Kerry Muhlestein

Kerry Muhlestein received his B.S. from BYU in psychology with a Hebrew minor, an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU, and his Ph.D. from UCLA in Egyptology. He has served as the Senior Vice President for the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, has been the co-chair for the Egyptian Archaeology Session of the American Schools of Oriental Research, and has been a Senior Fellow of the William F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research.

Recommended by Us

What is the covenant path, and how can we know we’re on it? Scholar Kerry Muhlestein answers

By Kerry Muhlestein

June 23, 2023 09:10 AM MDT

We have been taught to stay on the covenant path—but this can feel daunting if you don’t fully understand what that path is or if you’re even on it.

8 Min Read

Feature Stories

Why this professor is hooked on studying the Book of Abraham

By Kerry Muhlestein

May 25, 2022 10:25 AM MDT

Book of Abraham research is hard to do. But for me it also became hard not to do.

7 Min Read

How identifying 6 key promised blessings that flow to Israel can help your study of covenant Israel

By Kerry Muhlestein

March 15, 2021 12:00 PM MDT

During our last general conference, President Russell M. Nelson asked us to undertake a specific course of study. He said, “As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.”1

14 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

9 Accounts Give Insights to What It Might Have Been Like for Joseph to First See Heavenly Light

By Kerry Muhlestein

March 18, 2020 11:00 AM MDT

Editor’s note: Most of us are familiar with the story of the First Vision. Some might even have the account from Joseph Smith—History memorized. But that account is not the only time Joseph Smith shared his miraculous experience. Using nine different accounts, Muhlestein shares one harmonized story of the First Vision, including what led up to it and what Joseph learned from it, in his new book, I Saw the Lord. This excerpt offers an idea of what it might have been like for Joseph to have overwhelming, hopeless darkness dissipated by intense light as he first saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

7 Min Read

From the Church

10 Things We Know (and Don’t Know) about the Book of Abraham Papyri

By Kerry Muhlestein

July 12, 2014 08:26 AM MDT

This week, the Church released a new essay on the historicity and translation of the Book of Abraham. While there is much that we don’t know about this ancient book of scripture, based on the history, there are some things we can deduce from clues in the text itself, contemporary papyri, and eyewitnesses of the papyri:

4 Min Read

10 Fascinating Facts from the Old Testament

By Kerry Muhlestein

January 14, 2014 05:20 AM MST

1. Seeing Eve’s new potential for giving life, Adam names her Eve. In Hebrew, Eve means “to live.”

2 Min Read