Rate My Professor Grant Underwood

Grant Underwood is a Professor of History at Brigham Young University, specializing in religious history and Mormon history, with particular focus on the periods 1800-1914 and 1914-present in North America. He earned his BA and MA degrees in history from Brigham Young University and his PhD in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a prominent historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Underwood has dedicated his career to exploring early Mormonism, millenarian influences, and Latter-day Saint theology within broader Christian contexts. His research illuminates the intellectual and religious currents shaping Mormon origins and development, contributing significantly to the field of Mormon studies through rigorous historical analysis.

Underwood previously held the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University, fostering interfaith dialogue and understanding. His key publications include The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism (University of Illinois Press, 1993), which examines the central role of millennial thought in early Mormon beliefs and practices. He edited Voyages of Faith: Explorations in Mormon Pacific History (2000), detailing missionary efforts and cultural encounters. His most recent work, Latter-day Saint Theology Among Christian Theologies (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2025), synthesizes decades of scholarship to position Latter-day Saint doctrines alongside evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox perspectives. Underwood has also authored numerous scholarly articles, such as 'Revelation, Text, and Revision: Insight from the Joseph Smith Papers' and 'Saved or Damned: Tracing a Persistent Protestantism in Early Mormon Thought' in BYU Studies Quarterly, as well as contributions to the Religious Studies Center. He teaches from his office in the Joseph F. Smith Building (2163 JFSB) and maintains an active presence in academic discourse on religious history.