Susan Black was a professor emeritus of Church history and doctrine at BYU when this was written. She joined the faculty in 1978 and is a former Eliza R. Snow Fellow, associate dean of General Education and Honors, and director of Church History in the Religious Studies Center. She was the recipient of the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given to professors on the BYU campus. She has authored, edited, and compiled over ninety books and as many articles.