Contributors

Terryl L. Givens did his graduate studies at Cornell and Chapel Hill (PhD, 1988) in intellectual history and comparative literature. He currently holds the James A. Bostwick Chair at the University of Richmond, where he is professor of literature and religion. His several books include By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (Oxford, 2003), People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Oxford, 2007), and The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction and When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence in Western Thought (both Oxford, 2009).

Matthew J. Grow is assistant professor of history and director of the Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana. His book "Liberty to the Downtrodden": Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer (Yale University Press, 2009) examines the most important non-Mormon in Latter-day Saint history. Along with Terryl L. Givens, he is currently writing a biography of Parley P. Pratt for Oxford University Press.

Robert L. Millet is Abraham O. Smoot University Professor and professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. Before joining the BYU faculty in 1983, he worked with LDS Social Services as a marriage and family counselor and with the LDS Church Educational System as a religious instructor. Dr. Millet received his bachelor's and master's degrees from BYU in psychology and his PhD from Florida State University in religious studies.

Jacob D. Rawlins is a PhD candidate at Iowa State University. He served on the staff of the Journal for several years while he worked as an editor and managed the Web site for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. He holds a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in public administration, both from Brigham Young University.

Matthew Roper holds an MA in sociology from Brigham Young University and is a research scholar for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. For many years he has been collecting and preserving copies of items reflecting early published responses to the Book of Mormon. This research is found in the digital collection, 19th-Century Publications about the Book of Mormon (1829—1844), available on the Harold B. Lee Library Web site at BYU.

Shinji Takagi (PhD, economics, University of Rochester) is currently
professor of economics at Osaka University and the author of over 80
international publications in economics. A technical translator, he has
translated a number of professional papers between Japanese and English; he
has also translated several LDS publications into Japanese. Professor Takagi was
appointed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve as a member of the Scripture Updating
Committee for the 1995 Japanese translation of the Book of Mormon, the
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.