Richard Lloyd Anderson
Encyclopedia
Richard Lloyd Anderson (born 1926) is an emeritus professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University
(BYU). His book Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses is widely considered the definitive LDS ('Mormon') work on this subject
. Anderson is the brother of Karl Ricks Anderson
.
, Ogden
and Pocatello.
Anderson served in the United States Naval Air Corps
during World War II
. He was a radio-man because of an overbite that disqualified him from being a pilot. He took a correspondence course from BYU on the New Testament while in the Navy. He also asked LDS missionaries about their teaching methods and went to teaching appointments with them, which was the beginnings of his later standardized gospel-teaching plan.
Anderson became known in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) when he created the "Anderson Plan," one of the earliest organized systems for Mormon missionaries to teach lessons to non-members. This was developed with the encouragement of his mission president, Joel Richards (brother of LeGrand Richards
). Anderson developed this plan while serving as a missionary in the church's Northwestern States Mission
, from 1946 to 1949. This plan helped his mission be the first to baptize 1,000 converts in a year. By 1951, 11,000 copies of the plan were published and circulated to missions throughout the world, and helped to increase the overall number of converts per missionary. This contributed to the church publishing its own plan in 1952, "A Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel." After his mission Anderson was consulted by Gordon B. Hinckley
as he was developing a standardized missionary teaching plan for the use of all missionaries.
In 1949 Anderson began his college studies at Weber College (now Weber State University
) in the Spring. Hugh Nibley
and Sidney B. Sperry
both specifically wrote to Anderson to urge him to come to BYU. He did so, where he studied Early Christian history and Greek under Nibley and Latin under J. Reuben Clark III and M. Carl Gibson.
While studying at BYU, Anderson married Carma Rose de Jong (born 1930), daughter of Gerrit de Jong Jr.
, the founding dean of BYU's College of Fine Arts. Carma's own historical interests led to a Ph.D.
in historic clothing, and work for the church's Historical Department and Museum of Church History and Art
. For nine years Carma taught an early Mormon clothing class at BYU. She also wrote a book The Cultural Arts of Nauvoo.
In 1951 not long after his marriage to Carma, Anderson set out to Harvard where he earned a J.D.
from Harvard Law School
. He also did studies in Greek while at Harvard and was admitted into their program of Ancient History. However his financial situation was looking down so he took the opportunity to go to Ceder City, Utah and teach for the Church Educational System
there. After this Anderson earned an M.A.
in Greek
from BYU while working full-time as a religion instructor there starting in 1955. Anderson left BYU in 1957 to study for his Ph.D. He received his Ph.D.
from the University of California, Berkeley
. He returned to Utah and became a professor at BYU in 1964, teaching church history and doctrine, ancient scripture, and some courses in Greek.
One of the books Anderson wrote was Joseph Smith's New England Heritage. Anderson has also written many articles on issues relating to early Latter-day Saint history. He was a contributor to both the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
and the Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History.
Although not only studied the early history of the LDS Church, but also the New Testament
and the early history of the Christian Church. Anderson has also written about early Christianity. Among his works on this subject is Understanding Paul (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983). He also wrote an article on crucifixion.
He also has written studies on various spurious accounts of the life of Christ, including an essay that demonstrated how 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon
did not fit the general pattern common to such modern forgeries, lending support to it as an authentic historical record.
In 2006 Anderson was given the Junius F. Wells Award by the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation
.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU). His book Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses is widely considered the definitive LDS ('Mormon') work on this subject
Book of Mormon witnesses
The Book of Mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of Joseph Smith, Jr. who said they saw the golden plates from which Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon...
. Anderson is the brother of Karl Ricks Anderson
Karl Ricks Anderson
Karl Ricks Anderson is a Latter-day Saint historian whose specialty is the Kirtland period in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. He is a brother of Richard Lloyd Anderson and they were the second recipients of the Junius F. Wells Award from the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation in...
.
