Laura Harris Hales | |
---|---|
Born | Laura Elizabeth Harris August 12, 1967
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Died | April 13, 2022
Kaysville, Utah, U.S. | (aged 54)
Alma mater |
Brigham Young University New England College Arizona State University |
Occupations |
|
Spouses | Brian Dursteler
(
m. 1988;
div. 2005)Brian C. Hales (
m. 2013) |
Children | 5 |
Website | JosephSmithsPolygamy.org |
Laura Elizabeth Harris Hales (August 12, 1967 – April 13, 2022) was an American writer, historian, and podcaster who focused on matters of history, theology, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) of which she was a life-long member. [1]
Hales was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in Michigan and Minnesota. [2] Alfred, her father, was an agricultural engineer and her mother Margaret Harris (née Lewis) worked as a teacher. [1] She obtained a bachelor's degree in international relations from Brigham Young University in 1988 [1] and a master's degree in professional writing from New England College in 2013. [1] [3] In 2020, she obtained a master's degree in history with a focus on North American history from the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. [1]
Hales and her second husband, Brian C. Hales, published extensively on Joseph Smith and his polygamy and maintain the website JosephSmithsPolygamy.org. [4] Hales edited a series of essays, A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine and Church History, that provide complex context and answers for troubling aspects of the LDS Church's past. [5] “There is a need for a broader discussion of 19th-century Latter-day Saint women who cry out for identities beyond a wife number or an age,” she said in an interview with the church's website From the Desk discussing the era of polygamy in the Latter-Day Saints. “Filtering their lives only through their relationships to their husbands does little to resolve the silences of women’s history.” [1]
In 2016, Hales created the Latter-day Saint Perspectives podcast that explores 'Latter-day Saint history, doctrine, and culture' through interviews with authors, scholars, and historians. [6] Episodes include interviews with Fiona Givens, Kate Holbrook, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye, and Patrick Q. Mason. As of 2021 she served as the executive director and frequent host of the podcast. [7] In May 2021, Hales announced that the podcast would not be adding any new shows and Hales would be pursuing other projects. [8]
Hales was a member of the LDS Church. She was married to Brian Dursteler from 1988 until their divorce in 2005; the couple had five children. [2] She married Brian C. Hales in 2013; combined from their respective families, they had nine children. [9]
Hales died from pancreatic cancer at her home in Kaysville, Utah, on April 13, 2022, aged 54. [2] [1]