Marvin Sidney Hill (1928–2016) was a professor of

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

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) and a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Biography

Born on August 28, 1928, Hill completed his

Master of Arts 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. Th ...

in history at BYU in 1955. He received a PhD in American intellectual history from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1968 and studied under Martin E. Marty and wrote his dissertation on

Christian primitivism Restorationism (or Restitutionism or Christian primitivism) is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer a ...

and Mormonism. Hill attended the University of Chicago at the same time as

Dallin H. Oaks Dallin Harris Oaks (born August 12, 1932) is an American religious leader and former jurist and academic who since 2018 has been the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was ...

, and their mutual interest in the murder of the Mormon founder Joseph Smith in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

led to a ten-year research effort. Together, they published the book '' Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith'' in 1975 while both were working at BYU, Hill as a professor of history and Oaks as the president of BYU. It won 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 ...

's best book award for 1976. Hill was a professor of

at BYU starting in the 1960s. In 1972, he took leave from BYU to accept a post-doctoral research fellowship at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He has also served as president of the Mormon History Association and on the board of editors of the ''

Journal of Mormon History 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 ...

''. In Mormon studies, Hill was a well-known proponent of the new Mormon history and advocated a "middle ground" approach that did not seek to describe Mormonism as authentic or fraudulent. Hill married Lila Foster in 1953. They had six children and lived in Provo,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He was the brother of Donna Hill (1921–2007), the author of the noted 1977 biography ''Joseph Smith, the First Mormon''. He died in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on July 27, 2016.

Awards

* 1975: Best Book Award for ''Carthage Conspiracy'' with

(

) * 1977: Best Article By a Senior Author for "The Kirtland Economy Revisited" with C. Keith Rooker and Larry T. Wimmer (

) * 1989: Best Book Award for ''Quest for Refuge'' (

)

Writings

Books

* * * Published concurrently in ''

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 ...

'' 17. * *

Articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Other

* *

References

External links

The Marvin S. Hill
papers at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

*
Photograph of Marvin Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Marvin S. 1928 births 2016 deaths American Latter Day Saint writers Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from Utah University of Chicago alumni Writers from Provo, Utah