James Brown "Jim" Allen (born June 14, 1927)
is an American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
of
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...
and was an official
Assistant Church Historian
Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...
of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(LDS Church) from 1972 to 1979. While working as Assistant Church Historian, he co-authored ''
The Story of the Latter-day Saints'' with
Glen Leonard. After
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and ...
dismissed the book as secular new history, other events led to the dissolution of the LDS Church History department in 1982. Allen resigned as Assistant Church Historian in 1979, returning to work at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
(BYU) full-time.
He studied history at
Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...
(USU) for his Bachelor's, at BYU for his master's, and the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
for his PhD. After working as a seminary teacher and coordinator of seminaries, he joined the history department at BYU in 1964, where he was department chair from 1981 to 1987. After his retirement in 1992, he was a senior research fellow at the
Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History.
Early life and education
On June 14, 1927, Allen was born in
Ogden, Utah.
During his childhood, his family lived in
Coalville, Utah
Coalville is a city in and the county seat of Summit County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,363 as of the 2010 census. Interstate 80 passes through the town, as wel ...
,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Fairview, Wyoming
Fairview (CDP) is in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 275 at the 2010 census.
History
The first settlement at Fairview was made in 1885. A post office called Fairview has been in operation since 1889. The community wa ...
, and
Afton, Wyoming
Afton is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,911 at the 2010 census.
Afton is home to the world's largest arch made of elk antlers. Spanning across the four lanes of U.S. Highway 89, the arch consists of 3,011 ...
. His family moved to
Logan, Utah when he was ten, to give him and his siblings the opportunity to go to college. After graduating from high school in 1945, he joined the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
and became a Navy photographer in Washington, D.C.
A member of the LDS Church, he served as a
proselyting missionary in the California
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
under
Oscar W. McConkie from 1948 to 1950, "without purse or scrip," depending on the generosity of others for his room and board.
As an
undergraduate student
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry- ...
, Allen attended USU in Logan, receiving a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in history in 1954.
George Ellsworth
George A. Ellsworth (1843–1899), commonly known as "Lightning" Ellsworth, was a Canadian telegrapher who served in the cavalry forces of Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. His use of the telegra ...
and
Eugene Campbell were two of his most influential teachers.
During Campbell's graduate history
seminar
A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...
on how to write history, which Allen took as a senior undergraduate, Allen met
Leonard J. Arrington, a new economics professor and classmate who greatly influenced Allen's career. Allen's paper from that seminar was published in ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' in 1955 and became the basis for his graduate studies.
Allen pursued his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in history at BYU, with Dr.
Richard D. Poll as his major professor. In 1956, he completed his
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
, ''The Development of County Government in the Territory of Utah, 1850-1896'', which drew from his earlier published article.
Allen attended the University of Southern California on a full-tuition scholarship and received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in history in 1963.
His
dissertation, ''The Company Town in the American West'', was later published as a book by the
University of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...
.
Career
Starting in 1954, Allen worked for the
Church Educational System (CES) in a variety of roles.
In
Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area. The population was 27,300 at the time of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 32,390 in 2019.
History
Shortly after Latter Day Sain ...
he was a
seminary teacher, as well as in
Cowley, Wyoming
Cowley is a town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 655 at the 2010 census. In 2019 the US Census Bureau put that figure at 623.
Geography
Cowley is located at (44.882684, -108.468193). According to the United Sta ...
,
where he was also the coordinator of seminaries from 1955 to 1957.
He taught at LDS
Institutes of Religion
An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Local institutes may function in church meetinghous ...
for nine years,
and was director of the institutes in
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
and
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...
while pursuing his doctorate at USC.
Allen joined the religion faculty at BYU in 1963, and then the history department in 1964.
He taught both religion and history classes.
In the early 1970s he was the doctoral major professor and mentor of
Ron Esplin, who would become another notable Mormon historian. He was
chair of the history department from 1981 to 1987, and afterward held the Lemuel Hardison Redd Jr. Chair in Western American History, until his 1992 retirement. From 1992 to 2005, he was a senior research fellow with BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, and served on its executive committee for a time.
In 2002, he taught in the History Department of
Brigham Young University—Hawaii as a volunteer.
He co-edited ''The Joseph Smith Papers, Journals, Vol. 2''.
Fellow historian
Davis Bitton
Ronald Davis Bitton (February 22, 1930 – April 13, 2007) was a charter member and president of the Mormon History Association, professor of history at the University of Utah, and official Assistant Church Historian in the Church of Jesus Chri ...
listed James B. Allen as a historian who maintains his church membership while also having a deep understanding of church history, arguing that the existence of faithful historians shows that a knowledge of LDS church history does not necessarily lead to leaving the church.
