Skip to main content
Intellect

Richard L. Anderson to give Maxwell Institute lecture March 20

Will speak on “Probing the Lives of Christ and Joseph Smith”

Brigham Young University professor emeritus Richard L. Anderson will present the 2009 Neal A. Maxwell Institute Lecture Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium.

An authority on the life of the Savior, the New Testament and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Anderson will present a lecture titled, “Probing the Lives of Christ and Joseph Smith.” He will discuss the reliability of the documentary process by which we know of events in New Testament times and in the early years of the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Anderson taught ancient scripture and history at BYU and is currently research historian and review editor for the Joseph Smith Papers Project. His books include “Joseph Smith’s New England Heritage,” “Investigating the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon,” “Understanding Paul” and “Guide to the Life of Christ.”

In honor of Anderson, who has been the recipient of several awards and honors including Honors Professor of the Year and Phi Kappa Phi Award for Scholarship and Citizenship, BYU Religious Education annually bestows the “Richard L. Anderson Research Award.”

He is a graduate of BYU and has advanced degrees from BYU, Harvard Law School and University of California, Berkeley.

Named in 2006 in honor of the former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Maxwell Institute includes the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, the Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, BYU Studies and the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative.

For more information, visit mi.byu.edu/files/pages/andersonlecture.php, or contact Elin Roberts at (801) 422-7154.

Writer: Angela Fischer

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Forum: BYU 150 president's panel

November 18, 2025
Today’s special forum featured a panel discussion with current BYU President C. Shane Reese and previous Presidents Kevin J Worthen, Cecil O. Samuelson and Merrill J. Bateman.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Duo of BYU professors named to list of world's most influential researchers

November 13, 2025
Two Brigham Young University professors have been named as two of the most influential researchers in the world, with one earning the distinction for the first time and another extending a years-long streak on the list.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU research: Mega wildfires can actually be a good thing

November 04, 2025
BYU professor Sam St. Clair is the principal investigator on the first study to show positive impacts of megafires (fires greater than 100,000 acres) across different forest types. Megafires can help some forest communities thrive — especially in areas where chronic browsing by elk, deer, and livestock has hindered tree regeneration, a widespread issue that often leads to forest regeneration failure.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=