Broadhurst, Dale R.

Dale R. Broadhurst (b. 1947) was born in Boise, Idaho and grew up in Idaho Falls. A member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), renamed the Community of Christ in 2001, Broadhurst has a keen interest in the origins of the Mormon Church and the Book of Mormon itself. While working on his Masters degree in Christian Education at the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio, Broadhurst did extensive research on the correlation between the Book of Mormon, published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr., and a manuscript of epic American fiction composed by Solomon Spalding (1761-1816). This longstanding but not generally accepted theory that Smith plagiarized some of Spalding's work has been pursued by select groups since the early 1830s. After completing his Masters degree in 1982 and dedicating many years to educational volunteer work in Asia and the Pacific, Dale Broadhurst retired to Hilo, Hawaii, where he lives with his wife, Elizabeth.