Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

The Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (ISPART) was established in 2001. Daniel Oswald served as the executive director from 2001-2003 and Noel B. Reynolds served from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, the BYU Board of Trustees renamed ISPART the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

The Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts helped recover, preserve, study, and publish ancient documents. The institute was specifically interested in the Bible and its historical context, the manuscript sources of Eastern Christianity, and Book of Mormon scholarship. The Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (ISPART) was the administering body for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (CPART), Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI), and Research Technology Group. All divisions functioned under the direction of an executive director who acted in the same capacity as a Dean of an academic department.

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