Bio: Born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota. Received a Bachelor's degree in Near Eastern Studies from BYU in 1984 and a Master's and Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Utah in 1991 and 1998 respectively. Married to the former Tessa Jean McNamara. Three daughters.

Courses Taught: New Testament, Pearl of Great Price, Islam and the Gospel, World Religions

Areas of Expertise: Islamic origins and development; Qu'ran and extraqur'anic medieval literature; Book of Abraham; Temple studies.

Areas of Research: Studies on the book of Abraham (Akedah, tradtions, etc.); Introduction to Islam for Latter-day Saints; Ancient Temple architecture

Languages: Arabic (mostly reading of medieval Islamic texts. Fair to good); Hebrew (some reading with difficulty); German (reading with difficulty); French (fair reading ability)