The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, or simply the Maxwell Institute, is a research institute at Brigham Young University (BYU) made up of faculty and visiting scholars who study and write about religion, primarily The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The Institute's namesake, Neal A. Maxwell, is a former LDS apostle, known by Latter-day Saints and others for his writings and sermons. The Latter-day Saints' sectarian BYU's mission statement reads: "The Maxwell Institute both gathers and nurtures disciple-scholars. As a research community, the Institute supports scholars whose work inspires and fortifies Latter-day Saints in their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and engages the world of religious ideas."[1]
Neal Ash Maxwell was an American scholar, educator, and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1981 until his death.
Brigham Young University is a private research university located in Provo, Utah and owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The university is run under the auspices of its parent-organization, the Church Educational System (CES), and is classified among "Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity" with "more selective, lower transfer-in" admissions. The university's primary emphasis is on undergraduate education in 179 majors, but it also has 62 master's and 26 doctoral degree programs. The university also administers two satellite campuses, one in Jerusalem and one in Salt Lake City.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16 million members and 65,000 full-time volunteer missionaries. In 2012, the National Council of Churches ranked the church as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.5 million members there as of January 2018. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the early 19th century period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.
The LDS Church identifies the Maxwell Institute as one of several third-party church affiliates offering gospel study resources.[2]
History
The Maxwell Institute was established in 2006 as an umbrella organization for several of the BYU's academic initiatives, including: the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI), the Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (CPART), the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS).[3] By 2013, FARMS had become fully absorbed into the Institute's Willes Center.
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.
The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. In 1997, the group became a formal part of Brigham Young University (BYU), which is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2006, the group became a formal part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, formerly known as the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, BYU. FARMS has since been absorbed into the Maxwell Institute's Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
In 2012, debate was sparked when the Maxwell Institute's then-director, Gerald Bradford, removed Daniel C. Peterson from a long-time editorship of the FARMS Review shortly after it had been renamed the Mormon Studies Review.[4] Peterson retained his position as editor of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI) until resigning in September 2013.[5]
Daniel C. Peterson, born January 15, 1953, is the professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University (BYU).
Under new leadership following Bradford's retirement in 2015, the Maxwell Institute underwent a series of internal and external reviews to determine its future direction.[6] J. Spencer Fluhman was appointed director in 2016 and the Maxwell Institute began restructuring.[7] Together with BYU administration and a new advisory board, Fluhman announced a new mission statement in March 2018.[8]
As part of this restructuring, METI was transferred to the international publisher Brill.[9] CPART completed its final project in 2017.[10] The Institute also published the Mormon Studies Review from 2013 through 2018 when complete ownership was transferred to the University of Illinois Press.[11]
Mormon Studies Review is an annual academic journal covering Mormon studies published by the University of Illinois Press. Previously, until and including its 2018 issue, the journal was published by Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.
In November 2018, BYU announced plans to move the Maxwell Institute to a new facility closer to the center of campus. The Faculty Office Building will be replaced by the new West View Building, which is scheduled for completion in spring 2020. The Maxwell Institute will temporarily be housed in BYU's Clyde Building until construction is complete.[12][13]
Scholarship
The Maxwell Institute provides research positions for full-time faculty, visiting scholars, post-doctorate researchers, and other temporary research fellows who study the LDS Church, as well as Christianity and other religions more broadly. Institute scholars occasionally publish in-house, but most of their work is placed in other venues.[14]
The Maxwell Institute also includes two initiatives:
Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies,[15] which deals principally with the Book of Mormon in ancient and modern settings, in addition to other LDS scripture.
William (Bill) Gay Research Chair,[16] which focuses on study directly related to the ancient world and LDS scripture, particularly the Book of Abraham (the chair's current occupant is Egyptologist John Gee).
