Dr. Grant Hardy, professor of History and Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Asheville, will be the featured speaker at the 21st Annual Joseph Smith Lecture Series on Nov. 11 and 12 at BYU-Hawaii. Hardy will speak at the weekly devotional on Tuesday, Nov. 11, with a talk titled “Of Their Own Nation and Tongue.” Hardy will then lecture on Tuesday evening at 7:30 in the Heber Grant Building room 273 and Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 in the same room. Hardy’s two lectures are titled “Nephi’s Faith: Why Second Nephi is Scripture for Grown-Ups,” and “Possibilities for the Future of Book of Mormon Studies.” The UNC-Asheville professor received his bachelor’s degree in ancient Greek with a minor in Chinese at BYU in Provo where he was valedictorian for the College of Humanities. He earned a doctorate degree in Chinese language and literature from Yale University. Hardy has been teaching at UNC-Asheville since 1994. He was a visiting professor at BYUH in 2004. Hardy served a two-year LDS mission in Taiwan. Dr. Keith Lane, chair of the Religious Studies Department at BYUH, said, “For twenty-one years now, the Joseph Smith Lecture Series has brought well-known Latter-day Saint thinkers, as well as scholars breaking new and important ground with respect to church history, theology, and scriptural studies.” Lane continued, “Grant Hardy is doing important, useful work with respect to the Book of Mormon, not only in helping those who are new to the book gain a clearer sense of the book’s content and narrative, but also for those who may know the book very well. Professor Hardy’s work helps all understand the structure and content of the Book of Mormon, revealing literary, authorial, and textual nuances that bring greater light to our understanding.” Two of Hardy’s more well known publications are “The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition,” and “Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Readers Guide.”
Writer: Greg Erickson ~ Multimedia Specialist
