Jan Shipps

Jan Shipps, one of the foremost non-Mormon scholars of Mormonism, is the author of "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition" and a senior editor of "The Journals of William McLellin, 1831-1836," the earliest extended account of the Mormon experience. A professor emeritus of religious studies and history at Indiana University-Purdue University, Shipps was the first non-Mormon (and first woman) elected president of the Mormon History Association. Her articles about the Latter-day Saints have been published in a variety of academic and popular journals, and she speaks frequently about Mormonism to both Mormon and non-Mormon audiences. Her book "Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons," from the University of Illinois Press, reflects a lifetime of study and observation of one of the most dynamic faith communities in America today.