THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Linda King Newell
January 16, 1941 – February 12, 2023
“When I said I was interested in co-authoring a biography of Emma Hale Smith, no one laughed, and for that I have been forever grateful….This journey has literally changed my life in so many ways.” – Linda King Newell, Desert News, 2016
Historian, author, feminist scholar in Mormon history. Co-author, “Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith,” 1984; biography of first wife of Joseph Smith, providing insight into the beginnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the practice of polygamy from a woman’s perspective. Co-editor, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 1982-1987. Series editor, University of Utah Press. Development director, Utah Humanities Council. Director of special projects, Deep Springs College, California. President, Mormon History Association, 1996-1997. Founding member, Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah. President of Utah PEO Chapter A. Established Zion Canyon Mesa, an artist and writer retreat near Zion National Park. Bachelor of Arts, Southern Utah State University, art and speech education, 1961.
More About Linda:
- Obituary, New York Times
- Linda King Newell speaks with her husband L. Jackson “Jack” Newell about her life growing up, her college experiences, and their life together. October 22, 2022, StoryCorps
- Zion Canyon Mesa website
- Linda King Newell (1941-2023), Dialogue Journal
- Reflections from Within: A Conversation with Linda King Newell and L. Jackson Newell
- Panel: Discussion on Mormon Enigma 25 Years Later
- E141: “You Will Not Talk about that Woman in My Church”: How We Wrote “Mormon Enigma.”
- Linda King Newell papers, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
- Linda King Newell, Wikipedia