Martha Beck
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Martha Nibley Beck (born November 29, 1962) is an American
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
, life coach, speaker, and sociologist. She holds
bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...
,
master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
, and
PhD 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 ...
degrees from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. Beck is the daughter of Hugh Nibley, a deceased scholar 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) and apologist. She received national attention after publication in 2005 of her best-seller, ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'' in which she recounts her experiences of surviving
sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
. In addition to authoring several books, Beck is a columnist for ''
O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as ''Oprah Daily''. Overview It was first pu ...
''.


Early life

Martha Nibley was born in
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
, in 1962, the seventh of eight children of Hugh and Phyllis Nibley, and raised a
Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...
in a prominent Utah family. Her father was a professor at
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). She received a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies, along with master's and PhD degrees in
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
from Harvard University.


Career

During her academic career, Beck worked as a research associate at the
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
, studying career paths and life-course changes. Before becoming a life coach, she taught sociology,
social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
,
organizational behavior Organizational behavior or organisational behaviour (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organiza ...
, and
business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
at Harvard and the American Graduate School of International Management. She has published academic books and articles on a variety of social science and business topics. Her non-academic books include
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
bestsellers ''Expecting Adam'' and ''Leaving the Saints'', as well as ''Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live'', ''Steering by Starlight'', and ''Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaiming Your True Nature'', and ''The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self''. Beck has also been a contributing editor for popular magazines, including '' Real Simple'' and '' Redbook'', and has been a columnist for ''O, the Oprah Magazine'' since July 2001. Beck is the founder of Martha Beck, Inc., which offers Wayfinder Life Coach Training, and other courses based on Beck's philosophies.


Personal life

Beck met John Christen Beck, a fellow LDS Church member from
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, during her undergraduate studies at Harvard. They married in the
Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...
in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
on June 21, 1983. They eventually had three children together. After the birth of their second child, Adam, who had been diagnosed with Down syndrome prior to his birth, Beck returned with her husband and children to Utah to be closer to family and support. ''Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth and Everyday Magic'' is Beck's story about her decision to give birth to and raise Adam. In 1990, soon after the birth of her third child, Beck, as a part-time faculty member at BYU in Provo, Utah, taught a course on the sociology of gender in the Department of Social Science. During her time as part-time faculty member at BYU, five Mormon scholars were excommunicated from the LDS Church as a consequence of public writings that were deemed critical of the church; the group became known as the
September Six The September Six were six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who were Excommunication#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the church in September 1993, alleged ...
. She and husband, John Beck, also made critical public statements about both the excommunications and other church and BYU matters, which led to first John, then Martha herself, leaving the LDS Church in 1993. Since leaving the LDS Church, both Martha Beck and her now ex-husband subsequently came out publicly as gay. In 2003, Beck separated from her husband, divorcing him in 2004. She now lives with her family in Pennsylvania.


''Leaving the Saints''

Beck's 2005 book ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'' was controversial for accusations that she was sexually abused by her father, scholar and LDS Church apologist Hugh Nibley, as well as stating she recovered memories of the abuse. She writes that she had forgotten the abuse until later in her life when, in 1990, she recovered them. The veracity of recovered memories is disputed, and the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
says "there is a consensus among memory researchers and clinicians that most people who were sexually abused as children remember all or part of what happened to them," though there is also agreement among most leaders in the field, "that although it is a rare occurrence, a memory of early childhood abuse that has been forgotten can be remembered later." The allegations have been denied by Beck's mother and seven siblings. The book prompted widespread reaction, much of it within the Mormon community, and an email campaign against the book's inclusion on
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
's website as well as in her magazine. In her book she writes "The peculiar details of my memories had at first made me doubt myself -- they were so weird -- but in the end, reinforced my conviction that I hadn't unconsciously made something up." A New York Times article sums up with "Church members are also angry that Beck jokes about aspects of the Mormon faith; for example, she refers to the religious garments that Mormons wear in their temples as "holy long johns." But the main complaint about "Leaving the Saints" is that Beck has targeted one of the most admired of all the Latter-day Saints. "Books by apostates from the church, they come along all the time," Wotherspoon, of Sunstone Magazine, said. "But an attack on Hugh Nibley -- to call Hugh Nibley a pedophile and a liar, with no evidence to back it up -- of course that is going to hit the Mormon community like an earthquake."


Works

;Books * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Thesis *


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Martha 1962 births American women columnists Former Latter Day Saints American self-help writers American women sociologists American sociologists Brigham Young University faculty People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American lesbian writers LGBTQ Latter Day Saints LGBTQ people from Utah Living people Mormonism-related controversies Life coaches American women non-fiction writers Writers from Provo, Utah