Todd Merlin Compton (born 1952) 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 ...
in the fields of
Mormon history
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
and
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. Compton is a respected authority on
the plural wives of the LDS Church founder, Joseph Smith.
Biographical background
Compton is a member 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
[Smith, Julie M. "An Interview with Todd Compton". http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=2826. Accessed 1 November 2007.] who lived for a number of years in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
.
[ He has served an ]LDS mission
A mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether o ...
to Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. He studied violin with Richard Nibley[ and has played electric violin with singer-songwriter Mark Davis.][ In 1982 he completed a ]master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. from 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 ...
. He later received a Ph.D. from UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
in classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
(concentrating on Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and Indo-European mythology
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly atteste ...
) which he taught for a year at USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
.[ He also taught at UCLA and ]California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
. He has been an independent researcher since 1993, drawing a regular income by working as an ADS specialist for a law office.[
Compton began his serious work in Mormon history as a visiting fellow at ]the Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...
studying the journals of Eliza R. Snow. He found that his classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
background helped his Mormon history work by teaching him respect for these primary documents.[ While researching, and trying to note people identified in Snow's journals, Compton found that he needed a good list of Joseph Smith's plural wives. Not finding one, he began researching his own list, which eventually grew into his 1997 book, ''In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith''.
]
Publications
Compton's notable works include ''In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith'', which was awarded the Best Book Award from both the John Whitmer Historical Association
The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ ...
and 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 ...
.Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The five-volume texts have been digitized and are available ...
'', ''Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism'', ''American Journal of Philology
The ''American Journal of Philology'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1880 by the classical scholar Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. It covers the field of philology, and related areas ...
'', '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', ''Sunstone Magazine
''Sunstone'' is a magazine published by the Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, that discusses Mormonism through scholarship, art, short fiction, and poetry. The foundation began the publication in 1974 and con ...
'', ''Classical Quarterly'', and the ''Journal of Popular Culture
''The Journal of Popular Culture'' (''JPC'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes academic essays on all aspects of popular or mass culture. It is published six times a year, printed by Wiley-Blackwell. As of Summer 2022, the editor ...
''.[
From 1993–1998, Compton served on the editorial board for the periodical '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought''. Starting in 2004, Compton returned to work at ''Dialogue'', this time as the editorial staff's History Editor. Compton has also served on the Board of Editors for 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 ...
'' since 2000.Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin (April 2, 1819 – August 31, 1886) was a Western pioneer, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a diplomat to various Native American tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. He ...
, ''A Frontier Life: Jacob Hamblin, Explorer and Indian Missionary'', was published by the University of Utah Press in September, 2013. His article, "'In & through the roughefist country it has ever been my lot to travel'": Jacob Hamblin's 1858 Expedition Across the Colorado," (''Utah Historical Quarterly'', Winter 2012) received the Dale L. Morgan Award from the Utah State Historical Society.
In May 2017, through his company Pahreah Press, Compton published a book on the songwriting of the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
, titled ''Who Wrote the Beatle Songs? A History of Lennon-McCartney''.
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References
External links
Todd Compton's Home Page
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* Audio of interview by John Dehlin
John Parkinson Dehlin is an American podcast host and excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He holds a PhD in psychology. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, as well as several other Mor ...
for '' Mormon Stories'' podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
Part 1Part 2 and Part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Todd
1952 births
20th-century Mormon missionaries
American classical scholars
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
American Latter Day Saint writers
American Mormon missionaries in Ireland
Brigham Young University alumni
Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement
Living people
Mormon studies scholars
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Latter Day Saints from California
American expatriates in the Republic of Ireland
American male non-fiction writers