In Memoriam: Hugh Winder Nibley - Sunstone

SUNSTONE

IN MEMORIAM the housing office. From this point until the
end of his life, he became an iconic fixture on
HUGH WINDER NIBLEY the Provo campus.

By Kevin L. Barney T HE story of Hugh’s contributions to
Mormon thought is told mainly
How are the mighty fallen! more than a bedroll, a canteen, and a bag of through his publications.2 The list
—2 SAMUEL 1:19 wheat and raisins. Except for an occasional runs to more than 250 items, and many were
ranger, he did not encounter another human serial articles, which, if counted individually,
H UGH NIBLEY, DEAN of modern being the whole time. He did encounter would push the number much higher. Many
Mormon scriptural studies, passed cougars, bears, and wolves, but he never felt publications from early in his career, though
away 24 February 2005, just shy of in danger. He did recount hearing one ranger always infused with his Mormon sensibilities
his ninety-fifth birthday. During his long and say to another when they met Hugh, “You and usually with at least tangential Mormon
productive life, he attained the stature of know, I wouldn’t sleep in there [the woods relevance, were not on specifically LDS sub-
Mormonism’s pantheon of intellectual giants where Hugh had been sleeping] for a hun- jects. These include “New Light on Scaliger”
such as Orson Pratt, B.H. Roberts, James dred dollars.” On his way back to Medford to (published before his entrance to World War
Talmage, and John Widtsoe. Yet, remarkably, catch the bus to California, the canvas and II) and “Sparsiones,” in the Classical Journal;
he did so without ever holding any high ec- crepe soles of Hugh’s shoes finally gave out, “The Hierocentric State,” “The Unsolved
clesiastical office. His scholarship, his and he walked the last forty miles barefoot. Loyalty Problem,” and “Tenting, Toll, and
writing, his teaching, his speaking, and, Taxing,” in Western Political Quarterly;
above all, the exemplary force of his remark- From 1927 through 1929, he served an “Victoriosa Loquacitas: The Rise of Rhetoric
able life were the sources of his considerable LDS mission to Germany (visiting Greece and the Decline of Everything Else,”3 in
authority among Latter-day Saints. Legions of and Italy on the way home), sometimes Western Speech; “Christian Envy of the
Nibleyophiloi, spanning three and four gener- sleeping under trees and subsisting by Temple,” in Jewish Quarterly Review; “The
ations worldwide, count Hugh as someone sucking on kernels of wheat he kept in his Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an
who “blew their minds” and opened to them suit pocket. An undergraduate degree in his- Unpopular Theme,” in Church History;
new ways of understanding the scriptures tory from UCLA in 1934 (summa cum laude) “Qumran and the Companions of the Cave,”
and other spiritual matters. was followed by a Ph.D. in ancient history in Revue de Qumran; “Evangelium Quadraginta
from Berkeley in 1938. Hugh wrote his dis- Dierum,” in Vigiliae Christianae; and
Hugh was the ultimate embodiment of sertation, The Roman Games as a Survival of “Jerusalem: In Christianity,” in Encyclopedia
Sunstone’s motto (borrowed from St. an Archaic Year Cult, during a six-week Judaica. If Hugh’s aim had been worldly aca-
Anselm), fides quaerens intellectum—”faith marathon, surviving on wilted carrots he demic success, he could have simply kept
seeking understanding.” Indeed, Hugh was a purchased for a penny a bunch and canned rolling out titles like these.
friend to the independent scholarly commu- milk for which he paid eight cents a can.
nity at times when it was not popular to be Hugh then taught for several years at the But simply piling up academic publica-
so—but then popular convention was just Claremont Colleges, in Claremont, tions was too easy, too pedestrian, and too
about the last consideration ever to influence California. In 1942, he enlisted in the army, meaningless for Hugh. As he recalled:
his thinking. where he received training first in weather
observation and then in military intelligence. I sent out articles to a wide variety
Hugh was born on 27 March 1910, in On D-Day, Hugh was among the first to drive of prestigious journals and they
Portland, Oregon, to Alexander “El” and a jeep onto Utah Beach. were all printed. So I lost interest;
Agnes “Sloanie” Nibley, the second of their what those people were after is not
six children.1 In 1926, the family moved to Following his return to the States, Hugh what I was after. Above all, I could
Glendale, California. worked briefly at The Improvement Era in see no point to going on through
1946 before John Widtsoe recommended the years marshalling an ever-
An early indication of Hugh’s indepen- him for a position at BYU. There he became lengthening array of titles to stand
dent spirit and love of nature was the six an assistant professor of history and religion at attention someday at the foot of
weeks he spent by himself camping in the and also met his soon-to-be wife, Phyllis, in an obituary. That is what they were
Crater Lake wilderness of Oregon with little all working for, and they were wel-
come to it.4
Hugh was interested not in intellectual
pedantry but in matters of ultimate religious
significance. So he directed most of his
writing not to the academic marketplace, but
to the Saints themselves, both as a consecra-
tion of his talents to the Church he so loved,
and also perhaps because plowing new
ground in LDS scripture was a far greater
challenge (not to mention more interesting
and just plain fun) than joining the ever-
growing ranks of the scholarly orthodox.
Anyone with a little knowledge of Greek and
Hebrew could call himself a Bible scholar,
but to turn the Book of Mormon into a fertile

