Skip to main content
Intellect

University of Richmond professor to discuss Book of Mormon at BYU Oct. 8

First biennial Book of Mormon Lecture hosted by Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.

Terryl Givens, author of Oxford University Press’s "The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction," will deliver a lecture Thursday, Oct. 8, “Joseph Smith’s American Bible: Radicalizing the Familiar.” The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in the Assembly Hall of the Gordon B. Hinckley Center at Brigham Young University.

His address is the first biennial Book of Mormon Lecture hosted by BYU's Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies. Admission is free.

In this address, Givens will borrow from his latest work on the Book of Mormon to describe the ways in which that record took familiar Christian themes — like revelation, scripture and Christology — and reconstituted them in radically new ways. He will also address the theme of provenance, or the ways in which the Book of Mormon emphasizes its own sacred genealogy, becoming in the process a concrete conduit connecting readers to a divine source.

Givens holds the James Bostwick Chair of English at the University of Richmond, where he teaches literature and religion. He is the author of several books, including "When Souls Had Wings: Pre-Mortal Existence in Western Thought," published by Oxford University Press. His previous publications include "By the Hand of Mormon" and "People of Paradox," both published by Oxford University Press.

For more information, contact Elin Roberts at 801-422-7154 or visit terryl.givens.googlepages.com.

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Wildfires in residential areas are on the rise; why hydrants and the water system behind them were never meant to stop those fires

July 01, 2025
BYU professor Rob Sowby teaches and studies environmental engineering, urban water infrastructure and sustainability. He has particular expertise in the planning, design, construction and operation of public water systems. That expertise has been increasingly important (and regularly sought out) in the wake of apocalyptic wildfires that have taxed those public water systems.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Meet the BYU math student helping make wildfire predictions faster and smarter

June 25, 2025
Using machine learning and math, a BYU student improved a key tool firefighters rely on during wildfire season
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Geology meets history: BYU professor studies WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches

June 05, 2025
Eighty years after D-Day, BYU geologists uncover lingering WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches to study how history still shapes the coastline today.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=