“I note one thing about time. The first twenty years seem lengthy, real, substantial, paced for looking ahead and slow, waiting, growing, all kinds of not yets. And then a swirl of events, and a week was gone like a day, and a year like a week. And suddenly it seems dream-telescoping of the residue of years.” The Truman G. Madsen Story, p. 442
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
13 December 1926
Born to Axel A. and Emily Grant Madsen
6 February 1927
Given name and father’s blessing by Axel A. Madsen (“AAM”)
31 July 1929
Death of mother, Emily Grant Madsen
October 1929
Stock Market crash, beginning of Great Depression
1929-1934
Lived with Aunt Dessie and Uncle Ashby Boyle
5-6 January 1935
Baptized in Salt Lake Temple font and confirmed by father AAM
Fall 1935
Returned to live with his father and two brothers
18 December 1938
Ordained deacon by father AAM
21 December 1941
Ordained teacher by father AAM
6 May 1943
Received patriarchal blessing from Winslow Farr Smith
16 April 1944
Ordained priest by father AAM
1939-45
World War II (because of back problems, classified “4F,” drove trucks as a civilian for Ninth Service Command from Ft. Douglas motor pool)
1942
Premier of movie “Random Harvest”
1944
Graduated from East High School, Salt Lake City
14 May 1945
Death of grandfather, Heber J. Grant
3-20 June 1946
17 days in Salt Lake City Jail for multiple moving violations
23 June 1946
Ordained elder by C. Clarence Neslen
27 June 1946
Received endowment, Salt Lake Temple
July 1946
Set apart as full-time missionary by Joseph Fielding Smith (great-grandson of Hyrum Smith) to serve in New England Mission
3 July 1946
Boarded train from Salt Lake City to Boston
July 1946-August 1948
Missionary, New England Mission
July-August 1947
Served on Prince Edward Island (without purse or scrip)
1947
District President, Nova Scotia
1950-51
2nd counselor, Ensign Stake Genealogical Committee (attended Salt Lake Temple every Friday)
1950-53
Korean War
1951
Graduated from University of Utah
3 May 1951
Date of rejection letter from Harvard PhD program
1951
Applied for Rhodes Scholarship; not selected
Mid 1951
The Ethics of William James (masters thesis)
29 October 1951
Death of brother, Grant Wells Madsen (killed in action in Korea)
1952
F.S.C. Schiller Philosophical Essay Prize, University of Southern California
1952-53
Mudd Fellowship in Philosophy, University of Southern California
15 June 1953
Date of letter admitting TGM to Harvard philosophy PhD program
16 June 1953
Married to Ann Nicholls Madsen, Salt Lake Temple, by David O. McKay
1953-57
Executive Assistant, Temple Square (summers)
1956-57
2nd counselor, Atlantic District Presidency
8 November 1954
Daughter Emily Ann born
1955
Teaching Assistant, Harvard University, Philosophy
3 September 1956
Death of father-in-law, Barnard Johnson Nicholls
4 November 1956
Son Barnard Nicholls born
Fall 1957
Began teaching at Brigham Young University
11 May 1958
Daughter Melinda born
1958
Faculty award ?