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and flowering field of academic study ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE NIBLEY FAMILYyear (1966–67) of advanced study of
in its own right required the rarefied Egyptian under John A. Wilson and
genius that few in this world possess. studies fun and interesting, something that Klaus Bauer at University of Chicago’s
not long before had seemed impossible.6 Oriental Institute. From January 1968
Hugh’s initial foray into directly through May 1970, Hugh published a
apologetic material came in the wake Hugh’s influence was also significant in lengthy serial in the Improvement Era
of Fawn Brodie’s 1945 biography of studies of the Book of Abraham. When a por- called “A New Look at the Pearl of
Joseph Smith, No Man Knows My tion of the Joseph Smith Papyri was recov- Great Price.” These articles began with
History, with his cleverly titled 1946 re- ered from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a review of the 1912 Spalding pam-
joinder, No Ma’am, That’s Not History: A November 1967, most LDS scholars were phlet (an indirect attack on the Book of
Brief Review of Mrs. Brodie’s Reluctant limited to writing about the history of the pa- Mormon in the form of a direct attack
Vindication of a Prophet She Seeks to pyri, for they lacked the tools necessary to on the Facsimiles and their published
Expose. Like much of Hugh’s work, study the papyri directly. Hugh no doubt was interpretations). Hugh then continued
from half a century’s remove, this is a not as prepared as he would have liked to with a study of Facsimile 1 from the
very dated effort that has been super- have been, and he never considered himself Book of Abraham. He also published a
seded by more mature Mormon histor- an Egyptologist per se (he was always more a dozen or so additional articles on Book
ical scholarship. Indeed, I would not generalist in ancient history). But he had pre- of Abraham topics, many in the pages
claim that LDS history was ever one of viously studied both Egyptian and Coptic (a of BYU Studies. In 1975, he published
Hugh’s particular strengths, at least Christian-era form of the Egyptian language) The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri:
judged by today’s standards. But for and had recently returned from a sabbatical An Egyptian Endowment, a translation of
many in the Church, this book was and commentary on the Book of
their first introduction to Hugh’s Breathings. (In the not too distant fu-
grounded faith as expressed by means ture, this book will be reissued by
of his rapier wit. Pity the poor soul FARMS as part of the Collected Works
who found himself engaged in a battle of Hugh Nibley series). He then pub-
of wits with Hugh! Although Hugh lished Abraham in Egypt (1981), which
wrote a few other generally apologetic is largely devoted to comparing the
pieces, such as The Mythmakers (1961) Book of Abraham with other ancient
and Sounding Brass (1963), most of his Abraham texts and to studying
work was focused on the peculiar Facsimile 3. His final contribution to
scriptures of Mormonism. Book of Abraham studies will be One
Eternal Round, a study of the Joseph
Hugh’s greatest achievement therein Smith Hypocephalus (Facsimile 2), to
is probably his work on the Book of be published posthumously by
Mormon. In the first half of the twen- FARMS.
tieth century, interest in and study of
the Book of Mormon had waned and His published writings are so exten-
was demonstrably at an all-time low.5 sive that it is impossible to do them
Almost single-handedly, Hugh changed even minimal justice in so brief a sum-
that with a number of lengthy mary. Other topics he treated include
Improvement Era serials, which were temples, the Old Testament, the early
later published in book form, resulting Church, patristics, and Brigham Young.
in a trilogy of sorts. First was Lehi in the A publication remarkable for where it
Desert, followed by The World of the appeared as much as for its content is
Jaredites (which were combined as a his long serial, “A Strange Thing in the
single book). Second came An Land: The Return of the Book of Enoch,”
Approach to the Book of Mormon, which be- which was published in the Ensign and surely
came the 1957 Melchizedek Priesthood will be the first, last, and only such long,
Study Guide, a somewhat controversial heavily footnoted serial ever to appear in that
choice since it was written at a level clearly publication.
over the heads of most Church members. Those not interested in his scriptural writ-
(President McKay personally authorized its ings could investigate yet another class of his
use as a guide, reasoning that the Saints speaking and writing that consists of vig-
could “reach for it.”) The third contribution orous social commentary (especially directed
to this trilogy was Since Cumorah (my per- against contemporary Mormon culture),
sonal favorite). which for some readers is his most com-
pelling work. Hugh was a rare combination:
In his approach, Hugh followed in the a faithful Mormon, unquestionably loyal to
footsteps of Sidney B. Sperry, studying the the Church and its leading brethren, but he
Book of Mormon as any other text from an- was also a liberal, a Democrat, an environ-
tiquity. But he did so with prodigious schol- mentalist, a pacifist, and an anti-materialist.
arly tools, linguistic control, depth, rigor, Because of his unquestioned loyalty, he could
outright flair, and his omnipresent sense of
humor. He actually made Book of Mormon