Biography
Anderson was born in Salt Lake City to Lloyd Anderson and his wife Agnes Ricks. His father was an advertising executive with local newspapers. His family moved in latter years so he attended high school in ProvoProvo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, Ogden
Ogden
-Surname:* Aaron Ogden, governor of New Jersey* Bud Ogden, American professional basketball player* Carlos C. Ogden, American Medal of Honor recipient* Charles Ogden * Charles Kay Ogden, Cambridge University linguist, inventor of Basic English...
and Pocatello.
Anderson served in the United States Naval Air Corps
United States Naval Air Corps
The United States Naval Air Corps was a term denoting the portion of the United States Navy made up of United States Naval Aviators. The term was especially in use before and during World War II....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was a radio-man because of an overbite that disqualified him from being a pilot. He took a correspondence course from BYU on the New Testament while in the Navy. He also asked LDS missionaries about their teaching methods and went to teaching appointments with them, which was the beginnings of his later standardized gospel-teaching plan.
Anderson became known in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) when he created the "Anderson Plan," one of the earliest organized systems for Mormon missionaries to teach lessons to non-members. This was developed with the encouragement of his mission president, Joel Richards (brother of LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards was a prominent missionary and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, and was then called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by Church President David O. McKay...
). Anderson developed this plan while serving as a missionary in the church's Northwestern States Mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
, from 1946 to 1949. This plan helped his mission be the first to baptize 1,000 converts in a year. By 1951, 11,000 copies of the plan were published and circulated to missions throughout the world, and helped to increase the overall number of converts per missionary. This contributed to the church publishing its own plan in 1952, "A Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel." After his mission Anderson was consulted by Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
as he was developing a standardized missionary teaching plan for the use of all missionaries.
In 1949 Anderson began his college studies at Weber College (now Weber State University
Weber State University
Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...
) in the Spring. Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...
and Sidney B. Sperry
Sidney B. Sperry
Sidney Branton Sperry was one of three scholars who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who began the scholarly and systematic study of the Book of Mormon in the mid-20th century — the other two being John L. Sorenson and Hugh W. Nibley...
both specifically wrote to Anderson to urge him to come to BYU. He did so, where he studied Early Christian history and Greek under Nibley and Latin under J. Reuben Clark III and M. Carl Gibson.
While studying at BYU, Anderson married Carma Rose de Jong (born 1930), daughter of Gerrit de Jong Jr.
Gerrit de Jong Jr.
Gerrit de Jong Jr. was the first dean of the College of Fine Arts at Brigham Young University...
, the founding dean of BYU's College of Fine Arts. Carma's own historical interests led to a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in historic clothing, and work for the church's Historical Department and Museum of Church History and Art
Museum of Church History and Art
The Church History Museum is the premier museum operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is opposite the west gates of the church's Temple Square...
. For nine years Carma taught an early Mormon clothing class at BYU. She also wrote a book The Cultural Arts of Nauvoo.
In 1951 not long after his marriage to Carma, Anderson set out to Harvard where he earned a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. He also did studies in Greek while at Harvard and was admitted into their program of Ancient History. However his financial situation was looking down so he took the opportunity to go to Ceder City, Utah and teach for the Church Educational System
Church Educational System
The Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners...
there. After this Anderson earned an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
from BYU while working full-time as a religion instructor there starting in 1955. Anderson left BYU in 1957 to study for his Ph.D. He received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He returned to Utah and became a professor at BYU in 1964, teaching church history and doctrine, ancient scripture, and some courses in Greek.
One of the books Anderson wrote was Joseph Smith's New England Heritage. Anderson has also written many articles on issues relating to early Latter-day Saint history. He was a contributor to both the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a semi-official encyclopedia for topics relevant to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
and the Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History.
Although not only studied the early history of the LDS Church, but also the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and the early history of the Christian Church. Anderson has also written about early Christianity. Among his works on this subject is Understanding Paul (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983). He also wrote an article on crucifixion.
He also has written studies on various spurious accounts of the life of Christ, including an essay that demonstrated how 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
did not fit the general pattern common to such modern forgeries, lending support to it as an authentic historical record.
In 2006 Anderson was given the Junius F. Wells Award by the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation
Mormon Historic Sites Foundation
The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation is an independent organization that seeks to contribute to the memorialization of sites important to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
.