1960
Received PhD from Harvard University
1960-62
Bishop, BYU 11th Ward
1959-62
Editorial Board, BYU Studies
1961
The Heritage of Heber J. Grant (pamphlet; Grant Reunion, Lion House)
1960-75
1960-75 – Vietnam War
15 September 1962
Set apart as president of the New England Mission by David O. McKay
1962-65
President, New England Mission
June 1963
“Whence Cometh Man?” (first article in a series published in “The Instructor” magazine; became first chapter in Eternal Man)
1963
President Kennedy assassinated
1964
“Fables on Foibles,” for This Time of Your Life (New England Youth Conference)
1966
Eternal Man published
1966
Honors Professor of the Year, BYU
1966
Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Award
1966-75
Director, Institute of Mormon Studies, BYU
June 1967
Led first tour to Holy Land (Six-Day War)
1967
Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Teacher Award, BYU
20 July 1969
Apollo 11 mission lands first man on the moon
1969-70
Sabbatical in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts
1969 early
Visiting Professor, Northeastern University in Boston
1969 mid
Mormon History Association Award
1971 early
Four Essays on Love published
1971 mid
“The Sacramental Life” (BYU James E. Talmage Lecture)
12 October 1971
“Power from Abrahamic Tests (BYU Devotional)
5 March 1972
“House of Glory” (BYU 10-Stake Fireside)
1972
Outstanding Educator’s Award
1972-79
Vice-Chairman, Adult Committee, Sunday School General Board
1972-92
Richard L. Evans Endowed Chair of Religious Understanding, BYU
28 July 1973
“Freedom to Become” (Oakland Interstate Center fireside)
1972-73
“The Intimate Touch of Prayer” (Know Your Religion Series, California; published in Ensign, January 1976)
1973 early
“I Am the Life” (BYU Education Week devotional)
1973 summer
“Conscience and Consciousness” (Address prepared for the Commissioner’s Lecture Series, CES, delivered at the LDS Institutes of Religion at Weber State College, Ricks College, and the Church College of Hawaii)
1973-79
Chairman, Public Programs Committee, National Endowment for the Humanities
3 March 1974
“The Highest In Us” (10-Stake Fireside at BYU)
1974-76
Visiting Professor, Graduate Theological Union, University of California, Berkeley
10-11 March 1978
Reflections on Mormonism: Judaeo-Christian Parallels (BYU Religious Studies Center Symposium) published 1978
Summer 1978
Built family cabin, “Jedediah’s,” at Brighton, Utah
27 June 1978
broke ground
August 1978
“Joseph Smith tapes” recorded at BYU Campus Education Week
1980
Defender of the Faith: The B.H. Roberts Story published
Summer 1980
Visiting Professor, University of Haifa, Israel
1 September 1985-1 September 1988
Fellow in the David M. Kennedy Center
10 September 1986
Death of father, Axel Angus Madsen
1987-89
Taught Jewish philosophy and New Testament at Jerusalem Center
25 September 1988
Death of mother-in-law, Berenice Larsen Nicholls
1990-1993
Director, BYU Jerusalem Center of Near Eastern Studies
1994
Retired, became emeritus professor at BYU
26 December 1995
Death of stepmother, Edna Skinner Madsen
Thanksgiving 2002
Diagnosed with cancer
2002
Revelation, Reason, and Faith (Essays in Honor of TGM) published
27 October 2004-28 May 2009
Patriarch, Provo, Utah Sharon East Stake
April-May 2008
Last trip to Holy Land
May 2008
Diagnosed with bone cancer
28 May 2009
Death
2 June 2009
Funeral Provo Tabernacle, burial in Heber J. Grant family plot, Salt Lake City Cemetery
March 2010
“The Eternal Christ” published (8-hr DVD series on the life of the Savior)
September 2010
“On Sacred Ground” (8-hr DVD series on the Prophet Joseph Smith)
2012
“Truman G. Madsen Collection” CDs
2013
Eternal Man republished as paperback; e-books of published works available on Deseret Bookshelf
2014
“Ultimate Questions” DVD
2015
Sacramental Reflections: Feasting at the Lord’s Table – paperback
2016
The Truman G. Madsen Story: A Life of Study and Faith published
TGM SUMMARY BY HIMSELF
Crucial Dates, Places, Events
History
My name is Truman Grant Madsen. I was named after Truman 0. Angell, architect of the Salt Lake Temple, and Grant after my maternal grandfather, Heber J. Grant.
I was born in the LDS hospital on December 13,1926, premature by nearly two months. Mother kept a blue baby book of my early days.
My father, Axel A. Madsen, was born in Salem, Fremont, Idaho on 5 March, 1893. My mother, Emily Grant was born in Salt Lake City, 5 June 1896. They were married 17 October 1923.
My older brother, Grant Wells, was born in Salt Lake City, 10 September, 1924. My younger brother, Gordon Axel, was bom in Salt Lake City, 3 July, 1928.
I attended Wasatch, Ensign, Bryant Jr., East High, University of Utah, University of Southern California, and Harvard.
Church Ordinances
Blessed 6 February 1927 by my father,
Baptized 5 January 1935 by my father, Confirmed 6 January 1935 by my father
Deacon 18 December 1938
Teacher 21 December 1941
Patriarchal Blessing 6 May 1943, Winslow Farr Smith.
Priest 16 April 1944, all three by my father.
Elder 23 June 1946 (one week before my mission) by C. Clarence Neslen
Endowed, Salt Lake Temple, 3 July 1946 [or 27 Jun 46?].
I was marred June 16,1953 in the Salt Lake Temple to Ann Nicholls Madsen by
President David 0. McKay
Our Family
Emily Madsen 8 November 1954
Barnard Madsen 4 November 1956
Melinda Madsen 11 May 1959 [1958]
Graduated from East High Seminary 1944.
