Stretching the Heavens - by Terryl L Givens

About the Book

"Eugene England (1933-2001)--one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals in the history of modern Mormonism--abided in the crossfire between religious tradition and reform. This first serious biography, by leading historian Terryl Givens, shimmers with the personal tensions felt deeply by England during the turmoil of the late twentieth century. Drawing on unprecedented access to England's personal papers, Givens paints the multifaceted portrait of a devout Latter-day Saint believer whose precarious position on the edge of church hierarchy was instrumental to his ability to shape the study of modern Mormonism as powerfully as he did"--

Book Synopsis

Eugene England (1933-2001)--one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals in modern Mormonism--lived in the crossfire between religious tradition and reform. This first serious biography, by leading historian Terryl L. Givens, shimmers with the personal tensions felt deeply by England during the turmoil of the late twentieth century. Drawing on unprecedented access to England's personal papers, Givens paints a multifaceted portrait of a devout Latter-day Saint whose precarious position on the edge of church hierarchy was instrumental to his ability to shape the study of modern Mormonism.

A professor of literature at Brigham Young University, England also taught in the Church Educational System. And yet from the sixties on, he set church leaders' teeth on edge as he protested the Vietnam War, decried institutional racism and sexism, and supported Poland's Solidarity movement--all at a time when Latter-day Saints were ultra-patriotic and banned Black ordination. England could also be intemperate, proud of his own rectitude, and neglectful of political realities and relationships, and he was eventually forced from his academic position. His last days, as he suffered from brain cancer, were marked by a spiritual agony that church leaders were unable to help him resolve.

Review Quotes

"A moving portrait of Eugene England's charismatic public persona and the internal striving soul that produced it. . . . [This biography] provides readers a more comprehensive understanding of England as a person who is at once bright and energetic, as well as peculiar and conflicted, caught in the crossfire of an equally peculiar cultural moment in a conflicted religious history."--Mormon Studies Review

"[Stretching the Heavens] comes alive in its penetrating detail. . . . This is a remarkable biography."--BYU Studies Quarterly

"[A] carefully written biography . . . [that] paints an honest portrait of an important figure in the founding of Mormon studies." --CHOICE

"A powerful exploration of how England maintained, on the one hand, devout loyalty to and genuine belief in the institutional church and, on the other hand, an indefatigable commitment to investigation and autonomy."--Benjamin Park, By Common Consent

"Provides[s] insight into late-twentieth century Mormonism."--Journal of Mormon History

"Revealing, detailed . . . a solid biography that will illuminate key trends and moments in LDS history for scholars and general readers alike."--Publishers Weekly

"Stretching the Heavens pays tribute to a remarkable scholar and writer, and to a new openness on the part of the institutional church and its culture. It's an important contribution in understanding the environment in which the church and its members continue to operate and introduces a powerful voice to new generations of aspiring scholars and members at a dynamic time in the church's history."--Association for Mormon Letters

"This book is more than a mere biography, but an introduction to important debates within the Mormon tradition. . . . [Givens' work] is relevant for anyone dealing with the Morman tradition, but it might also be enriching for anyone interested more generally in the transformational processes all religious traditions had (and still have) to go through in the last two centuries."--New Mexico Historical Review