Neal A. Maxwell Institute

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, or simply the Maxwell Institute, was created by Brigham Young University (BYU) in 2006 as the umbrella organization for several of the University's academic initiatives, including: the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI), the Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (CPART), the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS).

By 2013, FARMS had become fully absorbed into the Institute's Willes Center. The Maxwell Institute's mission statement reads: “Our mission is to deepen understanding and nurture discipleship among Latter-day Saints and to promote mutual respect and goodwill among people of all faiths through the scholarly study of religious texts and traditions.”

According to its website, The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship is an academic research unit at BYU composed of scholars whose primary interest is the study of religious texts and traditions. The Institute consists of researchers who manage the following initiatives:

The Institute also employs a small staff of office assistants, publications personnel, and a number of student interns. Finally, it includes a three-member Research Technology Group. This group works with software such as WordCruncher in order to help facilitate research of complex texts.

The Institute publishes books and journals for both general and academic readers. Academic publications focus on early Christian studies, Middle Eastern texts, and Mormon studies, including the Mormon Studies Review. Academic book-length titles often carry the BYU Press imprint and are distributed by the University of Chicago Press. Publications for general readers consist of research and interpretation of the contents and contexts of ancient and modern LDS scripture, as well as scholarship that commends and defends the Mormon faith. These publications include three periodicals—the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, Studies in the Bible and Antiquity, and the Mormon Studies Review. One of the Institute's important publications is Royal Skousen's Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. The Maxwell Institute Podcast features interviews with religious and textual scholars from a variety of religious traditions.