Instructions

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship invites current BYU undergraduate and graduate students to submit essays for the Neal A. Maxwell Essay Contest.

The year 2026 marks several significant anniversaries: the 250th anniversary of the United States, the end of the 150th anniversary celebration of Brigham Young University, and the 100th anniversary of Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s birth. To celebrate this convergence, we invite students to reflect on Elder Maxwell’s contributions to public service, Church service, and higher education—and on the ways his example can guide disciples today.

Essays should respond to the following question:

Strong essays will:

• Focus on one specific aspect of Elder Maxwell’s public service, Church service, or higher education career. Examples include his military service, federal government service, educational leadership, missionary service, service as a General Authority, or service as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Engage meaningfully with a specific idea from at least one talk hosted on the Maxwell Institute’s Elder Maxwell Addresses page. Writers should identify the talk by title and explain how its ideas inform their argument.
• Connect Elder Maxwell’s example or teaching to the writer’s own experience, observations, convictions, or aspirations.
• Address the question of how disciples can practice principled peacemaking in the present moral and political climate.

Students do not need to provide a comprehensive biography of Elder Maxwell. A focused essay that develops one meaningful connection will generally be stronger than an essay that attempts to cover his entire life.

Students may find the Brimhall Essay Judges’ Writing Suggestions helpful, particularly the advice to combine personal experience with appropriate research, write with a clear purpose, and use an authentic voice.

First place: $1,000
Second place: $750
Third place: $500

1. Participants must be full-time students enrolled at Brigham Young University during Fall Semester 2026. Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits, and graduate students must be enrolled in at least 8 credits, or meet BYU’s applicable full-time enrollment standard.
2. Essays should be between 700 and 800 words, excluding the title and any brief source information (footnotes or endnotes).
3. Essays must be original and unpublished.
4. Essays must be submitted anonymously. The essay itself must not include the writer’s name, BYU ID number, email address, or other identifying information. The filename and document properties should also be anonymous. Contest administrators will collect identifying information separately from the essay and will remove it before judging.
5. Each person may submit only one essay.
6. Students may use ordinary spell-checking and basic mechanical correction. Essays must include an AI disclaimer indicating whether or how they used Artificial Intelligence tools.
7. Essays must be submitted by 10:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on October 26, 2026.

Essays may be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Thoughtful engagement with Elder Maxwell’s life and teachings
• Clear understanding of principled peacemaking
• Meaningful connection to the writer’s own experience or discipleship
• Clarity, originality, organization, and quality of writing
• Faithfulness to the prompt and contest requirements