Skip to main content
Intellect

Sperry Symposium on the Scriptures Oct. 27-28 at BYU to focus on New Testament

Elder Alexander B. Morrison to be keynote speaker

“How the New Testament Came to Be” is the theme for the 35th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium on the Scriptures, to be held on the Brigham Young University campus Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28.

The keynote speaker will be Elder Alexander B. Morrison, an emeritus General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who will discuss “Plain and Precious Things: The Writing of the New Testament.” His address will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in the Joseph Smith Auditorium.

Following his address, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., lectures will continue in the JSB Auditorium and in the Thomas L. Martin Building, with five concurrent sessions held each hour.

On Saturday, a plenary session will be held at 9 a.m. in the JSB Auditorium featuring Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Church history and doctrine professor at BYU. His topic will be “The Da Vinci Code, the Gospel of Judas and Other Bad Ideas.”

Following this session, five concurrent sessions will begin at 10 and 11 a.m. in the JSB Auditorium and the Martin Building. The closing session will feature Robert J. Matthews, former dean of Religious Education at BYU, speaking on “Joseph Smith and the New Testament.” Other presenters include faculty from BYU’s Department of Ancient Scripture and BYU–Hawaii, as well as other scholars.

Material presented at the symposium will be an aid to the 2007 Gospel Doctrine curriculum of the Church of Jesus Christ.

A collection of papers from the symposium will be published in a book and will released by Deseret Book and the Religious Studies Center at BYU.

There is no registration required and admission is free. For more information or a copy of the symposium schedule, contact Patty Smith, BYU Religious Education, (801) 422-3611, or visit religion.byu.edu.

Writer: Brooke Eddington

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Learning students’ names boosts belonging at BYU, study finds

August 28, 2025
The start of a new semester brings more than fresh syllabi. It brings the challenge—and opportunity—of learning the names behind each new face in a classroom.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

The next chapter in BYU's origami engineering: Student-discovered patterns unfold like blooming flowers, have major applications

August 19, 2025
BYU Engineering is well known for origami-inspired research and innovations, including foldable antenna systems used in space. Recently, an undergraduate student made a significant discovery—a new family of origami patterns with promising applications across a range of fields, including space systems, medical devices, bulletproof shields, architecture, furniture and aerodynamic components for transportation.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Impossible Burgers at a summer BBQ? Impossible! Why plant-based alternatives are still just beyond reach for most people

August 14, 2025
Plant-Based Alternatives (PBAs) — such as the Impossible Burger — are becoming more common, and those who try them say they are actually quite good. And while companies are pouring billions into making PBAs taste just like their meat counterparts, they still aren’t catching on. So what’s the hold-up?
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=