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.
Neal A. Maxwell was born 1926 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the oldest of 6 children, and known as a shy and compassionate young man. He loved to play basketball and dreamed of becoming an all-state player. Maxwell raised pigs and was a swineherd throughout his teenage years, his pigs winning close to 100 ribbons from various fairs, which he displayed in his talk "Put your Shoulder to the Wheel" in 1998.
In 1945, after graduating from high school, 18 year-old Neal A. Maxwell joined the army and served as an infantryman during World War II, in the Philippines before serving in Okinawa, Japan. His testimony grew as he faced harsh, life-threatening situations during the war. “I can say only God prevented my death at times,” he wrote to his family back in Utah. “I have a testimony no one can crumble.”
After fulfilling his enlistment in the army, Maxwell wrote articles sent to hometown newspapers of the men serving in his unit. He wrote letters of condolence to families who had lost men in combat, and wrote citations for decorated soldiers.
Neal A. Maxwell was then called to a full-time mission in the Canadian Mission, with headquarters in Toronto. He used the money saved from his Army paychecks to pay for his mission. During his time in Canada, he served as a district president, and met Elder Marion G. Romney and Elder Ezra Taft Benson. Elder Romney would eventually become his mentor, and Elder Benson would become the president of the church, and the person who set Elder Maxwell apart as a general authority.
Following his mission, Neal A. Maxwell returned to college at the University of Utah to study political science, where he met his wife, Colleen Hinckley. They married in November 1950, and eventually had four children (Cory, Becky, Nancy, and Jane).
His family moved to Washington D.C. where Maxwell served as legislative assistant to Utah Sen. Wallace F. Bennett. Their first child Cory, was born in Washington. Later on, Maxwell completed a master's degree in political science in 1961, and began teaching political science at the U. Neal A. Maxwell worked his way through the administrative ranks at the U., eventually becoming dean of students, assistant to the president, and executive vice president.
Church responsibilities followed, as he was called to serve as a bishop in a single's ward, and eventually one of the first regional representatives of the Twelve. He was appointed commissioner of church education in 1970 before being called as an assistant to the Twelve in 1974. In 1981, he was called as an apostle.
During his service as an apostle, Elder Maxwell was known for his unique style of speaking and writing, and his large vocabulary. He published 30 books of religion throughout his life, and was recognized as a public servant and educator by many.
After battling leukemia, Neal A. Maxwell passed away in 2004, and his legacy of scholarship lives on through his family and the scholars and associates of the Maxwell Institute.
The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship is based on the ideals of Elder Maxwell, of education and religion and continues to honor him through gathering and nurturing 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.
Above all else, Elder Maxwell is remembered for his service in the church, and how he used his talent for writing and speaking to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. "Elder Maxwell will be remembered for his stirring words as he acted as a special witness for Christ."