News and Events

2014 Student Symposium Call for Papers Sixteenth Annual BYU Religious Education Student Symposium Friday, February 21, 2014 \| Wilkinson Student Center Purpose of Conference: To provide a forum for students to research, write, and present papers about religious subjects from a faithful perspective. Click here for more information
42nd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium The Sidney B. Sperry Symposium for 2013 is scheduled for Saturday, October 26. Click here for more information
Annual Summer Seminar on Mormon Culture Annual Summer Seminar on Mormon Culture, June 3-July 12 The Neal A Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University, with support from the Mormon Scholars Foundation and the Jack and Mary Lois Wheatley Institution, will sponsor a summer seminar for graduate students and junior faculty on “Workings of the Spirit and Works of the Priesthood: Gifts and Ordinances in LDS Thought and Practice." Click here for more information
48th Annual Mormon History Association (MHA) Conference Since 1965 the Mormon History Association has provided an independent forum for the presentation and distribution of Mormon history prepared for those interested in all aspects of the genre. Through annual conferences, our quarterly periodical, the Journal of Mormon History (published since 1974), and our quarterly newsletter MHA News, we serve over one thousand MHA members by disseminating the most recent scholarship and information about Mormon history. Registration will begin mid-February 2013 For more information, CLICK HERE. Join us in Layton, Utah, in 2013 Click here for more information
2014 BYU Religious Education Student Symposium Held annually in February on BYU campus, the Religious Education Student Symposium provides a forum for students to research, write, and present papers about religious subjects from a faithful perspective. All BYU undergraduate and graduate students attending the BYU‒Provo winter semester are invited to submit a paper. Watch this site to learn more about submitting a paper and to attend the next symposium. For more information about the 2014 Student Symposium, CLICK HERE. Click here for more information
Egyptian Excavation Exhibit Dr. Kerry Muhlestein, director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project and associate professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, will host an exhibit showcasing their various discoveries and findings. The exhibit will be in the commons area of the Joseph Smith Building (JSB), across from the JSB auditorium, on the BYU campus. The exhibit will be available to the public prior to the open house and will remain open up to five years. For more information about the excavation project, read Dr. Muhlestein's article by CLICKING HERE. Click here for more information

Past News and Events

New Testament Conference BYU Studies is pleased to announce that on May 15 there will be a conference sponsored by authors and editors of the BYU New Testament Commentary project. A team of Latter-day Saint scholars has joined forces to produce a multi-volume commentary on the New Testament, with a new rendition of the Greek texts of the New Testament. Planned to take several years to complete, this multi-volume series will combine the best of ancient linguistic and historical scholarship with Latter-day Saint doctrinal perspectives. The conference will introduce this project. You are invited to join us on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium, BYU, Provo. Click here for the conference schedule. Click here for more information
UVU Annual Mormon Studies Conference Annual Mormon Studies Conference UVU's Religious Studies Program has been sponsoring its annual Mormon Studies conference since March, 2001. These conferences bring together scholars, practitioners, and other presenters to explore a variety of topics and themes in Mormon culture, theology, history, literature, etc. Our program also offers a variety of other lectures, symposia, and conferences. Click here for more information
2013 Easter Conference BYU's annual Easter Conference at 7:00 p.m. on Good Friday, March 29, 2013, in the Joseph Smith Building (JSB) Auditorium BYU Religious Education and the Religious Studies Center will host BYU's annual Easter Conference at 7:00 p.m. on Good Friday, March 29, 2013, in the Joseph Smith Building (JSB) auditorium. Elder John M. Madsen will be the keynote speaker. Brad Wilcox and Brent L. Top will also speak. They will speak about the Savior, his life, his mission, the Atonement, and his influence in our lives today. Attending the BYU Easter Conference is an ideal way to prepare to celebrate the Easter season. Click here for more information
2013 BYU Church History Symposium The title of this year's symposium is "Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith's Study of the Ancient World." Tthe conference will begin at 9:00 a.m., on March 7, with the keynote speaker, Richard L. Bushman in the Herold B. Lee Library auditorium, located on the BYU Campus in Provo. The symposium will continue in the auditorium until 4:30. At 7:00 p.m. the plenary session, to be held in the JSB auditorium (BYU), will feature remarks by Elder Steven E. Snow, the Church historian and recorder and a plenary address by David F. Holland, professor of history at UNLV. More information. . . Click here for more information
National Advancement Council Meeting National Advancement Council Meeting at Hinckley Center Click here for more information
Remarkable! Longest Serving BYU Faculty Member During a recent interview with ABC 4 News, Cowan talked about the challenges he faced when he was first hired at BYU in 1961: “I knew that I was on trial. It was obvious the powers that be had never dealt with a blind professor.” In another quote, Cowan said, “My future as a blind teacher was definitely in question.” Yet, despite the challenges, he rose to the occasion and has now been teaching at BYU for 52 years. He has taught some 40,000 students and has been an inspiration to all those who know him. Read more . . . Click here for more information
2013 Student Symposium Brigham Young University Religious Education presents its 15th Annual Student Symposium. See schedule, speakers, and other information. Click here for more information