Graduated from U of U Institute in 1951
Church Callings
Choir Member Ensign Ward 1940-46.
Set apart for New England Mission 6 July 1946 by Joseph Fielding Smith.
Missionary to New England, June [July], 1946 to September 1948.
District President, Nova Scotia District, fall 1947-April 1948.
Chorister, Ensign Ward MIA, 1948-9
SS Teacher, 16 year olds, Ensign Ward, 1948
Counselor in the SS Superintendency of the Ensign Ward, 1948
Elders Quorum Teacher, Ensign Ward, 1949
2nd Counselor Ensign Stake Genealogical Committee, with Lynn A. McKinlay and Bertram H. Stokes, 1950.
Seminary Teacher, Jackson Jr. (8th Ward) 1948-51
Seminary Teacher Arlington Ward, Inglewood Stake, Los Angeles, 1951.
Teacher 15 year olds; (Teachers) Adams Ward, Los Angeles, 1952
Teacher Special Interest Class, Adams Ward MIA, 1952.
Executive Assistant on Temple Square under Richard L. Evans and Marion D. Hanks, summers, 1953-57.
Teacher Investigator’s Class (Cambridge) 1955-56.
Teacher and M-Men Leader, Cambridge Branch MIA 1953-4.
2nd Counselor in the Atlantic District Presidency, 1956. President Wiliam N. Jones. 1st Counselor, C. Monroe Hart.
Chairman Edgemont Third Ward Building Fund, 1958.
Sunday School Teacher, Edgemont Third Ward, 1959.
Teacher Elders Quorum Edgemont Third Ward, Provo, 1958-1960
Ordained a High Priest and Bishop 3 May 1960 by Harold B. Lee
Bishop BYU 11th Ward 1960-62.
Set apart for New England Mission Presidency 15 September 1962 by President David O. McKay.
Mission President, New England, 1962-65
Institute Teacher, Cambridge Institute, while Mission President, 1962-5.
Church Curriculum (Manual) Committee, 1958-9 [1968-69]
Teacher, Gospel Essentials Class, Weston Ward, 1969.
General Board of the Sunday School 1972-79. Set apart by
Counselor in Israel District Presidency 1988. President Peter Hoag.
Teacher 15 year olds, PI View Ist Ward, 1989
Teacher 17 Year olds, PI View Ist Ward, 1990
Teacher, High Priests Quorum, Dale Taylor President, PI View Ist Ward 1990-1991
Set Apart as Director of the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and as first Counselor in the Israel District Presidency, May 21, 1991 by Howard W. Hunter. President first second Dr. Richard Hebertson and 2nd Counselor
Released, June 1993.
Teacher, Gospel Doctrine Class, PI View First Ward, 1993-4.
President BYU 5th Stake, 1955-2000. [1995-2000]
Since Graduation
8 years in Boston as missionary, as grad student, then as Mission President, then on Sabbatical.
Visiting Professor at Northeastern University, (1969)
Graduate Theological Union, (1972,3,4) and
Haifa University (1979-80)
Richard L. Evans Endowed Chair at B.Y.U. (1972-1992)
TRUMAN G. MADSEN OUTLINE VITA, 1994
Recent Positions
Richard L. Evans Endowed Professor, Brigham Young University, 1973-93 Director, Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, Jerusalem, 1991-93 Professor of Philosophy, Brigham Young University.
Education
B.S. M.S. University of Utah in History of Philosophy, 1950,51.
Graduate Study in philosophy at University of Southern California, 1951-2.
A.M. Ph.D. Harvard University, History and Philosophy of Religion, 1957,1960.
Distinctions
Winner Mudd Fellowship in Philosophy, University of Southern California
F.C.S. Schiller Philosophical Essay Prize, 1952.
Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Teacher, B.Y.U. 1969
Outstanding Educator, 1972.
Winner Mormon History Association Award, 1969
Richard L. Evans Endowed Professor, 1973 to 1993
Kennedy Center Research Fellow, 1987-8
Resident Scholar, Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, 1989.
Guest Professorships
Northeastern University, Boston Mass., Department of Philosophy, 1969-70 Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California (Commuting), 1973,74,75. Haifa University, 1979-80.
