__NOTOC__ Richard S. Van Wagoner (July 23, 1946 – October 10, 2010) was an American historian, audiologist, and author who published works on the history of

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 ...

and the

history of the Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called ''Mormonism'', and to the exis ...

Early life and education

Van Wagoner was a

Lehi, Utah Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010, and it is the center of population of Utah. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to t ...

, native and a fifth-generation

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

."Utah, LDS historian won acclaim"
''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'', 2010-10-12. He was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

and was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for

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 ...

in the church's Central States

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

. In 1970, he graduated from

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 ...

with an M.S. degree.

Career

Trained as a clinical

audiologist Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Greek branch of learning , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By ...

, he began professional practice in 1977 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 ...

. Van Wagoner wrote the books '' Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess'' and ''Mormon Polygamy: A History''.Michael DeGroote
"Richard Van Wagoner, historian, dies at 64"
''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

'', 2010-10-12. His 1994 biography of

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He ...

won awards from the

Mormon History Association 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 ...

and the

John Whitmer Historical Association The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the History of the Commu ...

. Van Wagoner was a member of the board of

Signature Books Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is majority owned by t ...

, and was described after his death as a "trailblazer in Mormon studies", having published historical articles in ''

Utah Historical Quarterly ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' is a quarterly academic journal from the Utah State Historical Society (published through the University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illin ...

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

Sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a aventurescence, spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along ...

''. He lived in

, and acted as the town's historical archivist.

Personal life

From the early 1980s, Van Wagoner lost his hearing due to

otosclerosis Otosclerosis is a condition of the middle ear, middle and inner ear where portions of the dense enchondral layer of the bony labyrinth Tissue remodeling, remodel into one or more lesions of irregularly-laid spongy bone. As the lesions reach the s ...

; he received a

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

in 2001, which partially restored his hearing. Van Wagoner died unexpectedly at his home in Lehi, Utah, at age 64.

Works

Books * * * * * * Articles * * * * * * * * * * * Sunstone Symposium presentations *Van Wagoner, Richard; Allen D. Roberts (August 27, 1982)
"From Grace to Grace"
*Bradley, Martha; Richard Van Wagoner (August 23, 1985)
, 1890-1-80"">"Changed Faces: Official LDS Positions on Polygamy, 1890-1-80"
*Van Wagoner, Richard S.; Lynne Watkins Jorgensen (August 12, 1995)
"The Making of a Mormon Myth: The 1844 Transfiguration of Brigham Young - and - The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Passes to Brother Brigham and the Twelve Apostles: A Collective Spiritual Witness"
*Van Wagoner, Richard S. (August 17, 1996)
"Sidney Rigdon and the Elect Sisterhood"
*Ehat, Andrew E.; Richard S. Van Wagoner (August 22, 1996)
"Pseudo-Polyandry: Explaining Mormon Polgyny's Paraboxical Companion"
*Van Wagoner, Richard; Breck England (August 23, 1996)
"Orson Pratt, Jr"

Notes

External links

The Richard S. Van Wagoner Papers
(

J. Willard Marriott Library The J. Willard Marriott Library is the main academic library of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The university library has had multiple homes since the first University of Utah librarian was appointed in 1850. The current building ...

, University of Utah) {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Wagoner, Richard S. 1946 births 2010 deaths American historians Latter Day Saints from Utah Audiologists Deaf writers Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement American Latter Day Saint writers People from Lehi, Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni Writers from Utah 20th-century Mormon missionaries American deaf people American writers with disabilities