Boyd Douglas Kirkland (November 4, 1950 – January 27, 2011) was an American television director of animated cartoons. He was best known for his work on X-Men: Evolution and Batman: The Animated Series. He suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and interstitial lung disease (ILD). While in ICU at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, he died waiting for a lung transplant on January 27, 2011.^[1]

Kirkland was raised in Utah as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).^[2] He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.^[3] His career in animation started in 1979 as a layout artist.^[4] This evolved into XAM! Productions,^[3] a partnership based in Salt Lake City that subcontracted for larger Los Angeles based studios. He moved his family to Los Angeles in 1986.^[4]

Kirkland published articles about the nature of God in Mormon thought. While a missionary for the LDS Church, Kirkland was confused about the Adam-God doctrine, ostensibly taught in the 19th century and denied in the 1970s, which led him to start questioning the current official church leaders.^[5] After brief requests for answers from church leaders, Kirkland continued his own research into the controversy, resulting in articles published in Sunstone Magazine,^[6] Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought,^[7] and chapters of Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine.^[5][8]

Kirkland worked as a producer for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series, and with storyboards for G.I. Joe: The Movie, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, My Little Pony: The Movie, and Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. He also worked on various Mormon cartoons from the Living Scriptures, Inc, including "The Savior in America" and "The Miracles of Jesus."^[9]