News & Blog

4 of the post-doctorate fellows at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship attended their PhD graduations this summer. Congratulations to Jeffrey Cannon, Timothy Farrant, Joseph Stuart, and Ryan Tobler for their accomplishments!

Wayfare Magazine, in conjunction with Faith Matters and Blair Hodges produced a series of podcast episodes each highlighting a different chapter of the Maxwell Institute’s award-winning book, Ancient Christians: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints. Listen now on Wayfare Magazine's website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.

Brigham Young University President C. Shane Reese announced the appointment of J.B. Haws as the executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Haws replaces Kristian Heal, who has served as the interim director since April.

Thank you to all who participated in the inaugural 2023 Book of Mormon Art Contest! The Book of Mormon Art Contest was inspired by President Spencer W. Kimball's call in "Gospel Vision of the Arts" to "give life and feeling and true perspective to a subject so worthy."

Matthew 13:1
“The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.”



This scripture is simple, and it doesn't contain any significant gospel principles. Its only purpose is to depict the atmosphere of the moment and set the scene for readers, but it is my favorite scripture. I can picture the Savior sitting on a modest untouched beach, with warm sand and a bright sun shining above. The sky is clear and small waves calmly trickle in and out.

Kate Holbrook's book, Both Things Are True is available now. Holbrook tests Joseph Smith's observation that "by proving contraries, truth is made manifest". Most aspects of a covenant life are lived in the space between contrary ideas that are individually incomplete. The process is difficult, but we can find our hearts and souls "stretched wide as eternity" (Moses 7:14).

Enjoy this book trailer for Both Things Are True by Kate Holbrook.

Ancient Christian burial practices strongly correlated with their beliefs about life and life after death. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, a Roman government official in the 4th century AD, depicts several scenes from the Old and New Testaments which reflect the senator’s piety. To the right of the central image on the bottom register, we see the prophet Daniel in the den of lions (Swipe to see a close up).

As part of his ubiquitous Book of Mormon series, Arnold Friberg’s painting of the brother of Jared (Fig. 1) has defined the way generations of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visualize the scene in Ether 3. You may even have heard the anecdote about how Hollywood filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille was so taken with the image that he hired Friberg as artistic designer for The Ten Commandments film (resulting in clear similarities between the painting and DeMille’s scene of Moses at the burning bush). But many other artists have also depicted the brother of Jared, and sometimes in quite different ways. So why is this the portrayal that’s most familiar? What was the earliest depiction of the brother of Jared? Are there many images of him that preceded Friberg’s? What images have been created recently? How much have these images been used in Church media or other published sources? In what ways has Friberg’s painting influenced how other artists have approached the scene?

Several volumes from the proceedings of the Latter-day Saint Seminar are now published and available for purchase on Amazon. Each of these volumes includes the speeches/essays from each seminar.

Today, July 6th, 2023 is Neal A. Maxwell's 97th birthday. Elder Maxwell was a devoted Apostle and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, loving husband, and the namesake of our institution.

February 14, 2024 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for much of Western Christianity. Lent is the roughly 40-day period of Christian observance leading up to Easter, when Christians all over the world engage in fasting, reflection, introspection, and penitential practices in remembrance of Christ and in renewal of relationship with Him. Lent also follows the pattern of Jesus’s 40 days of fasting in the wilderness to draw near to God before beginning his public ministry.

The Maxwell Institute has created a list of prompts to inspire Book of Mormon artwork. Inspired by Inktober, these 10 prompts encourage all to think creatively about art relating to these specific phrases. Everyone can participate in this challenge by posting their artwork on social media with the hashtag #bomartcontest2023, tagging @BYUMaxwell to be featured on our channels.

After seven years as part of the Institute, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship's Advisory Board is officially dissolved.

Ancient Christian burial practices strongly correlated with their beliefs about life and life after death. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, a Roman government official in the 4th century AD, depicts several scenes from the Old and New Testaments which reflect the senator’s piety. To the right of the central image on the bottom register, we see the prophet Daniel in the den of lions.

Kate Holbrook (1972-2022) was a leading voice in the study of Latter-day Saint women and Latter-day Saint foodways, a Specialist in Women's History, Managing Historian of Women's History, and Academic Outreach Director at the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout her career, Kate preserved and showcased women's voices. Now, in a special book written before her passing, readers can hear Kate's own personal voice.

Imagery of Christ as the Good Shepherd is familiar to Latter-day Saints, both in scripture and art, but it was also used by early Christians who adopted the symbol from Roman art.

Acting academic vice president Brad Neiger has announced the appointment of Kristian Heal as interim executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, effective May 1. Dr. Heal begins his interim service following the tenure of Spencer Fluhman, who served as executive director of the Maxwell Institute from 2016 to 2023. Dr. Heal will serve until the appointment of a permanent executive director.