Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson is a PhD student at the University of Missouri studying early American history. His research interests focus on two fields, Latter-day Saint history and early American abolitionism. He received his MA from Rutgers University Camden and his BA from Brigham Young University. He has published in The Journal of Mormon History, The New American Antiquarian, The Journal of American Nineteenth Century History, and The Journal of Pennsylvania History. He has also worked in various Latter-day Saint historical institutions as a volunteer or employee, including The Mormon Places Project, the Wilford Woodruff Papers, and The Church History Department.

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“Go to Brigham Young and he shall tell thee what to do to be saved:” Marcus Holling’s Story

by Robert Swanson | 04-15-2025

Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal this small note for 22 July 1866. I…attended meeting at the Tabernacle Bowery…[in the] Afternoon Elder Hollings in English + German told how he was Brought into the Church He was a Episcopalien Minister + was commanded of the Lord to go to Brigham Young to know what to […]

The Anomaly: Elliott West’s Continental Reckoning and its Latter-day Saints

by Robert Swanson | undefined 62 | 08-02-2024

Review of Elliott West, Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2023). 704 pages, $39.95 (hardcover). Abstract: This review explores how Latter-day Saints are portrayed in a new landmark history of the American West. Noting the author’s generally accurate portrayal of the Saints, this review focuses on […]

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All journal publications and video presentations are available for free by digital download and streaming. The price of hard copy versions of journal articles covers only the cost of printing; books are typically priced to help cover both upfront pre—publication expenses and royalties to authors when applicable. In some cases, the Foundation may subsidize publication costs to keep retail prices affordable.