Grant Hardy
This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (April 2018) |
Grant R. Hardy | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Brigham Young University (BA) Yale University (PhD) |
Occupation | Professor |
Employer | University of North Carolina at Asheville (1994–present) |
Known for | Book of Mormon studies |
Spouse | Heather Nielsen Hardy[1] |
Website | history |
Grant Hardy is professor of history and religious studies and former director of the humanities program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He earned his BA in ancient Greek in 1984 from Brigham Young University and his PhD in Chinese language and literature from Yale University in 1988.[2] Having written, cowritten, or edited several books in the fields of history, humanities, and religious texts as literature, Hardy is known for literary studies of the Book of Mormon.
Chinese Language and Literature Studies
Hardy has a PhD in Chinese language and literature from Yale University. Starting at nineteen years of age, he served a two-year Mandarin-speaking religious mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Taichung (Taizhong), Taiwan.[3][4]
Mormon studies
Book of Mormon study editions and notes
Hardy's contributions in Mormon studies are The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition (2003), Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Readers' Guide (2010), The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ: Maxwell Institute Study Edition, (2018),[5][6] and The Annotated Book of Mormon (2023).[7]
Reception
- Individual works
According to a review by Michael Austin of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Maxwell Institute Study Edition (2018; Hardy, ed.), "By combining with a serious and thoughtful scholar like Grant Hardy, the [LDS] Church has produced and authorized a version of its signature scripture that is orders of magnitude more helpful, and more scholarly, than anything it has produced before."[8]
Hardy's Understanding the Book of Mormon (2010) has been received favorably for what its publisher, Oxford University Press, describes as "comprehensive analysis of the work's narrative structure."[9]
In August 2023, Prof. Hardy's "The Annotated Book of Mormon" was released. It is a fully annotated version of the BoM in the style of the New Oxford Annotated Bible.[10] In introducing his interview with Hardy concerning this work, host Jack Dugan called him one of the preeminent scholars of the history and theology of the LDS Church.[11]
- In general
Grant Shreve says the Book of Mormon's text, "once derided as 'a fiction of hob-goblins and bugbears,'" now is being examined by non-Mormon academics and university students, its inclusion on syllabi facilitated by "attractive reader’s editions of the Book of Mormon armed with immaculate scholarly introductions framing it for non-Mormon audiences" by Hardy (2005) and also by Laurie Maffly-Kipp (2008, Penguin).[12]
In the Mormon apologetics journal Interpreter, Neal Rappleye lauds Hardy's demonstrations of the Book of Mormon's "depth and complexity, multiple voices, and insightful readings," that bolsters its truth claims according to Rappleye.[13]
In April 2016, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies devoted an issue to Hardy's Book of Mormon studies, its editor saying, "We see his work as crucially transitional, bringing the scripture increasingly to the attention of the broader academy."[14]
Apologetics
Hardy, who is a member of the LDS Church, has joined proponents advocating tolerance within the faith for struggles with doubt. Providing context for his work, in his 5 August 2016 address at the annual
A two-part 2017 article by Duane Boyce in the
Background: Opening the Book of Mormon studies sub-discipline
Studies of the
In 2016, Nicholas J. Frederick said, "With a few notable exceptions, such as Philip Barlow’s Mormons and the Bible and Grant Hardy’s Understanding the Book of Mormon, full-length monographs devoted to [Book of Mormon studies] have been lacking."[19] In 2017, organizers of a Book of Mormon studies symposium said, "Grant Hardy has introduced the content and the depth of the Book of Mormon into the larger academic world."[20]
Publications
Books
In addition to chapters and journal articles,[21][22] Hardy has published the following books:
- Grant Hardy (1 September 2023). The Annotated Book of Mormon. ISBN 978-0-19-0082208.
- Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Readers' Guide. Oxford University Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-19-974544-9.
- Grant Hardy, ed. (2003). The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition. University of Illinois Press.
- Grant Hardy; Anne Behnke Kinney (2005). The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China. Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Ancient World. ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5.
- Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo: Sima Qian's Conquest of History. ISBN 978-0-231-50451-5.
Chapter
- Andrew Feldherr, ed. (2015). Beginnings to AD 600. Oxford History of Historical Writing. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
- Hardy, Grant (2018). "Textual Criticism and the Book of Mormon". In ISBN 978-0-19-0274405.
Multimedia
- Sacred Texts of the World (Audio of 36 lectures as narrated by Grant Hardy). ISBN 978-1-62997-044-8.
- Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition. The Great Courses. Teaching Company. 2011. ISBN 978-1-59803-742-5.
See also
References
- ^ "Grant Hardy". FairMormon. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Professor Bio Page". The Great Courses. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "10 questions with Grant Hardy" by Kurt Manwaring. 5 February 2019. Accessed 20 September 2020.
- ^ Grant Hardy opens worlds through writing and teaching. The Blue Banner. 16 September 2015. Accessed 20 September 2020.
- ^ Manwaring, Kurt (10 April 2018). "10 questions with Spencer Fluhman". From The Desk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ Publication information on the Maxwell Institute Book of Mormon edition
- ^ "The Annotated Book of Mormon". Oxford University Press. 1 September 2023.
- ^ Michael Austin (Summer 2019). "'Reasonably Good Tidings of Greater-than-Average Joy': Grant Hardy, ed. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Maxwell Institute Study Edition." (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought: 173–181.
- ^ "Google Scholar". Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Chad Nielsen (16 January 2024). "Grant Hardy on the Annotated Book of Mormon". Times and Seasons. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ The Revelation of the Book of Mormon at 200
- ^ "The Book of Mormon Gets the Literary Treatment | Religion & Politics". Religion and Politics. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Rappleye, Neal (5 January 2014). "Creating a List of "Standard Works" on Book of Mormon Authenticity". Interpreter. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ Brian Hauglid (22 April 2016). "Now Available: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies vol. 25". Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "More Effective Apologetics". FairMormon. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "A Lengthening Shadow: Is Quality of Thought Deteriorating in LDS Scholarly Discourse Regarding Prophets and Revelation? Part Two | Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture". Mormon Interpreter. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Hancock, Ralph C. (2012). "To Really Read the Book of Mormon". Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scholarship. 1.
- ^ "The Book of Mormon Gets the Literary Treatment | Religion & Politics". Religion and Politics. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ J. Frederick. The Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the Rhetoric of Allusivity – 9781611479065 – Rowman & Littlefield. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Call for Papers: Book of Mormon Studies". Patheos.com. Faith-Promoting Rumor. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Grant Hardy, Ph.D. | Department of History". University of North Carolina Asheville -History. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship". Publications. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
External links
- Interview of Grant Hardy & Heather Hardy by Mormon Stories.