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get away with trenchant social commentary ally cut their Nibley teeth on Lehi in the imitate Hugh’s writing style. To grow as a
that others could not. In this respect, he Desert and the World of the Jaredites, I did not scholar, I found that I had to abandon that
wrote and spoke much like a prophet of obtain that book until inheriting my father’s conceit and find my own voice. I can always
Israel, calling the people to repentance from copy following his death in 1980. tell when a young Mormon has been over-in-
a position of great moral authority. fluenced by Hugh and tries to write like him.
Unfortunately, his preaching along these Reading Hugh naturally led me to the His was a great style, but one that is inim-
lines has had only a modest influence among material in his footnotes, much of which itable by anyone lacking his fundamental ge-
the Mormon hoi polloi, but I count myself was, of course, written by non-LDS authors. nius, a class into which most of us fall.
among those who have been positively influ- So I began to purchase and read key schol-
enced by his social and cultural critiques. For arly texts. (I do not recall whether we mis- I was also favorably impressed with
the reader unfamiliar with this aspect of sionaries at that time were supposed to limit Hugh’s control of languages and saw what a
Hugh’s writing, I highly recommend the our reading to a list of certain semi-official difference it made when I compared his work
Approaching Zion volume of the Collected Mormon texts, but if we were, I conveniently with that of writers who commented on texts
Works series as an excellent entree. ignored that rule.) Before long, I was schlep- they could not read in the original tongues.
ping a whole trunk of books during trans- As a result, while on my mission, I began to
L IKE most Saints, I encountered Hugh fers. teach myself bits and pieces of Hebrew and
not up close and personal, but mostly Greek, using such tools as I had at my dis-
from afar. My first introduction to him Although I am a little embarrassed to ac- posal, such as a Berlitz Hebrew reader, a
was in early 1978, while on my mission in knowledge this, while still on my mission, I Strong’s Concordance, and a Jehovah’s
Colorado. Many missionaries there had de- wrote several research papers on different Witnesses interlinear.
veloped a fascination with the Dead Sea tractates of the Nag Hammadi Codices. I
Scrolls, a fascination my training companion typed them up on an old typewriter we had When I got to BYU, I started in economics
imparted to me by osmosis. Once, when vis- in one area. They were awful, partly because but ended up majoring in classics, studying
iting a member family, I noticed the cover of I was still so young and lacking formal edu- Latin and Greek, and also Hebrew and
a book that had a picture of what I instantly cation, but partly, too, because I was trying to Coptic (though never the full array of lan-
recognized as a scroll jar. It turned out to be guages Hugh controlled). True, I ended up in
Since Cumorah. law school, but studying ancient languages is
a decision I have never regretted, and the ex-
I recognized the name “Nibley,” because perience has been a blessing and a joy to me
as a boy, I had read a children’s book written to this day. Most of my teachers had been
by Preston Nibley, an Assistant Church Hugh’s students, and most of my friends had
Historian and Hugh’s uncle. I dimly recall my been similarly influenced to study the an-
father’s telling me how much he respected cient world because of their exposure to
Preston’s relative named Hugh. That com- Hugh and his writings.
ment had meant nothing to me until that
moment visiting the member family with I never took a class from Hugh (competi-
Since Cumorah, when I first encountered this tion to get into his classes was fierce), but if
“Hugh.” My member acquaintance lent me he gave a lecture while I was on the Provo
the book, and I quickly devoured it. It was campus—boom, I was there!
unlike any Church literature I had ever en-
countered, and it piqued my interest in the T HE following are just a few anecdotes
Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was about my personal encounters with
always one of Hugh’s favorite books, but it the man:
had never been one of mine, and to this day,
it still really is not. (I am the perhaps rare • I used to study in the Ancient Studies
Latter-day Saint who much prefers the Bible Reading room on the fourth floor of the Lee
to the Book of Mormon.) The extent of my library at BYU, just on the other side of the
enjoyment and appreciation of the Book of wall from the Ancient Studies office. Hugh
Mormon is largely due to Hugh’s own infec- had a secretary, but he usually typed his own
tious enthusiasm for it as imparted through papers on an IBM selectric in the office. I
his writings. would regularly hear a steady stream of mild
epithets coming from the other side of the
I was off to the races. While still on my wall as he tried to get the typewriter to bend
mission, I obtained several of Hugh’s books to his will. I got quite a kick out of the idea of
and taped lectures, including An Approach to Hugh’s typing some spiritual paper on the
the Book of Mormon and Message of the Joseph temple while cursing a modestly blue streak
Smith Papyri, which I bought on sale from a at his typewriter.
Seventies bookstore not really knowing what
it was, but just because it looked interesting. • When I was studying classics, for a pe-
I even read the thing, which makes me one of riod of time, a group of us would gather to
only about twelve people in the Church to study in a stairwell not far from the Ancient
actually do so (I exaggerate only slightly). Studies office. One time, Hugh shuffled up
Although Saints of an older generation usu- the stairs while we were reading Latin poetry.
He asked what we were reading. We replied,

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“Catullus.” He got a far-off look in his eye • FARMS is currently engaged in a long- M Y personal stories about Hugh are
and a smirk on his face, then gave out a little term project to publish virtually every word not particularly important nor
laugh, and said, “Ahhh, Catullus.” Hugh ever wrote. I confess that, except for meaningful to anyone but myself.
Approaching Zion, I do not own any of the And there are undoubtably many thousands
I realize this story is funny only if you FARMS Nibley volumes, mainly because I al- of Saints who have similarly personal but
have ever read any Catullus, but suffice it to ready have most of the stuff in the original meaningful-to-them stories of interactions,
say that were his poetry not written in Latin, editions. Some may question the wisdom of small and great, in print or in person, with this
the BYU administration would never allow it reprinting it all, and there are probably remarkable man. That so many people trea-
on campus! things in his corpus that Hugh would just as sure even small interactions with Hugh is a
soon not see the light of day again. But I can testament to his tremendous influence in the
• Another time, Eta Sigma Phi, the classics fully understand and sympathize with the Church. Perhaps Hugh’s greatest legacy is the
honor society, went into the mountains for a sentiment, for when I was at BYU, before Al battalion of scholars and students following in
picnic, and Hugh came along. He was always Gore invented the Internet, we used to trade his footsteps. Among these are the hundreds
a great supporter to those of us studying clas- and collect Nibley writings on what was of scholars who participate in the Foundation
sics. I hadn’t known then about his prodi- called the Mormon Underground. And, of for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies,
gious love for the outdoors, but I learned course, like boys trading baseball cards, we which in some sense is a club for
from that trip how much he relished being in wanted them all. I remember in one instance Nibleyophiles—a club to which I am happy
nature. He was really in his element, hiking being particularly pleased to acquire an un- and proud to belong. The wonderful Sunstone
around, picking up sticks, examining things, published treatment of the three Facsimiles, Symposium roast of Hugh in 2003, which he
and no one bugging him. That was probably which someone had acquired from the office was unfortunately unable to attend due to ill-
as happy as I ever saw him. files by uncertain means. (I knew enough not ness, is another indication of the breadth of his
to ask too many questions but simply to influence in the Mormon community.
• At a conference attended by a number enjoy the fruits of these labors.)
of prestigious non-LDS scholars, Hugh was Hugh is survived by his wife Phyllis, their
to give the keynote address in the auditorium children: Paul, Christina, Thomas, Michael,
of the old Joseph Smith Building. Truman Alexander, Rebecca, Martha, and Zina;
Madsen introduced Hugh and waxed rhap- twenty-four grandchildren; and two great-
sodic about Hugh’s many remarkable intel- grandchildren. On behalf of the Sunstone
lectual abilities. Included in his litany was community, I extend deepest condolences to
Hugh’s being able to recite extensively from the Nibley family. We join them not only in
Ovid in Greek. Another speaker might have mourning his loss but also in celebrating his
let it go, but not Hugh. As soon as he reached life and influence, which will be felt for gen-
the podium, he remarked, almost under his erations yet to come.
breath, that “reciting Ovid in Greek would be
quite a trick!” He did not bother to explain, NOTES
assuming that most of his audience would
know that Ovid actually wrote in Latin. 1. In birth order, the Alexander and Agnes
Nibley children are: Alexander, Hugh, Fred, Philip
• On another occasion, I went to hear (who died at age 14), Reid, and Barbara. Reid and
Hugh lecture at the Smith Family Living Barbara both survive Hugh. The various biographical
Center. Later that same evening, Hugh’s details in this essay derive from Boyd Jay Petersen,
brother Reid was giving a piano recital across Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life (Salt Lake City: Greg
campus, and at the conclusion of his re- Kofford Books, 2002).
marks, Hugh hopefully suggested that the
audience should rise en masse and troop over 2. Bibliographical details in this essay derive
to the recital, which was obviously what from Louis Midgley, comp., “Hugh Winder Nibley:
Hugh wished to do. Alas, it was not to be. Bibliography and Register,” in John M. Lundquist and
After the speech, as was typical, Hugh was Stephen D. Ricks, eds., By Study and Also by Faith:
quickly surrounded by a gaggle of Saints, Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, vol. 1 (Salt Lake
asking him innumerable questions. I am em- City: Deseret and FARMS, 1990), xv–lxxxvii.
barrassed now to admit that I was one of
them, and this was the one time I actually 3. This essay was deeply ironic in that Hugh was
asked him a question. I asked Hugh what he himself a master rhetorician.
thought of Archbishop Usher’s biblical
chronology. He took just a moment to gain 4. Hugh W. Nibley, “An Intellectual
his bearings, then responded that Bishop Autobiography,” in Nibley on the Timely and the
Usher was a good man who did the best he Timeless: Classic Essays of Hugh Nibley (Provo: BYU
could with limited information. I thought it Religious Studies Center, 1978), xxv.
was a great answer, I suppose because it ac-
corded with my own opinion. But in retro- 5. See Noel B. Reynolds, “The Coming Forth of
spect, I really wish we had gotten Hugh to the Book of Mormon in the Twentieth Century,.” BYU
that piano recital. Studies 38, no. 2 (1999): 6–47.