2013 BYU Church History Symposium The title of this year's symposium is "Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith's Study of the Ancient World." Tthe conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. on March 7, with the keynote speaker, Richard L. Bushman in the Herold B. Lee Library auditorium, located on the BYU Campus in Provo. The symposium will continue in the auditorium until 4:30. At 7:00 p.m. the plenary session, to be held in the JSB auditorium (BYU), will feature remarks by Elder Steven E. Snow, the Church historian and recorder and a plenary address by David F. Holland, professor of history at UNLV. More information. . . Click here for more information
2012 Student Symposium Book Photos from this event are now online! Go to the Student Symposium 2012 Gallery. The 2012 Student Symposium book will be available in December 2012. Click here for more information
A Lifetime of Service: Elder C. Max Caldwell Elder Caldwell, you’ve served as a BYU professor, an author, a mission president, a regional representative, a General Authority, and a temple sealer. What do you think has been your greatest contribution? In my estimation, the Lord has blessed me far more than I ever either expected or felt that I deserved. The greatest contribution of my service opportunities has been my personal spiritual growth and increase of faith and opportunity to feel closer to the Lord and enjoy an outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord in every case. If there is one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that the Lord runs his Church. If we let him and don’t get in the way, we can get his work done just fine. We need to make sure we’re in harmony with what he wants done, through his Holy Spirit—that influences both what we do and who we become. Click here for more information
Exploring the First Vision New book published by the Religious Studies Center that examines the First Vision in depth. This volume explores some of the seminal articles that discuss Joseph Smith’s First Vision, which were written by the foremost experts who have studied it for half a century. The book includes articles by and interviews with James B. Allen, Richard L. Anderson, Milton V. Backman Jr., Richard L. Bushman, Steven C. Harper, Dean C. Jessee, Larry C. Porter, and John W. Welch. Click here for more information
BYU Religious Education Faculty Updates Religious Education faculty have made some impressive contributions to published works recently. Click here for more information
2012 Sidney B. Sperry Symposium The Forty-first Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 26th and 27th, 2012 in the JSB Auditorium. In March 1829, a full year prior to the official organization of the Church, the Lord declared to the Prophet Joseph Smith—then engaged in the process of translating the Book of Mormon—“This generation shall have my word through you” (D&C 5:10). Two months later, Joseph’s brother, Hyrum, traveled to Harmony, Pennsylvania, to see if he could assist with this work. During this visit, Joseph received a revelation for his brother, which instructed him, “Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my church, and my gospel” (D&C 11:16). In the succeeding years, Joseph indeed received numerous revelations that fulfilled each of the promises the Lord had given Hyrum; many of these are included in the Doctrine and Covenants, “a collection of divine revelations and inspired declarations” through which the Lord invites all to come unto him. Click here for more information
Acquiring a Celestial Character “May we always be humbly grateful for all of the learning that has been made available to the world in our time, along with its innumerable benefits. May our perception always be such that it enriches us and enlarges us and does not entrap us. May our influence upon our students, be it great or small, contribute not to the inflation of their egos, but to the exaltation of their souls. May our vision of the human always be seen in the context of the divine.” Click here for more information
Virtual Tours of Church History Sites BYU professors, Craig James Ostler and John P. Livingstone, have continued to produce videos and publications in their monumental Hallowed Ground, Sacred Journeys project. Now they are producing videos on early Church history sites in New York and New England. Click here for more information
Mormon Yankees BYU Professor Fred E. Woods' book, Mormon Yankees, tells the inspiring story of full-time missionaries who used basketball in Australia during the mid–twentieth century (1937–61) to build bridges of understanding with the Australians and help bring the Church out of obscurity. Click here for more information
From the Sands of Egypt For over two decades, BYU has been excavating in an area of Egypt known as the Fayoum. Our excavation of this pyramid has allowed us to perform a sophisticated analysis of its dimensions and construction techniques. We have discovered some startling parallels that, when fully researched, will alter the way the world thinks about pyramids. Click here for more information
2013 Student Symposium The 15th Annual Student Symposium was held February 15, 2013. To see photos from the event CLICK HERE. Click here for more information
Nineteenth-Century Women "Accounts of female religiosity are not appendages to American history; they are American history." I decided I wanted to become well educated and that I would educate other women. I thus came to understand, rather early on, that education creates a myriad of choices that empower women as well as men to make a difference in and beyond their professions. In graduate school I realized I could do this, in part, by including women in the historical narrative. My focus on women and conversion, then, stems from my commitment to including women in the historical narrative. Read more. Click here for more information
