Matthew Grow

Matthew J. Grow (born 1977) is an American historian specializing in Mormon history. Grow authored a biography of Thomas L. Kane, Liberty to the Downtrodden (2009),^[6] and co-authored a biography of Parley P. Pratt (2011),^[7] with Terryl Givens. He formerly directed the Center for Communal Studies housed at the University of Southern Indiana. As of 2012, Grow was the director of publications for the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was among scholars preparing for publication of the Joseph Smith Papers.^[8][9][10]

Matthew Grow
Born	Matthew J. Grow (1977-03-05) March 5, 1977 (age 47) Salt Lake City, Utah
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Brigham Young University (summa cum laude, 2001) Notre Dame (Ph.D., American history, 2006)[1][2]
Occupation	Historian
Awards	Mormon History Association Best Book Award, 2010[3] Mountain West Center for Regional Studies Evans Biography Award, 2011[4] Association of Mormon Letters Best Biography Award (with Terryl Givens), 2011[5]

In 2016, the Church Historian's Press released the book The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women's History, which was edited by Grow, Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, and Kate Holbrook.^[11] He also edited the book The Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846, for the Church Historian's Press imprint of Deseret Book, 2016.^[12]

Grow also wrote the article "The Whore of Babylon and the Abomination of Abominations: Nineteenth-Century Catholic and Mormon Mutual Perceptions and Religious Identity".^[13]

In 2018, the LDS Church published Volume 1 of a new history of the church, entitled Saints with the first volume named The Standard of Truth. Grow was listed first among four general editors for the volume. In 2020, with the release of Saints Vol 2, No Unhallowed Hand Grow was again list first among the four general editors.

Grow has a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. During his graduate training, Grow did a summer seminar course in Latter-day Saint history that was directed by Richard L. Bushman.^[14]

Grow also serves as the historian for the Jared Pratt Family Association.

References

1. Huff, Ben. "Welcome Guest Blogger Matt Grow". Times and Seasons. February 10, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
2. "Matthew J. Grow CV" Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. University of Southern Indiana, History dept. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
3. "Past MHA Award Recipients" Archived 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine. MHA Awards History. Mormon History Association. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
4. "USU Announces Evans Biography and Handcart Award Winners". Utah State Today. Utah State University. April 21, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
5. Langford, Jonathan. "2011 AML Awards" Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Dawning of a Brighter Day. Association for Mormon Letters. April 23, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
6. Yale University Press; according to WorldCat, the book is in 375 libraries.
7. Parley P. Pratt The St. Paul of Mormonism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. According to WorldCat, the book is in 262 libraries
8. "Project Team" The Joseph Smith Papers (The Church Historian's Press). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
9. "LDS Church History Department Hires Seven New Scholars" Archived 2012-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Newsletter 46 (1): 8. Mormon History Association. January 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
10. Baugh, Alexander L. "Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism. By Terryl L. Givens and Matthew J. Grow". J Am Acad Relig 80 (2): 540–543. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfs006. April 23, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
11. Tad Walch, "LDS Church Historian's Press releases major new book, 'The First Fifty Years of Relief Society'", Deseret News, 19 February 2016.
12. Benjamin E. Park (September 9, 2016). "Review: The Mormon Council of Fifty: What Joseph Smith's Secret Records Reveal". Religion and Politics.
13. Grow, Matthew J. (March 2004). "The Whore of Babylon and the Abomination of Abominations: Nineteenth-Century Catholic and Mormon Mutual Perceptions and Religious Identity". Church History. 73 (1): 139–167. doi:10.1017/S0009640700097869. S2CID 163101076.
14. R. Scott Lloyd "New generation of historians presenting a better view of Mormonism to the world, speaker says", Deseret News, June 6, 2015