6. For an appreciation of Hugh’s Book of
Mormon studies, see John W. Welch, “Hugh Nibley
and the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, April 1985,
50–56.

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IN MEMORIAM Turkish-occupied Palestine, had learned the
history of the Middle East from storytelling
REMEMBERING HUGH NIBLEY sessions around the fire.

TO TREASURE thusiasm kept our attention glued to his dis- W HEN I was about nineteen, I ex-
course. pressed an interest in joining the
THE SACRED LDS church. (Perhaps I wanted
Hugh enjoyed practicing his Arabic with to fit in with the dominant culture.) Hugh
MY FIRST MEMORY of Hugh Nibley me and my brothers. We spoke a colloquial grilled me on central doctrinal questions in
is thinking as a child, “How could Palestinian village dialect, while he spoke Mormonism, and I quickly failed this oral
anyone be so white?” He was the formal classical Arabic, so we exchanged new exam. He did not exhibit any missionary zeal
first white man I had ever met. He looked as words and different pronunciations. When I about the possibility of my conversion but
if he had never been exposed to direct sun- was in junior high school, my father told me to take my time, think about it, and
light. He shaded his head with a wide- arranged for Hugh to come to our house one learn a few basic facts about Christianity first.
brimmed cotton hat and wore two pair of night a week with his small blackboard and So I learned more, studied, and a few years
glasses at a time—sunglasses over his regular chalk to teach four of us Kader boys to read later, I did join the Church.
prescription lenses. and write Arabic. We were miserable failures
in language studies, but he kept our atten- In 1963, Hugh arranged for my admis-
My parents were Palestinian-Arab immi- tion. It was interesting enough to have a sion to BYU. He literally took me by the
grants who raised eight children in Provo, strange white man speak Arabic with us, but hand, walked me to the admissions office,
Utah. We lived on a farm less than a mile Hugh also offered a new story or historic fact and told the women at the counter, “Admit
from the mouth of Rock Canyon. My father for every name, letter, noun, and verb form. this boy.” They gave me forms to fill out on
had worked his way by railroad across the spot, and a week later, I went back to
America peddling housewares and rugs, ulti- My parents thought Hugh was some form learn from the admissions staffer, “We are ad-
mately reaching Utah before the outbreak of of sacred personality, so we naturally thought mitting you because Brother Nibley has
World War I. He joined the U.S. Army, lost so, too. He treated us as if we were won- asked us to.” So there I was among the
his hearing in the war, and came back to derful, interesting artifacts from a lost age. Mormons: a Muslim, a Palestinian-Arab, and
Utah a disabled veteran. His war service and My dad had long discussions with Hugh a native of Provo, Utah, who was active in the
disability earned him a homestead, where he about biblical history, the Quran, the Book of Democratic Party of Utah.
built a fruit farm, eventually brought my Mormon, and prophets, both ancient and
mother [from where?], and tried to integrate modern. Hugh treated Dad with patience When I started school, I didn’t know
all of us kids into Mormon/Utah society. and respect, partly because Dad was deaf anyone on campus, so I spent time with
from the war, but also because he was a de- Hugh in his office being tutored and men-
My parents remained devout Muslims vout Muslim who had memorized the tored. I signed up for his religion class de-
throughout their lives, praying five times a Quran. They shared the idea that all religions signed for non-Christian students. We
day at our home or while working in the are interesting and sacred. referred to the class as “Book of Mormon for
fields near where the Provo LDS temple cur- Heathens.” He taught us LDS doctrine in the
rently stands. From their earliest days in Hugh visited Palestine around 1962, at context of other world religions, taking great
Utah, Hugh took an interest in my parents, the same time Dad took us all home to try to care to make sure we all had a source of com-
visiting them and learning about our culture. marry us off to our cousins. (Our parents parison from our various religions to similar
He even mentioned them in a footnote in his worried that we might marry Mormons and doctrines in Mormonism. Everything he
book, Lehi in the Desert and the World of the leave the Muslim faith—which actually hap- taught made me want to know more. His lec-
Jaredites. pened in a couple of cases). Hugh later told tures always left me wondering why I was
me about a tour he and Dad took to the wasting so much time when there was so
I must have been seven or eight when I Qumran caves. One could write a very funny much to learn. He was compassionate, em-
first met him in 1950 or ‘51. He drove a book comparing Dad’s point of view and pathetic, and always curious. He was devout
group of us kids, including some of his own, Hugh’s interpretation of the caves and scrolls. in his convictions, loyal to Church leaders
to Deer Creek Dam. We stopped at a scenic Hugh discussed the historic significance of and the doctrine, but always questioning and
turnout while he explained the environ- the material found in the caves, while Dad searching for answers. His interest in ancient
mental attributes of the layers that could be described the meaning of it all from the per- forms of worship and the lessons we could
seen on a receding reservoir. I did not have a spective of a person who, as a child in learn from them tidbit by tidbit, artifact by
clue what he was talking about, but his en- artifact, taught us to read sacred texts with
care.

