Fred Woods
Encyclopedia
Fred Emmett Woods IV is a Brigham Young University
professor of Latter-day Saint Church History and Mormon Doctrine, an author specializing in Mormon migration and the Globalization of Mormonism.
to Australia
. After returning from his mission he began studying at Ricks College
where he met his wife, JoAnna Merrill. They are now the parents of five children.
, and received a Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Utah
. His doctoral dissertation was entitled Water and Storm Polemics against Baalism in the Deuteronomic History. His Ph.D. was in Mideastern Studies with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible
.
Since that time Woods has focused his studies primarily on 19th century Mormon history. He has had research fellowships with both the Mariners' Museum
in Newport News
, Virginia
and the St. Louis Mercantile Library
at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He currently holds a Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding and has lectured extensively in the United States and internationally.
and Orem. He later served as an Institute of Religion
instructor and director in both Southern California and in Boulder, Colorado
. From 1993 to 1998 he was a professor of religion at Ricks College, and since 1998 he has been a professor of religion at Brigham Young University.
While at BYU Woods has taken leaves of absence, once in 2001 to be a visiting professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and in the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 to be a visiting professor at Brigham Young University-Hawaii.
Woods has also written several books:
Woods has been a prolific writer of articles. Among these are "An Islander's View of a Desert Kingdom: Jonathana Napela recounts his 1869 visit to Salt Lake City". He published an article on Scottish Mormon migration to Utah in Scotland History in 2005. He has published books and periodical articles on the exploitation of the Saluda
with William G. Hartley
. He has published articles on the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Tahiti, "The Outdoor Life of Wilford Woodruff" with Phil Murdock.
He has also edited for publication letters of historical significance. One example of this is "I Long to Breathe the Mountain Air of Zion's Peaceful Home", a letter written by Agnes O'Neal to Brigham Young
from war-torn Virginia
. It appeared in BYU Studies
in 2007.
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...
professor of Latter-day Saint Church History and Mormon Doctrine, an author specializing in Mormon migration and the Globalization of Mormonism.
Early life
Woods was born and grew up in Southern California. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 20 and about a year later left on a missionMormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. After returning from his mission he began studying at Ricks College
Brigham Young University–Idaho
Brigham Young University–Idaho is a private university located in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the university is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and transitioned from a junior college to a four-year institution in 2001, known for the greater part of its...
where he met his wife, JoAnna Merrill. They are now the parents of five children.
Education
After completing his associate's degree at Ricks, Woods earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young UniversityBrigham 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...
, and received a Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. His doctoral dissertation was entitled Water and Storm Polemics against Baalism in the Deuteronomic History. His Ph.D. was in Mideastern Studies with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
.
Since that time Woods has focused his studies primarily on 19th century Mormon history. He has had research fellowships with both the Mariners' Museum
Mariners' Museum
The Mariners' Museum is located in Newport News, Virginia. It is one of the largest maritime museums in the world as well as being the largest in North America.- History :The museum was founded in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington, son of Collis P...
in Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and the St. Louis Mercantile Library
St. Louis Mercantile Library
The St. Louis Mercantile Library, founded in 1846 in St. Louis, Missouri, was originally established as a subscription library, and is the oldest extant library west of the Mississippi River. Since 1998 the library has been housed at the University of Missouri-St. Louis...
at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He currently holds a Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding and has lectured extensively in the United States and internationally.
Teaching career
Woods began as an instructor in the LDS seminaries 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...
and Orem. He later served as an Institute of Religion
Institute of Religion
Institutes of Religion provide religious educational classes for young single adult and university students who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
instructor and director in both Southern California and in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. From 1993 to 1998 he was a professor of religion at Ricks College, and since 1998 he has been a professor of religion at Brigham Young University.
While at BYU Woods has taken leaves of absence, once in 2001 to be a visiting professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and in the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 to be a visiting professor at Brigham Young University-Hawaii.
Publications
Possibly the most widely used publication by Fred Woods is his CD the "Mormon Emigration Index", a compilation of passenger lists and primary source excepts of the Mormon passengers on ships from 1840-1890.Woods has also written several books:
- Fire on Ice: The Story of Icelandic Latter-day Saints at Home and Abroad (2005, Religious Studies CenterReligious Studies CenterThe Religious Studies Center is the research and publishing arm of the Religious Education program at Brigham Young University , sponsoring scholarship on Latter-day Saint culture, history, scripture, and doctrine.-History:...
, Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham 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...
, ISBN 084252617X / ISBN 9780842526173) - Co-author of Unto Every Nation: Gospel Light Reaches Every Land (2003, Deseret BookDeseret BookDeseret Book is the largest Latter-day Saint book publisher and also owns a chain of LDS bookstores in the western United States. Over 150 people work in its Salt Lake City headquarters...
, ISBN 1570089485 / ISBN 9781570089480) - Gathering to Nauvoo (2002, Covenant Communications, ISBN 1591560322 / ISBN 9781591560326)
- I Sailed to Zion, with Susan Arrington Madsen (2000, Deseret Book, ISBN 1573456519 / ISBN 9781573456517) (review from AMLAssociation for Mormon LettersThe Association for Mormon Letters is a nonprofit founded in 1976 to promote quality writing "by, for, and about Mormons." The broadness of this definition of Mormon literature has led the AML to focus on a wide variety of work that has sometimes been neglected in the Mormon community...
) - Water and Storm Polemics Against Baalism in the Deuteronomic History (1994, Peter Lang Pub Inc, ISBN 0820421111 / ISBN 9780820421117)
Woods has been a prolific writer of articles. Among these are "An Islander's View of a Desert Kingdom: Jonathana Napela recounts his 1869 visit to Salt Lake City". He published an article on Scottish Mormon migration to Utah in Scotland History in 2005. He has published books and periodical articles on the exploitation of the Saluda
Saluda
Saluda may refer to:* Saluda, Indiana* Saluda, North Carolina* Saluda, South Carolina* Saluda County, South Carolina* Saluda, Virginia* Saluda people, a Native-American Indian tribe formerly in South Carolina* Saluda River, in South Carolina...
with William G. Hartley
William G. Hartley
William George Hartley is an American historian and author. He had written many books primarily on family history research, histories of specific families and 19th-century Latter-day Saint history.-Biography:...
. He has published articles on the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Tahiti, "The Outdoor Life of Wilford Woodruff" with Phil Murdock.
He has also edited for publication letters of historical significance. One example of this is "I Long to Breathe the Mountain Air of Zion's Peaceful Home", a letter written by Agnes O'Neal to Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
from war-torn Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It appeared in BYU Studies
BYU Studies
BYU Studies is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing articles on a broad array of topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
in 2007.
Public lectures
Woods has given many public lectures. A few of the most notable include:- His 2007 lecture for the "Faith Beyond Walls" interfaith partnership of St. Louis given at the FrontenacFrontenac, MissouriFrontenac is a wealthy inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The signature landmark is Plaza Frontenac, a high-end mall featuring many prominent retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., among others...
LDS meetinghouse. - A 200th birthday celebration lecture on Oliver CowderyOliver CowderyOliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
in Vermont. - He gave a lecture on the place of Liverpool in Mormon migration at the 2007 conference of the European Mormon Studies Association.