Robert Kirby is an American writer. He has been a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune since 1994, focusing on the quirks of Utah and Mormon culture.
Biography
Kirby was born into a military family. in Barstow, California. He served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay, where he met his future wife. On his return from Uruguay, he was hired as a police officer with the GrantsvillePolice Department, and later the Springville Police Department. Kirby began writing columns for the local newspapers the Springville Daily Herald and Utah County Journal under the pseudonym Officer John "Blitz" Kreeg In 1989, Kirby quit the police force to write full-time. The Salt Lake Tribune has published his column since 1994, winning the 2007 Utah Headliners Award. In September 2018, Kirby was suspended from the Salt Lake Tribune for three months without pay, following an internal investigation into a social media allegations by Provo-based blogger and occasional columnist at the Tribune's rival, the LDS Church-owned Deseret News, of inappropriate behavior toward her at a Mormon conference in July. Courtney Kendrick, then 41, wrote she felt “belittled and embarrassed” after Kirby, 65, made sexually tinged comments and persuaded her to eat an edible dose of marijuana, then mocked her before a Sunstone Symposium audience by declaring Kendrick was “high.” Kirby issued a written apology stating he was "sorry that my actions have offended people" and acknowledged that there was some truth to the allegations. Subsequent statements carried a fuller acknowledgement of his responsibility and his understanding of the harmful nature, however initially unintended, of his words and actions: "In his own written statement, Kirby said: “I’m profoundly sorry that my actions have offended people in the community. I have a lot of work to do in understanding the pain I have caused. “After discussing my conduct with Tribune management,” he continued, “I am more aware of the consequences of my actions and I will be undergoing training and counseling to become a better person.”
Writing style
Kirby, who is active in the LDS Church, often writes about its teachings and how its members interpret those teachings in their daily lives. Since many of the Salt Lake Tribune's readers are non-Mormon, Kirby attempts to explain the Mormon way of thinking to outsiders. At one time he referred to himself as an "OxyMormon". This approach either alienates those Latter-day Saints who feel their beliefs should not be satirized, or endears itself to the reader. Despite this discordant reception, Kirby was once quoted favorably in the LDS Church's bi-annual General Conference.
Personal
As of 2017, Kirby lives in Herriman, Utah. He and his wife have three daughters and nine grandchildren.