The Maxwell Institute frequently sponsors guest lectures at BYU, as well as symposia, workshops, and conferences on religious topics.[17] Wednesday Brown Bag discussions allow scholars to workshop current projects, prepare for conference presentations, discuss recently published works, and examine the dimensions of "disciple-scholarship."[18]
The Maxwell Institute also employs a small staff of office assistants, communications personnel, and a large number of student interns.[19]
Criticisms of objectivity in light of Institute's non-independent status
Commentator Michael Austin, reflecting on the Institute's status as an officially sanctioned venue for Latter-day Saint theological studies, opined that resources cited within the Institute's 2019 Study Edition of the Book of Mormon are "carefully curated to include only official Church sources and scholarship that supports the [LDS] Church’s conclusions," adding that he believes that "the Church has produced and authorized a version of its signature scripture that is orders of magnitude more helpful, and more scholarly, than anything it has produced before. But officialness comes at a cost. Official books must tell official stories, which means that honest discussions of controversies and pressure points—no matter how important they may be to the study and interpretation of the text—cannot become part of the apparatus.[20]
Commentator John H. Brumbaugh opined, "In a sense, New Mormon historians challenge the foundational beliefs of Mormonism in a quest for professional rigor. [...] Faithful historians never challenged foundational beliefs; instead they are intended to build the devotion of Church members. BYU Studies and Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship are prime examples of Faithful history outlets. Renouncing objectivity, these organization functioned to 'Describe and defend the Restoration through highest quality scholarship.'"[21][22]”
Publications
Although the Maxwell Institute is not primarily a publisher, it maintains a publishing imprint and produces a handful of books and periodicals each year for both general and academic readers. Periodicals include the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (published in partnership with the University of Illinois Press) and Studies in the Bible and Antiquity (currently on hiatus[23]). Other books include the "Living Faith" series.[24]
One of the Maxwell Institute's notable past publications is Royal Skousen's Book of Mormon Critical Text Project.[25] Work from the Critical Text Project was incorporated into the Maxwell Institute Study Edition of the Book of Mormon, edited by Grant Hardy and published in partnership with BYU's Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book in 2018—the first study edition of the scripture ever published by an official Church affiliate.[26]
The Maxwell Institute Podcast features interviews with resident and visiting scholars and lecturers of the Maxwell Institute. In the past it has also featured religious and textual scholars from a variety of religious traditions beyond the Institute, including N. T. Wright, Marilynne Robinson, Martin Marty, and James Kugel.[27]
Support
The Maxwell Institute's work is made financially possible primarily by support from BYU.
Notes
↑ "About", mi.byu.edu, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Nephites are one of four groups to be described in the Book of Mormon as having settled in the ancient Americas. The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, political, and cultural traditions of the group of settlers.
Stephen Edward Robinson was a religious scholar and apologist, who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the restoration refers to a return to the earth of the authentic priesthood power, spiritual gifts, ordinances, living prophets and revelation of the primitive Church of Christ after a long period of apostasy. While in some contexts the term may also refer to the early history of the Latter-day Saint religion, in other contexts the term is used in a way to include the time that has elapsed from the church's earliest beginnings until the present day. Especially in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "the restoration" is often used also as a term to encompass the corpus of religious messages from its general leaders down to the present.
Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Philip Layton Barlow is a Harvard-trained scholar who specializes in American Religious History, religious geography, and Mormonism. In 2019, Barlow was appointed associate director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Barlow was the first full-time professor of Mormon studies at a secular university as the inaugural Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University (USU), from 2007 to 2018.
Royal Jon Skousen is a professor of linguistics and English at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of the Book of Mormon" and the founder of the analogical modeling approach to language modeling.
The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics surrounding the Book of Mormon. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship with funding from the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
Paul Y. Hoskisson is an American professor of Ancient scripture and former associate dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU). In 2008, he was appointed director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Research and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS).
Louis C. Midgley is a Mormon apologist and retired professor of political science at Brigham Young University. Since his retirement he has been closely involved with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, writing many book reviews, articles, and book chapters defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from perceived critics.
Noel Beldon Reynolds is an American political scientist and an emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he has also served as an associate academic vice president and as director for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). He was a member of the BYU faculty from 1971 to 2011. He has also written widely on the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which he is a member.
Charles Wilfred Griggs is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Monte Steven Nyman was president of Southern Virginia University (SVU) from 2003 to 2004. He had previously been academic vice president at SVU and a professor of religion at Brigham Young University (BYU).
The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on Latter-day Saint (LDS) culture, history, scripture, and doctrine. The dean of Religious Education serves as the RSC's director, and an associate dean oversees the two branches of the RSC: research and publications.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of those known by the term Mormon and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement whose members do not generally go by the term "Mormon". The Latter Day Saint movement includes not only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but also the Community of Christ (CoC) and other groups, as well as those falling under the umbrella of Mormon fundamentalism.
J. Spencer Fluhman is a professor of history at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.
Brian M. Hauglid is an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU). From 2014-2017 he was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies and currently serves as director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies a part of BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute.
Grant Hardy is professor of history and religious studies and director of the humanities program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He earned his B.A. in ancient Greek in 1984 from Brigham Young University and his Ph.D. in Chinese language and literature from Yale University in 1988 Having written, cowritten, or edited several books in the fields of history, humanities, and religious texts as literature, Hardy is known for literary studies of the Book of Mormon.
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