Daniel C. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 and currently serves as editor-in-chief of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. He is a member of the executive council of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University.

Background

A native of California, Peterson received a bachelor's degree in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 and philosophy from BYU and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, earned his Ph.D. in near eastern languages and cultures from the University of California

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 at Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

Peterson is known for his work as an apologist

Mormon apologetics

Mormon apologetics is the systematic defense of Mormonism against its critics. Notable Latter-day Saint apologists include early church leaders such as John Taylor, B. H. Roberts, James E. Talmage and modern scholars such as Hugh Nibley, Orson Scott Card, and Jeff Lindsay...

 and scholar on subjects dealing with claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), of which he is a member. He has served as the editor of the FARMS Review, a periodical produced by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies is an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. The group is formally part of the Neal A...

. Peterson is a regular participant in online fora about Mormonism where he discusses the LDS faith and its apologetics. One of his most recent projects has been the development of a website featuring the testimonies of LDS scholars.

Peterson served a mission in the Switzerland Zurich mission. He served on the LDS Church's gospel doctrine committee and has also served in at least one BYU ward bishopric.

Peterson was a bishop in the LDS Church.

External links

• Reflections on Secular Anti-Mormonism