F ROM childhood to maturity, I viewed
Hugh as a member of our family. He
spoke at my brother’s, and later my
dad’s, funeral, and we would often consult
him on family problems. When I left my
teaching post at BYU to move to Washington,
D.C., he gave a farewell speech which in-
cluded a lengthy historical analysis of the

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roots of my surname from biblical ment, and he expressed them publicly and sionate. He remained a defender
times to the present, and then often. He was not a fair-weather Democrat, of those who struggle for a liveli-
taught about all the peoples who either. During one of the U.S. Senate cam- hood as well as those who struggle
had lived in Palestine from the be- paigns, he volunteered to go knocking on with their faith, or lack of it, or for
ginning of time. He concluded doors in Provo with senatorial candidate Ted a better grasp of their purpose in
that the blood of all who had ever Wilson, the former mayor of Salt Lake City, this existence. He urged me to al-
lived in Palestine coursed through and Robert Redford, the movie star. The ways remember that the human
my veins. My friends in the local three of them went trudging the neighbor- soul is capable of being small and
chapter of Utah County hoods of Provo drumming up votes for petty, but that it can also expand
Democrats who had come to the Wilson. Hugh knew and supported Wilson, to such heights that it can conquer
farewell dinner to bid me and my but we had to explain to him who Robert any challenge imaginable.
wife goodbye, ended up listening Redford was.
to a serious discourse on ancient Hugh was a Christian in the
history and my connection to it I CHERISH the time I spent with Hugh most fundamental way, a compas-
for well over an hour. Nibley because he challenged me to sionate man who ignored material
think about important things, to treasure things and gave very generously of
On my trips back to Utah, I al- the sacred, and to always work to be compas- his time and intellect. He was
ways visited Hugh, who would never impressed with worldly or
start every conversation as if I had Church leaders as leaders but in-
just visited the day before. He stead measured them by a scale
would dive right into his current whose values connected to the an-
research, explaining in detail his cient truths which motivated his
new findings. I would always try interests. All in all, he preferred to
to pay attention, though my eyes make his way among the common
would often glaze over in wonder- folk. The world is a better place
ment at this marvelous man’s un- because of Hugh Nibley, and we
ending enthusiasm for the are all enriched for having had his
mysteries of ancient history and influence in our lives.
their connection to our lives
today. OMAR KADER
Vienna, Virginia
M Y fondest memory of
Hugh is of working LEADING THE
with him to publish a PROCESSION
series of articles on Brigham
Young’s views about war and pre- G ORDON THOMASSON,
serving the environment in the one of Hugh Nibley’s
BYU Young Democrat, a newsletter brightest students and
for our campus organization. The one who shares at least a part of
articles were printed in 1970, Hugh’s vast intellectual curiosity,
during the height of the furor over reports that Hugh really enjoyed
the Vietnam War, and much to the only one of the many introduc-
chagrin of the BYU administra- tions he was given during the
tors, whose job it was to keep years of his distinguished career.
even the scent of war protests out That was when the master of cere-
of campus life. I was president of the Young monies at some BYU event introduced Hugh
Democrats, and, because Hugh was one of by simply quoting a note pinned to the bul-
us, it didn’t even occur to me that anything letin board of the Honors library: “Hugh
we did or thought was politically radical. All Nibley Reads Graffiti.” Hugh Nibley recog-
publications had to be submitted for ap- nized that, as Simon and Garfunkel note,
proval by school officials, and many in the words of wisdom are written on the subway
administration tried to block ours. However, walls and tenement halls, as well as on an-
they could not easily censor the commentary cient plates and scrolls. He seemed to have
of the renowned Hugh Nibley. When Hugh read everything. Why not graffiti?
contributed his articles, I always enjoyed Hugh Nibley was one of the most pow-
watching the faces of certain administrators erful figures of the modern church, a larger-
turn red when they realized how anti-war than-life character who wielded enormous
Hugh’s articles were. influence. When I took his Pearl of Great
Price course at BYU in the late ‘50s, he was
Hugh was not only a compassionate already a legend and a folk figure of real and
Christian, he was also a courageous and de- imagined dimensions. Mythology, both that
vout Mormon. He had strong opinions about which he studied and that which he created,
war, wealth, and preserving the environ-

