Key Takeaways:
- The Maxwell Institute will focus its service on four scholarly initiatives
- The Institute will sponsor rotating fellows selected from BYU faculty in support of the university’s commitment to gospel scholarship
- The Institute will launch a weekly lecture series on the Wonder of Scripture
Brigham Young University’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship has adopted four key research initiatives, says J.B. Haws, executive director. The Institute will center its efforts on the fields of Book of Mormon, Bible, Interfaith Understanding, and Latter-day Saint Discipleship.
“The Maxwell Institute has a long history of engagement with each of these areas, and we are excited to focus our work even further in these directions,” said Haws.
One of several specialized research centers on BYU campus, the Maxwell Institute aims to fortify Latter-day Saints in their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ through engaging the world of religious scholarship. Since its establishment in 2006, the Institute has existed to foster cutting-edge, faith-oriented research on scripture and discipleship. The four new initiatives, developed under apostolic guidance, formalize these priorities and allow Institute scholars to better coordinate their work for Latter-day Saints.
"I am immensely grateful for an institute on the BYU campus that honors the name and legacy of Elder Neal A. Maxwell," said Academic Vice President Justin Collings. "Elder Maxwell's name is the Maxwell Institute's greatest resource, and
I am very pleased with these new initiatives that will help harness the spirit of Elder Maxwell's buoyant, thoughtful, penetrating, and joyful approach to what he called 'the inexhaustible gospel.'
I am very pleased with these new initiatives that will help harness the spirit of Elder Maxwell's buoyant, thoughtful, penetrating, and joyful approach to what he called 'the inexhaustible gospel.' I am grateful for [our Maxwell Institute] associates, and doubly grateful that more of our remarkable faculty members will benefit from the unique Maxwell environment and lend their tremendous talents and vibrant faith to the wonderful Maxwell cause."
Rosalynde Welch, associate director, said, “It’s our hope that each of these initiatives will, in time, produce important writing, research tools, and study materials to help members of the Church better understand and engage with our scriptures, connect effectively with people of other faiths, and live out our duty as disciples to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.”
In connection with the research initiatives, the Maxwell Institute has announced a significant expansion of its current research team. Over the next year, the Institute will welcome a number of resident research fellows from among current BYU faculty across campus to work alongside Institute scholars on a project related to one of the four research priorities. These two-year fellowships will allow BYU faculty from other departments to devote their full time to a significant, long-term project related to matters of faith or scripture.
“We want the Maxwell Institute to be a leavening agent for the entire campus,” said Reid Neilson, assistant academic vice president for religious scholarly publications.
Going forward, we are excited to welcome scholars from a variety of disciplines at BYU who have important contributions to make to our understanding of these four inspired initiatives.
"Going forward, we are excited to welcome scholars from a variety of disciplines at BYU who have important contributions to make to our understanding of these four inspired initiatives."
“So many of our colleagues across campus have exciting ideas for religious scholarship, but their teaching commitments or other responsibilities keep them from really delving in,” said Rosalynde Welch. “We hope that faculty from across campus who are itching to finally write that book or create that research tool--even those whose previous commitments may have prevented them from engaging in faith-related scholarship before this time--will seriously consider this opportunity.”
To further its work in each of the four initiatives, the Maxwell Institute has also announced several new offerings beginning this fall. Top scholars from around the country and the campus will explore “The Wonder of Scripture” in a series of weekly public lectures held on Fridays on BYU campus. The series will kick off with a two-day event centered on the importance of the gold plates—a Thursday evening lecture by Richard Bushman on September 19, and a Friday morning lecture by Thomas Griffith on September 20.
The Wonder of Scripture Lecture series is imagined as a place to model the kind of deep engagement with scripture that increases understanding, heals souls, and builds faith,
"The Wonder of Scripture Lecture series is imagined as a place to model the kind of deep engagement with scripture that increases understanding, heals souls, and builds faith," said senior research fellow Kristian Heal, who coordinates the series with Kim Matheson. "We envision these lectures as both an invitation and a model for engaging scripture more thoroughly, showing the richness with which scripture can inform intellectual concerns, personal discipleship, or pastoral care. Our goal is that attendees will walk away from these lectures wanting to study the scriptures.”
The lectures will be made available online, taking the best of religious scholarship beyond the borders of the Provo campus for the benefit of Latter-day Saints--and all interested viewers--around the world.
The Maxwell Institute’s publication efforts, including its Living Faith book series and a series to be released this fall titled Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants, will likewise reflect the new research initiatives. The organizational changes at the Institute provide an opportune occasion to wind down production of its academic periodical, The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.
"The Journal was a vital home for nurturing Book of Mormon scholarship at a time when the field was small and other venues for a believer's perspective were virtually nonexistent,” said Kim Matheson, the Institute’s Laura F. Willes research fellow.
“Under Joseph M. Spencer, the journal continued to help mature Book of Mormon scholarship, but the field began to develop needs beyond what a journal could meet. Today, Book of Mormon studies requires open access venues that can reach new audiences. We need fresh forms of collaboration that nurture young scholars from many academic disciplines and backgrounds, both inside and outside the tradition. We hope to adapt to these urgent needs for the field even as we continue to champion traditional Book of Mormon publications in other, increasingly available peer-reviewed venues."
Finally, the Maxwell Institute will renew its efforts to educate and involve BYU students in its religious scholarship offerings. The Institute has planned a number of student-focused outreach efforts that will bring students and faculty together to study scripture, discuss the life of faith, and explore the world of interfaith religious ideas.
We’re always drawing inspiration from the legacy of our namesake, Elder Neal A. Maxwell
“We’re always drawing inspiration from the legacy of our namesake, Elder Neal A. Maxwell—always looking for ways that we can nourish audiences in the ways that he did: his fearless joy in exploring and celebrating the wonders of the gospel, and his insistence on the indispensability of involving both heart and mind in those explorations,” said Haws. "We are excited to engage in this with the BYU student community, and then from that community to audiences beyond our campus borders."