Hugh Nibley, 94; Mormon Historian
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Hugh Nibley, an outspoken Mormon historian, professor, and defender of the faith, died yesterday at 94 in Provo, Utah.
Nibley, a professor at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, was author of “An approach to the Book of Mormon” (1988), among many other works dealing with the textual veracity of Mormon scripture.
In his work as a defender of Mormon doctrine, Nibley made critical observations of the church and its faithful that, if they had been said by an outsider, would have made people angry, said Daniel Peterson, a BYU professor.
Nibley was widely acclaimed in the Mormon world for his teachings and writings, but his legacy became clouded recently when one of his children accused him of molesting her as a child.
Martha Beck made the allegations in a book due in stores next month called “Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith.” She said memories of the abuse were recovered in therapy sessions. Nibley and his seven other children denied the accusations.
Born March 27, 1910, in Portland, Ore., Nibley earned his bachelor’s degree in history at UCLA in 1934,and his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. Following his service in World War II, when he said he spent every spare moment reading the Book of Mormon, he began teaching at BYU in 1946.He officially retired in 1975 but continued teaching through 1994.