New Book Tells the Stories of the Civil War Saints *NOTE*: The editor of Civil War Saints, Kenneth L. Alford, was interviewed about this book on KSL Radio (Salt Lake City) during the weekly one-hour show "People of Faith" with reporter Carole Mikita. The entire program is available online at: http://pandora.bonnint.net/audio/people_of_faith.rss (select the November 18, 2012 program). This book takes a fresh and updated look at many of the relationships that existed between Latter-day Saints, Utah Territory, and the Civil War. This volume becomes available on the 150th anniversary of Utah’s initial involvement in the Civil War. Civil War Saints provides readers a short overview of the Civil War itself. It explores the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and the Mormons that stretched over several decades. It discusses Utah Territory’s only military contribution to the Civil War, the Nauvoo Legion’s service in Utah during the war, the 1862 establishment of Camp Douglas, LDS emigration during the Civil War, and how American newspapers (both North and South) viewed Mormonism. Finally, the book examines the impact of the war’s aftermath on Latter-day Saints. Click here for more information
Religious Education Sponsors Interfaith Lecture Series This past summer, BYU Religious Education sponsored an interfaith lecture series as part of the degree program master of arts in religious studies with an emphasis in military chaplaincy. Click here for more information
The Hyrum Smith Papers The papers consist of two diaries (from 1831 to 1835), a record book, an account book, thirty-nine letters, and fifteen discourses that Hyrum gave over the course of his ministry. Click here for more information
BYU Professor and Alum Help Discover Samson Mosaic in Israel In June 2012, archaeologists uncovered portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of a synagogue in the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq near the Sea of Galilee. This discovery, which is being reported nationally by CNN and MSNBC, was made by a team of archaeologists working under the direction of Jodi Magness, professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with the assistance of staff and volunteers associated with Brigham Young University. The initial discovery of the mosaic was made by Bryan Bozung, a first-time volunteer who had recently graduated from BYU’s Ancient Near Eastern Studies program and is currently a graduate student at Yale University studying Second Temple Judaism. Matthew J. Grey, an assistant professor of ancient scripture at BYU, is a senior staff member supervising the excavation of the synagogue area in which the mosaic was found. In addition, James Heilpern, a former student of Grey’s at the LDS Institute of Religion at Duke/UNC, who will enter the BYU Law School in fall 2012, helped in the synagogue excavations as an assistant square supervisor. Read more. Click here for more information
New Book by President Packer Depicts His Beautiful Artwork What most people don’t know about President Packer is that throughout his life he had a pastime of painting and carving. This hobby has been used to beautify his home, teach his children, and provide needed relaxation. He has created what some describe as masterpieces. Read more . . . Click here for more information
Religion and Politics In this year's presidential race a number of media voices seem to be seeking clarity, asking important questions about the Church—what we stand for, what we believe, and where they can find more accurate information. Read the interview with J. B. Haws. Click here for more information
Camille Fronk Olson on Improving Citizenship, Scholarship, and Teaching In this interview, Camille Fronk Olson, who is the department chair, discusses how to improve citizenship, scholarship, and teaching in the Department of Ancient Scripture at BYU. Click here for more information
Making the Book of Mormon the Keystone of Religious Education An excerpt from the Historian's Corner of the Review Magazine. The Lord and his prophets have repeatedly emphasized the centrality of the Book of Mormon in Latter-day Saint religious education. Click here for more information
The Book of Abraham, the Bible, and Arabic Papyri During the last few years, new research has emerged concerning the Book of Abraham, the Bible, and heretofore rather unknown BYU Arabic papyri. Click here for more information
My Dear Sister: Letters of Joseph F. Smith In 1997, Carole Call King was cleaning out a closet when she discovered a box labeled “Letters from Joseph F. Smith.” In the box there were about one hundred original letters written by Joseph F. to his sister, Martha Ann. Read more. Click here for more information
2012 BYU Church History Symposium For 2012 the LDS Church History Library and BYU Church History and Doctrine joined the BYU Religious Studies Center in sponsoring the BYU Church History Symposium, which has become the premier symposium for scholarship on Church history. Click here for more information
New Director at the Religious Studies Center We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dana M. Pike, professor of ancient scripture as the new publications director of the Religious Studies Center, effective Spring Term 2012. Click here for more information
Fortieth Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Friday, October 28 & Saturday, October 29 Click here for more information
New Products to Better Understand Church History The Religious Studies Center at BYU announces two new products that will help users in their continual pursuit to comprehend and appreciate Church history Click here for more information
The RSC and Deseret Book Release Under the Gun The RSC releases a new book filled with gripping and fascinating stories of members of the LDS Church in West Germany and Austria during World War II. Click here for more information
2012 Student Symposium Call for Papers 14th Annual BYU Religious Education Student Symposium \| Friday, February 17, 2012 Wilkinson Student Center Click here for more information
2011 BYU Easter Conference Elder Groberg spoke at the BYU Easter Conference on Saturday, April 9, 2011. Click here for more information
The Religious Studies Center (RSC) Releases New Book, The Voice of My Servants The Prophets and Apostles in this dispensation have authored a large collection of essays, articles, and addresses expounding God’s truths to his children. In this book, they specifically address issues related to gospel teaching, learning, and scripture. Click here for more information