ABOUT US
The LATTER-DAY SAINT Theology Seminar is an independent, scholarly forum committed to organizing short-term, seminar-style collaborations that consider specific questions about Latter-day Saint theology through close readings of foundational Latter-day Saint texts.
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FOCUSED COLLABORATION:
The Seminar’s primary aim is to create a common space where theological work can be undertaken in a way that is both concentrated and collaborative.
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The Seminar means to avoid two difficulties that traditionally plague such scholarly work. On the one hand, focused theological work is typically an individual affair and the spaces that support this work tend to reinforce isolation and idiosyncrasy. For instance, the writing of conference papers and journal articles tends to be relatively private work that only briefly flares in the common space of a presentation or publication. On the other hand, common spaces typically conducive to spirited discussion and collaboration generally tend to preclude focused and sustained concentration. Exchanges on blogs and discussion lists, for example, while often invigorating and instructive, consistently lack focus and resolution. In short, collaboration tends to diffuse concentration, and vice versa.
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In order to address the apparent difficulty of coupling collaboration and concentration, the Seminar organizes small, temporary study groups (seminars) designed to facilitate collaborative engagement in focused readings of primary Mormon texts.
SEMINAR ORGANIZATION:
Seminars are organized along the following lines:
(1) Seminar typically consist of 8 people, preferably including both men and women, and preferably with a variety of backgrounds.
(2) Online seminars typically collaborate for a period of 3-4 months. Live seminars typically collaborate for two weeks.
(3) Seminars are organized around the reading of a small selection from a Mormon text (typically just one or two chapters). An agreed upon reading schedule paces the work.
(4) Prior to the work of reading itself, seminar participants formulate a provisional set of key questions in order focus discussions and aid in formulating concise summaries of their findings. These questions may be freely modified, extended, or replaced as the seminar proceeds.
(5) Members of the seminar take turns leading discussions that address the current reading assignment in view of the seminar’s key questions.
(6) At the conclusion of the seminar, the participants co-author a concise report summarizes their provisional findings. In addition to the joint report, participants also typically compose individual papers prompted by their work in the seminar.
(7) Reports and individual papers are then presented and published or archived.
Presently, seminars are commissioned to address specific texts and topics. Some seminars are conducted principally online. Other seminars, like the Summer Seminar in Latter-day Saint Theology offered in partnership with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, are conducted in-person.
MEET US:
Director
ADAM MILLER
Adam S. Miller is a professor of philosophy at Collin College in McKinney, Texas. He earned a BA in comparative literature from Brigham Young University and an MA and PhD in philosophy from Villanova University. He is the author of ten books, including The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace, An Early Resurrection, and Mormon: A Brief Theological Introduction.
Assistant Director
JOESPH SPENCER
Joseph M. Spencer is a philosophy and an assistant professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. He is the author or editor of eight books, most recently 1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction. He serves as the editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, an editor of the book series Introductions to Mormon Thought, and the associate director of the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar. He and his wife, Karen, live with their five children in Provo, Utah.
Executive Board Member
KIMBERLY BERKEY
Kimberly Matheson Berkey is a PhD candidate in theology at Loyola University Chicago where she studies Christian contemplative practice and continental philosophy of religion. She holds degrees from Brigham Young University and Harvard Divinity School, and also serves on the board of the Book of Mormon Studies Association. Kim is the author of Helaman: A Brief Theologcal Introduction (Maxwell Institute, forthcoming).
Executive Board Member
ROBERT COUCH
Robert Couch is an assistant professor of global management at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. In addition to doing research in finance and economics, Robert also does work on business ethics and Mormonism.
Executive Board Member
JAMES E. FAULCONER
ames E. Faulconer is a Senior Research Scholar at the Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. His Ph.D. is in philosophy, from the Pennsylvania State University. He has written several books, including the Made Harder series of study questions for the Latter-day Saint standard works, and a number of scholarly articles. He is the author of Mosiah: A Brief Theological Introduction (Maxwell Institute, 2020) and Thinking Otherwise: Theological Explorations of Joseph Smith’s Revelations (Maxwell Institute, forthcoming).
Executive Board Member
JENNY WEBB
Jenny Webb is a freelance editor and production manager for academic journals who works in the fields of comparative literature and Mormon studies. She has contributed to several volumes on scriptural theology, including Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah, which she coedited along with Joseph M. Spencer. Jenny lives in Woodinville, Washington with her husband and two children. More at jennywebbedits.com.
Executive Board Member
ROSALYNDE WELCH
Rosalynde Frandsen Welch is an independent scholar of Latter-day Saint literature, theology, and scripture. She holds a Ph.D. in early modern English literature from the University of California at San Diego. Her scholarship has appeared in BYU Studies Quarterly, The Mormon Studies Review, The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, and numerous edited volumes. She served as co-director of the 2019 Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar. She is the author of Ether: A Brief Theological Introduction (published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, forthcoming).