Biography
Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. As an undergraduate he spent time at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in the intensive Hebrew program. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU and his Ph.D. from UCLA in Egyptology, where in his final year he was named the UCLA Affiliates Graduate Student of the Year. He taught courses in Hebrew and Religion part time at BYU and the UVSC extension center, as well as in history at Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA. He also taught early morning seminary and at the Westwood (UCLA) Institute of Religion. His first full time appointment was a joint position in Religion and History at BYU-Hawaii. He is the director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project. He was selected by the Princeton Review in 2012 as one of the best 300 professors in the nation (the top .02% of those considered). He was also a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford for the 2016-17 academic year. He has published 13 books, over 60 peer reviewed articles, and has done over 75 academic presentations. He and his wife, Julianne, are the parents of six children and one grandchild, and together they have lived in Jerusalem while Kerry has taught there on multiple occasions. He has served as the chairman of a national committee for the American Research Center in Egypt and serves on their Research Supporting Member Council and on the Board of Governors. He has also served on committees for the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, and has served on their Board of Trustees and as Senior Vice President of the organization, with a brief stint as interim president. He has been the co-chair for the Egyptian Archaeology Session of the American Schools of Oriental Research. He is also a Senior Fellow of the William F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research. He serves on the BYU Studies Quarterly Editorial Board. He is involved with the International Association of Egyptologists, and has worked with Educational Testing Services on their AP World History exam.
Courses Taught: Studies in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology in Egypt, Egyptian History, Old Testament, Teachings of Isaiah, Pearl of Great Price, Book of Mormon, New Testament, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Foundations of Ancient Scripture, Egyptian Historiography, History of Civilization, History of the Near Eastern Empires, Ancient Egypt and Foreign Relations, and Marriage and Family.
Areas of Expertise: Ancient Egypt, Hebrew Bible, Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, Isaiah.
Areas of Research: Dr. Muhlestein is the director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project, and in association with this works on understanding the pyramid excavated there as well as the Graeco-Roman culture represented at the site, and the advent of Christianity in Egypt. In addition, Dr. Muhlestein’s research focuses on the texts and iconography of Egyptian religion, international contact between ancient Egypt and her neighbors, the Egyptian juridical process, Egyptian literature, and the overlap of the Biblical and Egyptian worlds, including the ancient and modern history of the Pearl of Great Price, among other things.
Languages: Exams passed in various phases of Egyptian, as well as Hebrew, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, Coptic, German, and French. Additionally, courses have been taken in Greek and Akkadian.
Honors and Awards
- Richard Lloyd Anderson Excellence in Research Award, Religious Education (2017 - 2017)
Administrative Assignments
- : (2011 - Present)
Memberships
- American Schools of Oriental Research (2015 - Present)
- Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (2001 - Present)
- American Research Center in Egypt (2001 - Present)
Professional Citizenship
- Adjudicator, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2025 - Present)
- Board Member, American Research Center in Egypt (2023 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Religious Studies Center (2018 - Present)
- Committee/Council Member, American Research Center in Egypt, Research Council (2012 - Present)
- Committee/Council Chair, BYU Egypt Excavation Project (2011 - Present)
- Adjudicator, Archeo Nil (2025 - 2026)
- Publications-outreach, Church News (2025 - 2025)
- Adjudicator, The Interpreter Foundation (2025 - 2025)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Interpreter Foundation (2025 - 2025)
- Other, The Scriptures Are Real (2025 - 2025)
- Guest Speaker, Various (2025 - 2025)
- Adjudicator, BYU-Hawaii (2025 - 2025)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Correlation Committee (2025 - 2025)
- Adjudicator, Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (2025 - 2025)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Interpreter Foundation (2025 - 2025)
- Guest Speaker, Continuing Education: Education Week (2025 - 2025)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Netherlands Institute for the Near East at Leiden University (2025 - 2025)
- Conference-Related Role, American Research Center in Egypt (2025 - 2025)
- Adjudicator, ARCE Annual Meeting (2025 - 2025)
- Conference-Related Role, Terra Mia (2024 - 2025)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, RSC (2024 - 2025)
- Adjudicator, ARCE Annual Meeting (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, Local LDS Church Units (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, BYU Alumni Association Santa Barbara (2024 - 2024)
- Adjudicator, Journal of Religions (2024 - 2024)
- Adjudicator, SSEA (Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities) (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, BYU Alumni Association Cedar City (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, BYU Education Week (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, Ensign College (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, BYU Alumni Association Boston (2024 - 2024)
- Guest Speaker, Public Schools (2012 - 2024)
- Committee/Council Member, Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (2017 - 2023)
- Officer (specify in Other), Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities/Société pour l’Étude de l’Égypte Ancienne (2014 - 2023)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Various (2023 - 2023)
- Committee/Council Member, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2023 - 2023)
- Other, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2023 - 2023)
- Other, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2023 - 2023)
- Other, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2023 - 2023)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Archaeologies (2022 - 2022)
- Adjudicator, Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (2022 - 2022)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Routledge (2022 - 2022)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, International Review of Social History (2022 - 2022)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Cambridge University Press (2022 - 2022)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Amsterdam University Press (2022 - 2022)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Austrian Science Fund (2022 - 2022)
- Committee/Council Chair, American Schools of Oriental Research (2019 - 2020)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (2019 - 2019)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, The Interpreter, a Journal of Mormon Scholarship and Thought (2019 - 2019)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Toronto Journal of Theology (2018 - 2018)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, BYU Studies (2018 - 2018)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Interpreter Foundation (2018 - 2018)
- Other, University of Oxford (2016 - 2017)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Joseph Smith Papers Project (2017 - 2017)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, American Research Center in Egypt (2017 - 2017)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Deseret Book (2016 - 2017)
- Conference-Related Role, Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities/Société pour l’Étude de l’Égypte Ancienne (2016 - 2016)
- Other, William F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (2015 - 2016)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Oxford Center for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford (2016 - 2016)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, American Research Center in Egypt (2012 - 2012)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Religious Studies Center (2012 - 2012)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Maxwell Institute (2012 - 2012)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Studia Antiqua (2012 - 2012)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture (2007 - 2010)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture (2009 - 2009)
- Committee/Council Chair, Annaual Meeting Committee, American Research Center in Egypt (2008 - 2008)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture (2008 - 2008)
- Officer (specify in Other), Sperry 2009 Committee (2008 - 2008)
- Committee/Council Chair, American Research Center in Egypt Annual Meeting Committee (2006 - 2008)
- Committee/Council Chair, Annaual Meeting Committee, American Research Center in Egypt (2007 - 2007)