Administrative
Vice Chairman, Public Programs Committee, National Endowment for the
Humanities, Washington D. C.,1973-79 Director Institute of Mormon Studies Director, Judeo-Christian Studies Center
Director, Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, Jerusalem 1991-1993. Advisory Committee, Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Church Administration
Executive Assistant, Temple Square Visitor’s Center, 1953-7
Counselor, Atlantic District Presidency, (Boston, Massachusetts) 1957-8
Bishop, BYU 11th Ward, 1960-62
President, New England Mission, (Boston, Massachusetts) 1962-65
LDS Sunday School General Board, 1972-79
Counselor, Israel District Presidency 1987-9,1992,1993.
Editorial
Guest Editor, BYU Studies, six years (Annual Historical Issue)
Editorial Board, BYU Studies, three years.
Editor/Contributor/Participant in six published Symposia
Reflections on Mormonism, 1978 includes Robert Bellah, David Winston,
Abraham Kaplan, Jacob Milgrom, W. D. Davies, Krister Stendahl,
Ernst W. Benz, Edmond D. Lab. Cherbonnier, Jane and John Dillenberger.
Temple in Antiquity, 1984 includes Mitchell Dahood, Frank Moore Cross, Jr.
Carol Meyers, Shaye J. D. Cohen, George MacRae, John Lundquist,
Hugh W. Nibley. Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless. (An anthology). Deity and Death, includes Sami A.Hanna, EdwardT. Jones, Seiji Katanuma,
Laurence G. Thompson Mormons and Muslims, includes Mahmoud Ayoub, Frederick M. Denny, Haji
Alamsjah Ratu Perwiranegara, Umar F. Abd-Allah. Religion and Law, includes Moshe Greenberg, Izhak Englard, Shalom Paul, Moshe Wcinfeld, Ze’ev Falk, Delbert Hillers, Mahmoud
Ayoud, Bernard Jackson, George Mendenhall, E. P. Sanders. The Search for Human Nature, Essays by Abraham Kaplan,
David Noel Freedman, R. J. Zvi Werblowsky, Archimandrite Dionyssios,
- Don Sorenson, James H. Charlesworth, Richard Mathes, and DavidFlusser.
Contributing Editor Encylopedia of Mormonism, five volumes, Macmillan and
Company, New York, 1992. Judge, David O. McKay Essays The Restoration of the Gospel and Applied Christianity., three years.
Main Books
Eternal Man,
Christ and the Inner Life,
Four Essays on Love,
The Highest In Us,
Joseph Smith the Prophet,
Defender of the Faith, Biography of B.H. Roberts,
Jesus of Nazareth,
The Radiant Life
Judaism and Mormonism (Forthcoming)
Sponsored three Symposia at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.
Jesus-Hillel (with James H. Charlesworth), 1992 to be published by Fortress Press, Philadelphia. Includes Charlesworth, Flusser, Segal, Sievers, Safrai, Aune, Lichtenberger, Fiensy, Dunn, Levine, Herr, Schwartz, Gnadt, Beker, Mueller, Stroumsa, Viviano, Lowe, Weinfeld.
Cultures and Clash of Cultures, co-sponsored with Multicultural Forum, Buber Institute, Hebrew University, 1992
The Search for Human Nature 1993, includes Abraham Kaplan, Archimandrite Dionyssios, Richard Mathes, David Noel Freedman, James H. Charlesworth, R. J. Zvi Werblowsky, David Flusser, A. Don Sorenson, Truman G. Madsen.
Taught Jewish Philosophy and New Testament at the Jerusalem Center,1987- 89,93.
Served on the B.Y.U. Jerusalem Center Academic Coordinating Committee and Committee on the Learning Center.
Memberships
American Philosophical Association
Society for Biblical Literature
American Association of Religion
Society for Scientific Study of Religion
Phi Kappa Phi
Religion Adviser, Boston Broadcaster’s Association
International Platform Association
Advisory Council, Redd Chair for Western History
Values and Behavioral Science Center
Asian Religions Center
Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature ICCI (Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel), Jerusalem. Multicultural Forum, Buber Institute, Hebrew University Rainbow Group, Jerusalem, Israel.
Distinctions in the Mormon Understanding of Death and Dying
The Mormon Attitude Toward Zionism, Faculty Lecture, Haifa University
Putting on the Names, Essays in Honor of Hugh Nibley, 1990.
B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon, in Authorship of the Book of Mormon,
- Reynolds, Editor, 1982 Atonement in the Book of Mormon I Nephi, Monograph Series
— Journal 95, Box 9