Mormon History Association
In 1965, Allen was one of the founders of the
Mormon History Association
The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...
(MHA), along with Leonard J. Arrington. He served as its vice-president in 1970 and president in 1972. Representing the MHA, Allen wrote and edited the "Historian's Corner," a semi-annual column in the quarterly ''
BYU Studies
''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...
'' from 1970 to 1982, when he was succeeded by
Ronald W. Walker. The Mormon History Association selected Allen to discuss the impact of the
Hoffman forgeries, describing Allen as "a senior historian whose work has commanded respect among
iscolleagues."
Assistant Church Historian
In 1972, Allen was
called to be an Assistant Church Historian for the LDS Church, at the request of Leonard J. Arrington. He served half time in that capacity, continuing his BYU professorship at the same time.
[ Arrington had assembled a team of professional historians to engage in new academic research with use of the church archives. Among the first major publications to emerge was '' The Story of the Latter-day Saints'', a comprehensive single-volume history of the LDS Church written by Allen and ]Glen M. Leonard Glen Milton Leonard (born 1938) is an American historian specializing in Mormon history.
Background
Leonard is a native of Farmington, Utah. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Utah. For a time he was managing editor of ''U ...
, a Senior Historical Associate in the church's Historical Department, and published in 1976.
The book was well received by the general and academic audiences, but some church leaders were uncomfortable. Allen's philosophy was to directly address historical controversies, while casting them against the context of their own time. Ezra Taft Benson denounced the book as new history that was "underplaying revelation" at a fireside and later, at an address for CES instructors. It was not republished for years, despite its popularity. Spencer W. Kimball and Howard W. Hunter
Howard William Hunter (November 14, 1907 – March 3, 1995) was an American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 to 1995. His nine-month presidential tenure is the shortest ...
both privately praised the book. In 1979, Allen resigned as Assistant Church Historian and returned full-time to BYU. Around this time, the department's History Division came under greater suspicion and scrutiny, and its staff and programs were curtailed before being transferred to BYU in 1982 as the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History.
At BYU, Allen was treated in "a scandalous way" by some religion faculty who were unhappy with his book. Later, some university trustees had reservations about Allen's 1981 appointment as chair of the history department. However, he retained leadership roles at BYU until his 1992 retirement, when he rejoined the staff and programs from the old History Division, at BYU's Joseph Fielding Smith Institute.
Personal life
Allen served in his church throughout his life, including as a Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
of a student ward at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
(BYU) in the 1960s and a stake high councilor. In politics, he also served for a time as a District Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
committeeman. From 1999 to 2000, Allen and his wife served as full-time missionaries for the Church Education System at the Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
Institute of Religion.
Allen lives in Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City.
Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...
and is married to Renée Jones. They have five children and twenty grandchildren. One of his daughters married the writer Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
. Orson Scott Card cites his admiration for Allen as having "the kind of skepticism ..that is a servant to orthodox faith." Allen's younger brother, John H. Allen, was a Colonel in the United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 2020 ...
, the commander over the Judge Advocate General units of the 96th Sustainment Brigade, and a Federal Bankruptcy Judge.
Awards
*1968 Best Bibliography Award from the Mormon History Association
*1980 Morris Rosenblatt award for best popular interest article in ''Utah Historical Quarterly''
*1984 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer at Brigham Young University[
*1986 David Woolley Evans and Beatrice Cannon Evans Biography Award][
*1987 T. Edgar Lyon Award for Best Article from the Mormon History Association][
*1988 Fellow of the Utah State Historical Society][
*1991 T. Edgar Lyon Best Article Award from the Mormon History Association][
*1994 T. Edgar Lyon Award of Excellence from the Mormon History Association][
*2000 Special Citation for the book ''Studies in Mormon History, 1830-1997'' from the Mormon History Association][
*2001 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title from the ]American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...
*2007 Leonard J. Arrington Award for meritorious service to Mormon history from the Mormon History Association
Published works
Allen has published over ninety articles, and fourteen books and monographs.[
]
Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
*(Republished in 2002 as ''No Toil nor Labor Fear: The Story of William Clayton'')[
*
*
*
*
]
Selected articles
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
External links
James B. Allen's website
*
James B. Allen Papers, MSS 2183
L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library
The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...
, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, James B.
1927 births
20th-century Mormon missionaries
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
American Latter Day Saint writers
American Mormon missionaries in the United States
American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Brigham Young University alumni
Brigham Young University faculty
Brigham Young University–Hawaii faculty
Church Educational System instructors
Historians of the American West
Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Living people
Mormon studies scholars
Official historians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
People from Orem, Utah
University of Southern California alumni
Utah Republicans
Utah State University alumni
Writers from Logan, Utah
Harold B. Lee Library-related 20th century articles
American male non-fiction writers