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seemed to follow him much like the dust that questions, many of them uncomfortable mous: no rank, no recognition, no
swirls around Pigpen, the character in the ones. He also provided answers—informa- anything. While I have been com-
Charlie Brown comics (an allusion that tive, comprehensive, sometimes entertaining, mended for some things, they were
would not have been lost on Nibley!). and often filled with footnotes! Nibley knew never the things which I consid-
so much that he saw correspondences every- ered most important—that was en-
Hugh was devoted to BYU, yet he re- where. Although some have criticized his use tirely a little understanding
mained its most astute and outspoken critic. of parallels, what few have recognized is how between me and my Heavenly
His essay “Zeal without Knowledge” is to my particularly apt many of his parallel argu- Father, which I have thoroughly
mind the best indictment of what sometimes ments are. If he had a tendency to see too enjoyed, though no one else knows
passes for intellectual inquiry not only at many parallels, he knew so much about so anything about it.
BYU but at many universities. “True knowl- many things that it was difficult for him not
edge never shuts the door on more knowl- to draw our attention to those he considered H UGH was able to remain a noncon-
edge, but zeal often does.” “The University is relevant. And, it is safe to say, it is doubtful formist in a very conformist church
nothing more nor less than a place to show that any of his contemporaries, certainly not while also remaining one of its most
off.” Hyperbole to be sure, but Nibley’s hy- any of his Mormon contemporaries, knew or faithful members. This, I believe for three
perbolic statements always had a kernel of knows enough to challenge Nibley on most reasons: (1) his vast knowledge intimidated
truth and were carefully crafted and calcu- subjects. It reminds me of those who criti- everyone; (2) he did not value the things that
lated to get our attention. cized the great Harvard Shakespearean most people value (money, prestige, position,
scholar, George Lyman Kittridge, for not get- and power); and (3) his devotion was second
Nibley’s observations about the lack of in-
tellectual curiosity among BYU students and ting a doctorate. He responded, “Pray, who to none. Truman
the shallowness of would examine me?” Madsen speaks of
knowledge among Hugh’s “colossal erudi-
some of his colleagues When I was editing the now-famous tion” and his “breath-
were revealed to me Dialogue issue on Mormonism’s “Negro taking assurances of
some forty years ago. Problem,” which included Lester Bush’s land- faith.” That is, Nibley
While students at mark study on the history of this doctrine, was just as comfortable
BYU, some friends Hugh was one of three people I asked to re- going to the temple as
and I organized a spond. Of all of the things he had to say, he was to the library,
study group called the none impressed me as much as the fol- and went to both often.
Saturday Morning lowing: In fact, he saw them as
Intellectual Breakfast inextricably connected,
Club. The only accu- I have always been furiously active as his writing on the
rate part of the name in the Church, but I have also been temple over his lifetime
was that we met on a non-conformist and have never attests. And unlike
Saturday mornings held any office of rank in anything; some of us who go to
and had breakfast to- I have undertaken many assign- the temple, he stayed
gether. It was our ments given me by the leaders, and awake and paid atten-
custom to invite pro- much of the work has been anony- tion. He once re-
fessors to join us for marked that he learned
breakfast in the cafe- something new every
teria of the Joseph time he went to the
Smith building so that temple. He may be the
we could “pick their only one who could
brains.” The morning make that statement.
we invited Hugh, it Hugh has had his critics over the years,
was quickly evident to him (and more slowly but unlike most of them, he was his own best
to us) that none of us had enough brains to critic. He knew enough to know what he
pick his. I remember distinctly Hugh’s re- didn’t know, and he knew enough of his own
sponse to one question: limitations to put caveats with his own con-
clusions.
“Exactly how many languages do you In his satire on the Christian view of
know, Brother Nibley?” heaven, “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to
Heaven,” Mark Twain avers that those who
“Just the necessary ones.” rank highest in heaven are not the world’s lu-
“Which ones are those?” minaries but the humble and unheralded.
“Just the ones you need to know to get Those leading the procession are the unex-
along.” pected—”a common tailor from Tennessee,”
After a few more such inane questions, “a horse doctor from Afghanistan,” and “a
Hugh said, rather kindly and charitably, “You shoemaker . . . from the back settlements of
have to know what questions to ask. By France.” I imagine among this procession of
asking the right questions, you can immedi- heaven’s highest, a peripatetic, gadfly scholar
ately find out how little any member of this
faculty knows.”
All of his life, Hugh Nibley asked the right

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of ancient studies from Provo, where he would have been sitting at the holism had been acquired over
Utah. He will be ambling along, a 2003 Sunstone Roast), but thirty years of years of reading him in The
stack of note cards in hand, reading his books has made a continuing im- Improvement Era.
scarcely noticing that he is being pression on me, for which I am very grateful.
ushered into the presence of the I sensed that his drive to sur-
Lord. As he looks up in surprise, I KEVIN CHRISTENSEN prise us with things as they “really
can’t imagine anyone for whom it Bethel Park, Pennsylvania are” came from his ironic knowl-
will be easier for the Savior to say, edge that this world at its best is
“Well done, thou good and faithful HEARING NIBLEY stale and unprofitable—which can
servant. Enter into my rest.” only be said if we have a prior
A T BYU CIRCA 1968, the best enter- knowledge (albeit veiled) of a
ROBERT A. REES tainment (a mixture of exhilarating world that is lively and fruitful. He
Brookdale, California originality, challenging questions, always seemed to point hopefully
and faithful peacefulness) was to be found in to the healing resurrection and rec-
A CONTINUING the almost weekly firesides that one could onciliation which Christ had
IMPRESSION crash to hear Hugh Nibley. My taste for his brought us and to which Joseph
irony, humor, criticism, and interconnecting Smith’s revelations and the
W HILE I WAS on my Restoration were the best witness.
mission in England in In sum, he believed in a better
1975, a member of country where we could all live as
the Kendall branch lent me his sons and daughters of God doing
worn copy of Hugh Nibley’s An creative things forever.
Approach to the Book of Mormon.
On my next P-day, I took it to the Nibley’s particular delight in
bath with me, deciding to browse putting intellectuals in the same
the chapters at random to see if boat as any working person was
there was anything interesting. refreshing. He taught me to enjoy
serious study the way I enjoyed
I came across the chapter on skiing or a good play: to take it no
“Old World Ritual in the New more or less seriously than other
World,” which compared King good things in life. He also per-
Benjamin’s discourse with ancient suaded me that the best things in
coronation rituals. About a year life have, in many respects, al-
before, an investigator had chal- ready been done (the City of
lenged me on the text, saying that Enoch being exhibit A) and that
it seemed unreal and unbelievable human history was not designed
that everyone would make the so much as continual progress as a
covenant, that everyone would cry continual test of faith, hope, and
out in one voice. Surely, he rea- love. The veil made sure each gen-
soned, not everyone would have eration had to deal with a test of
gone along with it. uncertainty about what mattered
most. Whether in 4000 B.C or
At the time, I did not have an 2000 A.D., one still had to choose
answer, and so filed the question whom to trust and which way to
away on my back burner. But here go. The end would be a knowing
in this chapter was the answer! with God and others wherein call-
King Benjamin’s discourse was a ritual occa- ings and elections were made sure. In a uni-
sion, and all knew their parts. So of course versal drama, the final act of this play would
everyone cried out in one voice and made the reveal first, that persons were immortal after
covenant. Every chapter had something all and, second, that they would actually
mind-expanding and showed me how much enjoy wonderful expanding friendships for-
more we can get out of a text if we bring ever as members of God’s family.
more to it. And I learned that if I gave my In conviction that Hugh Nibley was right
questions time and kept my eyes open, an- about much, I vowed at age twenty-four to
swers would be forthcoming. live a life that was not spoiled by too much
seeking for security. I wanted to study things
When I got home from my mission, I out, discover a few new things, and report on
started chasing down books, then magazine them. I also wanted to enjoy the beauty and
articles, then journal articles in the libraries, variety of the world and people as a foretaste
finally exhausting those outlets just about the of better things to come. I owe much to
same time FARMS started up and more trea- hearing Nibley.
sure came to light.
CHARLES RANDALL PAUL
I never met Brother Nibley himself Highland, Utah
(though I was seated at the table next to

