200 ...

'' 4 (2011): 1–13.
"The Prophecy of Enoch as Restoration Blueprint"
Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture Series, No. 18 : Utah State University Press, 2013.

References

External links

Terryl Givens Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Givens, Terryl 1957 births American historians of religion American Latter Day Saint writers American literary critics American male non-fiction writers American theologians Brigham Young University alumni Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Historians of the United States Living people Mormon studies scholars University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni University of Richmond faculty Writers from Richmond, Virginia American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Latter Day Saints from Virginia Book of Mormon scholars Historians from Virginia