About the Foundation
Mission Statement
The Interpreter Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization focused on the scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, the Bible, and the Doctrine and Covenants), early LDS history, and related subjects. All publications in its journal, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, are peer-reviewed and made available as free internet downloads or through at-cost print-on-demand services. Other posts on the website are not necessarily peer-reviewed, but are approved by Interpreter’s Executive Board.
Our goal is to increase understanding of scripture through careful scholarly investigation and analysis of the insights provided by a wide range of ancillary disciplines, including language, history, archaeology, literature, culture, ethnohistory, art, geography, law, politics, philosophy, statistics, etc. Interpreter will also publish articles advocating the authenticity and historicity of LDS scripture and the Restoration, along with scholarly responses to critics of the LDS faith. We hope to illuminate, by study and faith, the eternal spiritual message of the scriptures—that Jesus is the Christ.
Although the Board fully supports the goals and teachings of the Church, The Interpreter Foundation is an independent entity and is not owned, controlled by, or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or with Brigham Young University. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of their respective authors, and should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Board nor as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief, or practice.
Daniel C. Peterson
President
Daniel C. Peterson (Ph.D., UCLA) is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University and founder of the university’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. He has published and spoken extensively on both Islamic and Mormon subjects. Formerly chairman of the board of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) and an officer, editor, and author for its successor organization, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, his professional work as an Arabist focuses on the Qur’an and on Islamic philosophical theology. He is the author, among other things, of a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007).
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
Vice President
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (PhD, Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida (see Wikipedia). His professional writings have explored a wide range of topics in human and machine intelligence.
Jeff was a missionary in France and Belgium from 1975–1977. He has served twice as a bishop and twice as a counselor in the stake presidency of the Pensacola Florida Stake. He has published books and articles on the book of Moses and Genesis 1-11, temple studies and the ancient Near East. He and his wife, Kathleen, are the parents of four children and twelve grandchildren. In June 2018, they finished two years of service in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa Mission.
Steven T. Densley, Jr.
Executive Vice President
Steve Densley, Jr. is a Utah attorney (J.D., Brigham Young University). He graduated with University Honors from BYU with a combined B.A./M.A. in public policy and political science. He has published articles in the Utah Bar Journal, the Journal of Law and Family Studies, and Meridian Magazine. He was the Executive Vice President of FairMormon from 2013-15 and, recipient of the John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award, and was producer of FairMormon’s podcast when it twice won the People’s Choice Award for Best Podcast in the Religion & Spirituality category.
Noel Reynolds
Vice President
Noel Reynolds (PhD, Harvard University) is an emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University, where he taught a broad range of courses in legal and political philosophy, American Heritage, and the Book of Mormon. His research and publications are based in these fields and several others, including authorship studies, Mormon history, Christian history and theology, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Allen Wyatt
Vice President of Operations
Allen Wyatt, an internationally recognized expert in small computer systems, has written more than 60 books explaining different facets of working with computers. He is the president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company.
Before serving with the Interpreter Foundation, Allen served as vice president of FAIR and founding president of the More Good Foundation. He has written articles for the FARMS Review and various online venues, including Meridian Magazine.
Deidre Marlowe
Manager of Peer Review
Tanya Spackman
Manager of Editorial Services
Kevin Christensen
Brant A. Gardner
Jeff Lindsay
Louis C. Midgley
George L. Mitton
Gregory L. Smith
Ed Snow
Ted Vaggalis
Matthew L. Bowen
David M. Calabro
Craig L. Foster
Taylor Halverson
Benjamin L. McGuire
Tyler R. Moulton
Martin S. Tanner
Bryan J. Thomas
A. Keith Thompson
John S. Thompson
Robert S. Boylan
Kristine Wardle Frederickson
Benjamin I. Huff
Jennifer C. Lane
David J. Larsen
Ugo A. Perego
Stephen D. Ricks
Lynne Hilton Wilson
Mark Alan Wright
Donor Relations
Jann E. Campbell
Treasurer
Kent Flack
Interpreter Radio
Mike Ash
Matthew Bowen
Kevin Christensen
Steve Densley
Craig Foster
Kris Frederiksen
John Gee
Brian Hales
Terry Hutchinson
Mark Johnson
Mike Parker
Dan Peterson
Jasmine Gimenez Rappleye
Neal Rappleye
Stephen Smoot
Hales Swift
Martin Tanner
Bruce Webster
Allen Wyatt
Production Editors and Designers
Kelsey Fairbanks Avery
Timothy Guymon
Alan Sikes
Editorial Consultants
Merrie Kay Ames
Starla Butler
Kasen Christensen
Jolie Griffin
Don Norton
Kaitlin Cooper Swift
Stephen Swift
Elizabeth Wyatt
Media & Technology
Scott Dunaway
Richard Flygare
Mark Johnson
Brad Haymond
Steve Metcalf
Tyler R. Moulton
Tom Pittman
Russell D. Richins
Alan Sikes
S. Hales Swift
Victor Worth
Donate to the cause
The Interpreter Foundation is a nonprofit organization. All journal publications and video presentations are available for free by digital download and streaming. The price of hard copy versions of journal articles covers only the cost of printing; books are typically priced to help cover both upfront pre-publication expenses and royalties to authors when applicable. In some cases, the Foundation may subsidize publication costs to keep retail prices affordable. The Foundation does not profit from sales of its publications.