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IN MEMORIAM He died slowly, but the best of him died
last. Hugh Nibley, the writer, died several
FUNERAL TRIBUTES months ago when his hands could no longer
type or hold a pencil more than a few min-
utes. Hugh Nibley, the speaker, died when
his voice became too weak to speak above a
whisper. And his ego—that vanity he fought
so long—finally died when frailty left him
completely dependent on others for every
function of life.

And what was left? Pure love.

MICHAEL NIBLEY (Son)

The following are excerpts from remarks given stamatic camera and was going to ask some W HEN I was in college, in an attempt to
at Hugh’s funeral, held in the Provo Tabernacle, of my friends to take my picture. My dad keep up family tradition, I took some
2 March 2005. grabbed it out of my hands and said, “Let courses in Latin, ancient Greek, and Old
me take your picture.” I was a little taken English. One result of this was that, over the
ZINA NIBLEY PETERSEN (Daughter) aback—not that he wanted to take my pic- last twenty years as I’ve made my home on
ture because I was still kind of cute in those the East Coast, my father and I have commu-
I N graduate school, I had a friend tell me, days, but because I was, after all, “clothed in nicated (in Christmas and birthday cards)
“We Christians all believe in life after this the robes of the false priesthood.” But he largely in the form of quotations from various
life, but you Mormons are the only ones I was actually very eager to take my picture. classics of world literature. A few years ago, I
know packing for the trip.” Daddy had a very He took many shots, and I tried my best to suppose he was feeling the effects of aging,
well-packed bag. Having spent his life so look intellectual, and scholarly, and sexy at and he sent me a rather gloomy quotation
deeply entrenched in the Western world of the same time (excuse me, general authori- from Homer (in the original Greek, of
effort and accomplishment, having worked ties). And we had quite a bonding experi- course) about growing old. I considered how
and worked and worked for so many years, ence between father and daughter. I’ll never to reply to this, and the answer came clear as
he spent his last two or so unlearning to forget; it was wonderful. Well, afterwards I a bell, not something in Greek or Latin but in
work, or learning to unwork, learning the far had to get back to California, so I went the English of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. In
more Eastern mysteries of being instead of home and changed my clothes and dashed Chaucer’s immortal Canterbury Tales, a char-
doing, of effortlessness and nonresistance, of off to the Photomat to get my film devel- acter called the Wife of Bath tells the story of
receiving his own helplessness with a grace oped. That was when I first discovered that her life, and at the end of it, looking back,
and a patience that I had never seen in him he had forgotten to take the lens cap off the she says this:
when I was growing up. It was strange these camera. So I have no pictures of that special
last months to think that this smiling, occasion, but I have memories—and oh But, Lord Christ! When that it
peaceful, non-fidgeting little man with the what memories! remembreth me
calm, pleasantly resigned expression, was the
same guy who had been so driven when I ALEX NIBLEY (Son) Upon my youth, and on my jollity,
was a kid. It tickleth me clear down to my
I KNOW many of you are here today to
REBECCA NIBLEY (Daughter) mourn the passing of a great intellectual. I heart’s root.
am not. Because to me, Hugh Nibley, my fa- Unto this day it does my heart
I T was a beautiful spring day, not unlike ther, was not primarily a man of intellect.
this one, the spring of 1987. I was re- Humility is knowing the limits of one’s own such good
ceiving a master’s degree from BYU. . . . ego, and Dad knew his. I was talking to him [To know] that I have had my
When I told my dad I was on my way up to once about his grandfather, who had
commencement, he said, “Well, let me grab achieved great wealth and held high posi- world in my time.
my hat,” and off he went with me. I said, tions in the church and must have had a I thought then, and I think even more
“Dad, are you sure you want to come sit great drive to succeed. But Dad couldn’t today, that of few human beings could it be
through this? It’s going to be long; it’s going identify with that. “Ambition was never my more truly said than of Hugh Nibley, my fa-
to be boring.” And he said, “I wouldn’t miss it weakness,” he told me, “it was vanity.” ther, that he had his world in his time. And
for the world.” not just that he had his world, but that he
He was well aware of his own vanity and had so much of it. His life was long; his life
So we went up together, and indeed it fought it constantly. The rumpled hat and was productive. He spent his time doing
was long and tedious. Afterwards, we went baggy pants were his own version of the what he loved to do, and he was at the center
out on the lawn where I was mingling with monk’s cassock, not a sign that he didn’t care of a loving community of family and friends.
friends and people were taking pictures with but that he knew the danger of caring too
family and friends. I had brought a little in- much. THOMAS NIBLEY (Son)

