Robert J. Matthews

The two religious communities and their scholars had long been at odds over access to and interpretation of important early texts of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Matthews was born in Evanston, Wyoming.,[1] the youngest child of immigrant parents, who independently joined the LDS Church in England and moved to the United States.

[4] Matthews began teaching in the Church Educational System (CES), as a seminary teacher in Soda Springs, Idaho, in 1955.

Matthews has the distinction of being the first person from the LDS Church to be allowed by the Community of Christ to work with the original manuscript of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, which was in its possession.

He was a principal collaborator involved in compiling the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and authored articles on the Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.