List of Faculty

Terry B. Ball

Dr. Ball is a Professor of Ancient Scripture and is currently the Dean of Religious Education at BYU. Although Dr. Ball teaches many classes including Book of Mormon, and New Testament, his recent Ancient Scripture research has focused primarily on the prophet Isaiah. His thorough mastering of Biblical Hebrew is vital to his understanding and teaching.
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Lincoln Blumell

Dr. Blumell is a visiting assistant professor at BYU. He received a BA Hons. in Classical and Early Christian Studies from the University of Calgary; an MA from the University of Calgary in Religious Studies (Ancient Christianity); an M.St. from Oxford (Christ Church) in Jewish Studies; and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Religious Studies (Early Christianity). Before coming to BYU, Dr. Blumell held a Visiting Assistant Professorship in the Department of Classical Studies at Tulane University in New Orleans.
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Richard D. Draper

Brother Draper grew up in Utah Valley and graduated from Pleasant Grove High School. Immediately thereafter he went into the armed services. After a year, he came home and served a mission to the Central Atlantic States. He attended BYU and, after graduation, was hired by the Church Education System where he worked as an institute instrutor for the next twenty years. Upon completing his Ph.D. in Ancient History from BYU, he was hired by Religious Education. He is now a professor of Ancient Scripture specializing in prophecy, apocalyptic, and New Testament background.
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C. Wilfred Griggs

Dr. Griggs was educated at Brigham Young University and Stanford University. He received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation on early Christianity in Egypt leading up to the establishment of the Egyptian Coptic Church was published by Brill Academic Publishers under the title Early Egyptian Christianity: From Its Origins to 451 C.E.
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Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Dr. Richard Holzapfel is a Professor of Church History in the Religious Education Department at BYU. He attended BYU, Hebrew Union College, and the University of California, Irvine (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.) emphasizing in Middle Eastern Studies, Jewish History, Ancient History. Dr. Holzapfel began teaching at Brigham Young University in 1993, and has taught in the Church History, Ancient Scripture, and History departments. He is currently the Managing Director of Religious Studies Center Publications and the Editor-in-Chief of the center's periodical The Religious Educator. In addition, he serves as an Editorial Board Member for BYU Studies. Dr. Holzapfel has received various awards and honors for his teaching, including Continuing Education Faculty Teaching Award in 2006. In 2008 he was named the BYU Honors Professor of the Year. Along with his teaching and university appointments, Dr. Holzapfel remains one of the most rigorous and widely published writers on campus.
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Eric D. Huntsman

Dr. Eric D. Huntsman has received B.A. in Classical Greek and Latin from Brigham Young University in August 1990, an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania in May 1992, and a Ph.D. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania in December of 1997. He Joined the faculty at BYU full–time in 1994 as an Instructor of Classics, becoming an Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient History in 1997. Later he transferred to the College of Religious Education, becoming an Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture in 2003 and an Associate Professor in 2008.
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Kent P. Jackson

Dr. Jackson is a Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He received his B.A. cum laude in University Studies (Ancient Studies) at Brigham Young University, then went on to earn an M.A. and PhD in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, specializing in Ancient Near East and Biblical Studies.
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Frank F. Judd, Jr.

Born and raised in New Jersey, he served a full-time mission in Sacramento California. Following his mission he married the former Jill Fillmore in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of five daughters. Dr. Judd loves to ride his motorcycle and enjoys watching sports, especially college football and basketball.
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Jared Ludlow

Dr. Jared Ludlow received his Ph.D. from UC-Berkeley and has taught at both BYU Hawaii and now at BYU Provo. He teaches classes on the New Testament, Old Testament, Book of Mormon and others. His abilities in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and German inform his teaching.
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Stephen E. Robinson

Dr. Stephen E. Robinson has been teaching religion at Brigham Young University since 1986 and was appointed chairman of the Department of Ancient Scripture in 1991. Dr. Robinson received a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Ancient Scripture from BYU. He received a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Duke University and was tenured at Lycoming College after teaching religion there, at Hampden–Sydney College, and Duke. Dr. Robinson also served as chairman of the Religion Department at Lycoming. Dr. Robinson has written numerous books both for the academic press and for his coreligionists. His two most popular books are Are Mormons Christians? and Believing Christ. In the introduction to Believing Christ he states, "It is not a sin to be bilingual" referring to his and other's ability to write both for an academic audience and for a religious audience as well. His vigorous and honest defense of the Church and its doctrine has added much to the strength of the church and its members.
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David Rolph Seely

Dr. David Rolph Seely earned a B.A. from BYU in Greek in 1981; an M.A. from BYU in Classics in 1982; an A.M. from University of Michigan in Ancient and Biblical Studies in 1985; and a Ph.D. from University of Michigan in Ancient and Biblical Studies in 1990. He was hired at BYU in 1987. He currently teaches courses in the Book of Mormon, New Testament, Old Testament, Writings of Isaiah, Pearl of Great Price, History of Israel, History of the Bible, and History of Civilization. He uses Italian, Spanish, French, German, Ancient Hebrew and Greek, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Akkadian, and Latin to supplement his research. Dr. Seely has written several books and articles related to the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. Among these are Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem which he co–edited with John W. Welch and his wife, Jo Ann H. Seely.
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Gaye Strathearn

Dr. Strathearn is an Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. Born and raised in Australia. Participated in the Jerusalem Study Abroad in Fall 1987. Came to BYU as a student in 1989. Earned a B.A. and M.A. in Near Eastern Studies and a Ph.D. in New Testament at the Claremont Graduate University.
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Thomas A. Wayment

Dr. Wayment is an Associate professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He received his BA in Classics from the University of California at Riverside, and his MA and PhD in New Testament Studies from the Claremont Graduate School. He has been teaching full time at BYU since 2000.
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John W. Welch

John Welch is an LDS law and religion scholar who currently teaches at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Welch received his bachelors and masters degree from BYU (B.A. in History, M.A. in Latin and Greek). He then studied at Oxford University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Welch received his J.D. from Duke University. He is the Robert K. Thomas professor of law in the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
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