Yesterday I learned that John A. Tvedtnes passed away on 3 June. He was 77 years of age.
John was a highly respected LDS scholar and apologist, and author of numerous books and articles, including The Most Correct Book: Insights from a Book of Mormon Scholar (1999), which was one of the first pro-LDS books I read while still investigating the Church. For a comprehensive listing of John's publication, see this page on his excellent Book of Mormon Research Website.
I know that he was working on a few other volumes, including Joseph Smith and the Ancient World and As Far as it is Translated Correctly. I do hope and pray these and other volumes will see the light of day as they will be valuable contributions to LDS studies.
Fortunately, many of his books can be read for free online at Book of Mormon Central.
I never met John, but I did communicate with him here and there. He did graciously answer questions I had about the Church and the Book of Mormon while I was investigating the Church, and was always kind and gracious to me. His work on the Ancient Near Eastern background of the Book of Mormon got me interested in Old Testament studies, and I greatly respected him as a scholar (some want to be the next Nibley, some the next Dan Peterson, for me, I wanted to be the next John Tvedtnes [no offense, Dan, you are cool, too . . . ]). I do regret never having met him in person just to thank him for the positive influence his scholarship played in my own studies.
As some know, I am well known in some LDS circles as being an Open Theist. I remember John telling me once in an email he did not think that the future is "fixed" in God's foreknowledge, and that created a "Eureka" moment for me after studying prophecy and the nature thereof that an Open Theistic approach to prophecy was the best model (I am not suggesting Tvedtnes was an Open Theist, [I honestly do not know if he was] just that his note turned on a lightbulb for me). Just thought I would share that.
Rest in peace, John, and enjoy your well-deserved eternal reward. I do look forward to having an opportunity to nerd it up with you about theology and related fields in the hereafter! You will be greatly missed by everyone in the LDS scholarly and apologetic community, and even among critics who respected you (e.g., D. Michael Quinn).
