Robert John Woodford (1936–2019) is an expert on

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

and the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

. He was a teacher in

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

and

institutes An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

with the

Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...

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 ...

for many years. He is one of the editors with the

Joseph Smith Papers Project ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint m ...

and along with Steven C. Harper and Robin Scott Jensen was a volume editor of ''The Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translations, Manuscript Revelations Books, Facsimile Edition'' that was published in 2009. Woodford spent much of his career as an institute instructor at the

Institute of Religion An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), with those of other religions also welcome to partic ...

adjacent to 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 ...

campus. He also taught history at

LDS Business College Ensign College is a private college in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Founded in 1886, the college is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and operates under its Church Educational System. It also includes ...

(now

Ensign College Ensign College is a private college in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Founded in 1886, the college is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and operates under its Church Educational System. It also includes ...

) and the Joseph Smith Academy. In the LDS Church he has served in many callings including as a

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

teacher and

high councilor A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

. Woodford has a Ph.D. 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 ...

(BYU) in Bible and modern scripture. His 1974 dissertation was entitled ''The Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants'' and has been considered the definitive and most exhaustive analysis of the textual development of the

. Woodford also wrote a 1975 ''

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 ...

'' article which was the first to investigate the life of

Jesse Gause Jesse Gause (1785 – c. 1836) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the presidency of the high priesthood, which later would become the First Presidency, as a counselor to church founder Joseph Smith. For decades Gau ...

, a forgotten member of the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

. Woodford also taught at BYU for two years, the

BYU Salt Lake Center The BYU Division of Continuing Education (DCE) is a division of Brigham Young University (BYU) that oversees continuing education programs. History Attempts at BYU to offer continuing education programs date back to Karl G. Maeser offering night ...

for over 25 years and for a time at the Joseph Smith Academy in Nauvoo. Woodford and his wife Narda are the parents of eight children.

Notes

Sources

*''Ensign'', author bio notes, Aug 1978, p. 12; Dec. 1984, p. 32; Jan 1985, p. 27; Jan. 1997, p. 42; Jan. 1998, p. 12.
Joseph Smith Papers bio''Salt Lake Tribune'', Sept. 22, 2009article about Jesse Gause
''

Meridian Magazine Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor are the founders of the Latter-day Saint oriented website ''Meridian Magazine''. They have also issued a revised edition of Lucy Mack Smith's history of Joseph Smith which reintroduces material from Lu ...

'' – article about the Revelations and Translations volume {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodford, Robert J. 1936 births American Latter Day Saint writers Church Educational System instructors Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Ensign College faculty Living people Latter Day Saints from Utah

See also

Notes

Sources