W E have met here today to honor Hugh
Nibley. If we would do him true
honor, we would look past him to Him
whom he honored. And we would take it
into our hearts and into our minds to bear
testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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CHRISTINA NIBLEY MINCEK symbols, while containing no magic in them- Though the forest was his first love,
(Daughter) selves, are a powerful way to communicate he loved the desert also, and spent a lot
when words are not effective. The symbols in of time wandering in the national parks
I N our family, as soon as the children the coffin are very personal to me and to- and monuments of Utah. The design of
were old enough to walk, we began gether express my feelings for my father and the coffin is inspired by a desert culture
to be taken on outings into the Utah our relationship in a way that I cannot ex- which he loved. The shape and decora-
wilderness. Dad loved to be outdoors, press in words. tion are borrowed from a linen chest
and on most of his explorations of found in an Egyptian tomb. The con-
mountains and deserts, he took two or When Hugh was a teenager, he worked in struction and joinery were invented in
three, sometimes four, of the children his grandfather’s lumber company in the Egypt and, remembering his Jewish
along with him. forests of northern California. He loved the heritage in which metals are forbidden
forest and spent much of his life wandering in the grave, do not depend on metal
When I was three or four years old, the mountains to enjoy the beauty of nature. fastenings.
I got to go along as his sole traveling He often took me with him. The primary
companion on an overnight trip to woods in the coffin are Douglas fir, redwood, The secondary woods are tropical.
Capitol Reef National Monument. It and pine—the trees he cut down as a The dark brown rings that support the
was an adventure for me, and I always teenager and then defended as an environ- carry poles are shedua, a tree that
felt safe with my storytelling daddy. But mentalist. grows on the edge of the Sahara desert.
although I don’t remember the entire The red molding under the cornice is
trip, I do remember waking up in my purple heart, from Central America,
sleeping bag at the base of a huge, and recalls his war experiences and his
bowl-shaped sandstone valley and strong anti-war feelings, which run like
being very frightened when I looked at a thin red line though all his writings
the sleeping bag next to me and found and talks. These exotic woods reflect
it empty. My father wasn’t there. But as the exotic qualities in a man who tried
I scrambled out of my own bag, before hard to be the common man but in
I had a chance to cry out, Dad came ways that made him all the more rare
barreling down a steep, sandstone and precious.
slope behind me and swooped me up
over his shoulders to take me back up JOHN WELCH (Friend)
with him to see the view below.
I HAVE laughed and wept as I have
Years later I came across a black and prepared this final exam. . . .
white photograph of a magnificent Speaking in behalf of all of you who
desert scene with a natural arch sloping have ever taken a Nibley class, at-
into a smooth desert floor and the tended a Nibley fireside, checked a
horizon in the background. There was Nibley footnote, or have been changed
a tiny dot in the middle of that desert by reading his gifted prose, I simply
floor. On the back of the photo, Dad say, “Thank you Hugh,” with a special
had written the date, and under it, the mention to Phyllis. If we were to
words, “Christina at Capitol Reef.” render all the thanks and praise that
our souls have power to possess, yet
I was the dot in the middle of the would our thanks be inadequate. Hugh
desert. My father had left me sleeping was a true friend to many, a model
there so he could try to capture the mentor. He was generous and inspira-
beauty of the scenery and get a picture tional in the extreme. To paraphrase Brigham
of his four-year-old at the same time. Young, I feel like shouting hallelujah when I
think that I was so fortunate to ever know
This was an early lesson for me on how he Hugh Nibley.
put the universe in context. The fact that his
child was an unrecognizable speck in the FIRST PRESIDENCY LETTER
midst of all that splendid nature did not di- TO PHYLLIS NIBLEY
minish my importance to him. To Dad, the
fact that I was a part of it—that he was and (Read by Elder Jeffrey Holland)
we all are a part of it—demonstrated the per-
fect balance of nature, mankind, and the di- T HE Lord has said, “Thou shalt live to-
vine. gether in love, insomuch that thou shalt
weep for the loss of them that die. Those that
PAUL NIBLEY (Son) die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall
be sweet unto them” (D&C 42:46). Such has
M Y tribute and final gift to my father is been the experience of your husband as he
the coffin in which he now lies (see returned home to a loving Heavenly Father.
photo, page 20). My gift to him is symbolic There he is happily united with loved ones
of the many gifts that he gave me through his
personality and example. He taught me that

MAY 2005 PAGE 19

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PHOTO COURTESY, PAUL NIBLEY

COFFIN BUILT BY PAUL NIBLEY USING WOODS AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES THAT SYMBOLIZE ASPECTS OF HIS FATHER’S LIFE

who preceded him in death and will await humble indifference to appearance and other
the opportunity to once again be with you worldly things. He sometimes came to class
and others left behind. Although there is no with trousers and coat that did not match,
substitute for the love of a dear husband, we and he often wore the two-buckle combat
pray you will be blessed with peace and com- boots that were standard issue to the foot sol-
fort at this tender time of parting and in the diers of World War II, then recently con-
years ahead. With love and kind regards, cluded. As I came to know him better in later
Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, years, I realized that he was the epitome of
James E. Faust the Book of Mormon teaching, “Do not
spend money for that which is of no worth,
ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS (LDS Apostle) nor labor for that which cannot satisfy” (2
Nephi 9:51).
I ’VE known Hugh Nibley for more than
fifty years. He was my teacher at BYU in As I experienced it, the manner of his
the winter of 1954. I can’t remember why I speaking was short bursts of unfinished frag-
took his “Rise of the Western Church to 600 ments, as if he were always hurrying on to
A.D.,” but its impact on my intellectual hori- the next step, always in search of something
zons was enormous. more important that the present. He dealt
with the present, but his principal concerns
Professor Nibley was the first eccentric were always with what was timeless. Now he
that I ever met. His example gave me a life- has broken the barrier of time; he has hurried
long appreciation for the wonderfully diverse on ahead. Now he has experienced some of
way our Creator distributed talents and spir- the things he always sought. For those of us
itual gifts. As I experienced his incredible who still consider ourselves his students, he
brilliance and knowledge, I also observed his is still leading the way.

PAGE 20 MAY 2005