Boyd Jay Petersen (born February 23, 1962) is program coordinator for

Mormon studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

(UVU) and teaches English and literature at UVU and

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU). He has also been a biographer of

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolif ...

, a candidate for the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...

, and president of the

Association for Mormon Letters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. He was named editor of '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' for the term 2016-2020.

Biography

Petersen was born in Provo, Utah, and raised as 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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). From 1980-1981, he was a proselyting missionary in

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France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After his mission, Petersen attended

(BYU), receiving his bachelor's degree in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

in 1988. In 1995, he received an M.A. in

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

from the

University of Maryland at College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Universi ...

. In 2007, he completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

's Department of Languages and Literature. Petersen has been an intern for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, in the staff of the

U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recl ...

, and a Senior Information Specialist for the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. In 1984, Petersen married Zina Nibley, a daughter of Hugh Nibley. They have four children and reside in Provo, Utah. In 2017, they were divorced. Petersen has been a lecturer in the honors program at BYU, and for the English and Humanities Departments at

, where he received a Faculty Excellence Award in 2006. 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 ''BYU Studies'' is a multidisciplinary 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 abs ...

'', ''

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'', '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', and the ''

Journal of Mormon History The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in ...

''. Petersen is the program coordinator for Mormon Studies at Utah Valley University. He has also been on the board of directors for the

(AML), Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, and '' Segullah'', a Mormon-themed literary journal. 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.

Political campaigns

In March 2008, Petersen announced his candidacy for District 64 of the

Utah State House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district co ...

, 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. On the November 4 election, Petersen received 30 percent of the vote, losing to Lockhart's 66 percent. In 2012, Petersen ran again against Lockhart, who had since become the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. On November 6, Petersen lost with 24 percent to Lockhart's 76 percent.

Published works

Books

* * *

Articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Other

* * * * *"Eternity in an Hour" in ''Baring Witness'' edited by Holly Welker (University of Illinois Press, 2021)

Notes

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Boyd 1962 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century American biographers American essayists American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in France Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Literary scholars Living people American male biographers American male essayists Mormon studies scholars Writers from Provo, Utah Religious biographers University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Utah alumni Utah Democrats Utah Valley University faculty Latter Day Saints from Utah Candidates in the 2012 United States elections