Matthew B. Brown was a Latter-day Saint (Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

) author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and historian

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 study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 whose emphasis was on the history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and doctrine

Doctrine

Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...

 of Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...

 and his successors through Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

.

Biographical background

Brown was born in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 and lived in Alabama, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, and Utah. He served as a full-time missionary

Missionary (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Spokane

Spokane

Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...

, Washington. After working in the field of elevator construction, maintenance, and repair he earned a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in History from Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 and began to work as a book writer and manuscript evaluator.

Brown passed away October 5, 2011, after suffering heart failure and a subsequent coma. He was survived by his wife, Jamie.

Publishing, lectures, and research

Brown authored several non-fiction books, as well as a few research-based articles for the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies and the FARMS Review -- both of which are publications of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies is an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. The group is formally part of the Neal A...

 (FARMS) within the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 in Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

. He acted as the compiler and editor of the journal for the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research from January to September 2010 and began acting in the same capacities for the EXPOUND newsletter beginning in January 2011 (expoundlds.com).

Brown gave lectures for the Joseph Smith Jr. Family Organization, the BYU Mormon Media symposium, the BYU Studies 50th anniversary conference, the Students of the Ancient Near East association at BYU, the religion faculty at the University of Utah's LDS Institute, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, and the annual EXPOUND symposium (expoundlds.com).

Brown's research interests included early Mormon history, doctrinal issues of the LDS Church, architectural and iconic symbolism and also the initiation rituals of the ancient Hebrews, the Early Christians, Medieval monks, and Medieval kings.

Books

• Symbols in Stone: Symbolism on the Early Temples of the Restoration (1997 - Covenant Communications)
• The Gate of Heaven: Insights on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (1999 - Covenant Communications)
• All Things Restored: Evidences and Witnesses of the Restoration (2000 - Covenant Communications)
• The Plan of Salvation: Doctrinal Notes and Commentary (2002 - Covenant Communications)
• Plates of Gold: The Book of Mormon Comes Forth (2003 - Covenant Communications)
• Joseph Smith: The Man, The Mission, The Message (2004 - Covenant Communications)
• Receiving Gifts of the Spirit (2005 - Covenant Communications)
• Prophecies: Signs of the Times, Second Coming, Millennium (2006 - Covenant Communications)
• A Pillar of Light: The History and Message of the First Vision (2009 - Covenant Communications)
• Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons (2009 - Covenant Communications)

Book notices

• Pillar of Light, FARMS Review

http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=22&num=1&id=800

• Joseph Smith, BYU Magazine

http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1691

• Plates of Gold, BYU Magazine (also mentions Symbols, Gate, and Plan)

http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=2175

• All Things Restored, BYU Magazine

http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=560

DVD

• Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons - provided images, conducted interviews, credited as a producer (2009 - Covenant Communications / Mirror Films)

Interviews

• "Mormons, Masons and Myths," Mormon Times (19 May 2010)

http://mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/books/?id=14976

• Provo, Utah Daily Herald article, “Life and People” section (Saturday, 31 October 2009)

http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/article_4b03ad32-f513-53bd-80c8-449bc4a52aef.html

• KSL newsradio, Salt Lake City, Utah (Sunday, 25 October 2009)

http://pandora.bonnint.net/audio/people_of_faith.rss

External links

• Books by Matthew B. Brown listed at DeseretBook.com
• Video of 2004 FAIR Conference address: Historical or Hysterical? Anti-Mormons and Documentary Sources