Author D. Michael Quinn Presents Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library Lecture

The Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library Spring Lecture will feature D. Michael Quinn discussing his book The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power. The lecture will be presented Thursday, March 1, at 7 p.m., in Merrill-Cazier Library Room 101.

Early in the 20th century, Latter-day Saints could have lifelong associations with businesses managed by their leaders or owned by the church itself. One could purchase engagement rings from Daynes Jewelry, honeymoon at the Hotel Utah, and venture off on the Union Pacific Railroad, all partially owned and run by church apostles. The apostles had a long history of community involvement in financial enterprises to the benefit of the general membership and themselves.

In The Mormon Hierarchy: Wealth and Corporate Power, author Quinn relates years of research into LDS financial dominance from 1830 to 2010.   

A California-native, Quinn served in U.S. military Intelligence for three years, then joined the research writing staff of Church Historian Leonard J. Arrington before attending Yale University for his Ph.D. After 12 years of professorship at BYU, he became an independent scholar, whose last academic position was in Yale's Department of History.

His works include Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth Century Americans: A Mormon Example, and The Mormon Hierarchy series. His books have received awards from the American Historical Association, the John Whitmer Historical Association and the Mormon History Association.

The Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library is an organization whose goal is to create awareness of library resources, facilities and personnel; enrich library resources; and sponsor outreach activities. More information about the Friends organization and the Merrill-Cazier Library are available at https://library.usu.edu/.

Contact: Trina Shelton, trina.shelton@usu.edu