Stephen D. Ricks

Stephen D. Ricks is a professor of Hebrew and Cognate Learning at Brigham Young University. He served as Associate Dean of General Education and Honors from 1992 to 1996. He directed two study abroad programs, the first to Vienna and the second to London. He was president of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies from 1989 to 1991 and chairman of the board of directors from 1991 to 1997. He is a Maxwell Institute Fellow.

Ricks is the author of “Who Shall Ascend into the Mount of the Lord?” The Psalms in Israel’s Worship in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon (with LeGrand Baker); The Dead Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints (with Donald W. Parry); Offenders for a Word (with Daniel C. Peterson); Western Language Literature on Pre-Islamic Central Arabia; A Bibliography on Temples of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean World (with Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch); and A Lexicon of Inscriptional Qatabanian.

He has edited several volumes and has written and presented numerous papers. He was the founding editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies and served as the editor from 1992 to 1997. He holds a PhD from the University of California, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from BYU.

He and his wife, Shirley Smith Ricks, are the parents of six children. Ricks is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a missionary for the Church in Switzerland.