Karen Lynn Davidson

Karen Lynn Davidson is an educator, hymn writer, historian, and literary critic. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Davidson was born in 1943 in Southern California. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Brigham Young University and her PhD from the University of Southern California. She did post-doctoral research at the Cambridge University and the University of Chicago.

She taught English at Mayfield Senior School in Pasedena, California, and Brigham Young University.

The Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book) includes two hymns written by Davidson: “Each Life That Touches Ours for Good” and “O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown.” She also contributed a hymn to the 1981 Reorganized (RLDS) Church: “Songs More Brightly Sung.”

She is coauthor of Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry (with Jill Mulvay Derr). She is also a co-editor on The Joseph Smith Papers : Histories, volume 1 and 2.