Robert James Matthews (12 September 1926 – 30 August 2009) was aLatter-day Saint religious educator and scholar, teaching in the departments of Ancient Scripture and Religious Education atBrigham Young University (BYU) inProvo, Utah.
Beginning with personal contacts early in his career, Matthews was instrumental in conciliating relations between religious scholars affiliated withthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called theCommunity of Christ), which had separated in aschism in the 1840s. The two religious communities and their scholars had long been at odds over access to and interpretation of important early texts of theLatter Day Saint movement. Matthews was particularly influential when in 1969 and 1970, scholars affiliated with the RLDS were invited to meetings of theMormon History Association. The new scholars were welcomed, and some were chosen as officers in the organization in later years. Matthews is also noted for his promotion of the concept that the currently-available text of theJoseph Smith Translation of the Bible is reliable and authentic.
Matthews was born inEvanston, Wyoming.,[1] the youngest child of immigrant parents, who independently joined the LDS Church inEngland and moved to the United States. He earned abachelor's degree in Political Science, amaster's degree in Geography, and aPhD in Ancient Scriptures, all from BYU. His doctoral dissertation wasA Plainer Translation: Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible – A History and Commentary.[2]
Matthews and his wife, Shirley Neves, were the parents of four children: Camille, Daniel, Robert, and Tricia.[3]
Matthews died inProvo, Utah, after an extended hospitalization for complications followingopen heart surgery.[4]
Matthews began teaching in theChurch Educational System (CES), as aseminary teacher in Soda Springs, Idaho, in 1955. He also taughtinstitute classes in Southern California at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the direction ofPaul H. Dunn, and was a course writer and editor with the seminaries and institutes division of CES.
In 1968, Matthews received a PhD in Ancient Scriptures from BYU. He began teaching in the Division of Religious Education at BYU in 1971. He served as dean of Religion Education at BYU for eight and a half years and then was a professor and department chair of the Ancient Scripture Department until his retirement, in 1992.
Matthews has the distinction of being the first person from the LDS Church to be allowed by the Community of Christ to work with the original manuscript of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, which was in its possession. He was a principal collaborator involved in compiling theEncyclopedia of Mormonism and authored articles on theBook of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
From 1946 to 1948, Matthews was aMormon missionary in California.[5] Hismission president wasOscar W. McConkie, father ofBruce R. McConkie.
In the 1970s, Matthews served on the Church Adult Correlation Committee. Earlier, he had served as abishop,high councilor andstake president. In the mid-1990s, Matthews was the firstpresident of theMount Timpanogos Utah Temple. At the time of his death, he was serving as astake patriarch.
Matthews was the chief editor of the LDS Church's 1979Bible Dictionary, which is printed together with the church's Englishedition of the King James Bible.[6]
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