He graduated summa cum laude from BYU and received masters and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Journal of Religion and Society, Journal of Mormon History, BYU Studies Quarterly, and Mormon Historical Studies. He is editor of the Mormon Studies Review. His book, “A Peculiar People”: Anti-Mormonism and the Making of Religion in Nineteenth-Century America, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2012 and won the Mormon History Association’s “Best First Book Award” in 2013.