''Mormon Studies Review'' is an annual

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

covering

Mormon studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

published by the

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...

. Previously, until and including its 2018 issue, the journal was published by

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. In November 2018, ownership transferred to the University of Illinois Press, which continues to publish the journal.

History

The ''Review of Books on the Book of Mormon'' was established in 1989 by the

Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. The organization was established in 1979 as a non-profit organization by John. W. We ...

(FARMS), with Daniel C. Peterson as founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

. It was renamed to ''FARMS Review of Books'' in 1996, to ''FARMS Review'' in 2003, and finally to ''Mormon Studies Review'' in 2011, as the FARMS brand had been phased out after being absorbed into the Maxwell Institute in 2006. Under Peterson's editorship, the journal specialized in Latter-day Saint apologetics. When FARMS joined with BYU in 1997, Peterson said to the ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

,'' "FARMS has often had a polemical edge and we are curious to see how or whether that will be accommodated."

Reboot

In 2012, Peterson was removed as editor and the journal entered hiatus as it sought to become more mainstream to Mormon studies. In March 2013, the Maxwell Institute announced the journal would relaunch as a new

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

review journal A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic within a certain discipline. A review article is generally considered a secondary source since it may analyze and discuss the method and conclusions ...

, without a primary focus on apologetics. J. Spencer Fluhman, from BYU's department of history, was appointed editor-in-chief with a new broad-based advisory board. The new ''Review'' changed from biannual to annual publication, and it restarted its numbering, beginning at volume 1 in 2014, signifying its change in editorial direction as a new publication. After publishing six volumes, the Maxwell Institute transferred ownership of the ''Review'' to the University of Illinois Press. As of 2025, the University of Illinois continues to publish the ''Review''.

References

External links

*
Maxwell Institute's MSR website

Archive of ''FARMS Review'', predecessor to the ''Mormon Studies Review''

Introducing the inaugural issue of the Mormon Studies Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mormon Studies Review Annual journals English-language journals 1989 in Christianity 2014 in Christianity Brigham Young University publications Academic journals established in 1989 Mormon apologetics Maxwell Institute 1989 establishments in Utah Academic journals published by universities and colleges of the United States University of Illinois Press academic journals

History

Reboot

See also

References

External links