A native of southern California, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, where he has taught Arabic language and literature at all levels, Islamic philosophy, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic religion, the Qur’an, the introductory and senior “capstone” courses for Middle Eastern Studies majors, and various other occasional specialized classes. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics–including a biography entitled Muhammad: Prophet of God (Eerdmans, 2007)—and has lectured across the United States, in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and at various Islamic universities in the Near East and Asia. He served in the Switzerland Zürich Mission (1972-1974), and, for approximately eight years, on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also presided for a time as the bishop of a singles ward adjacent to Utah Valley University. Dr. Peterson is married to the former Deborah Stephens, of Lakewood, Colorado, and they are the parents of three sons.
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FairMormon Conference Presentations
“What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?”: Apostasy and Restoration in the Big Picture (1999)
Easier than Research, More Inflammatory than Truth (2000)
The Divine Source of the Book of Mormon in the Face of Alternative Theories Advocated by LDS Critics (2001)
The Protean Joseph Smith (2002)
Random Reflections on the Passing Scene (2003)
Autobiographical Notes on My Testimony (2004)
Reflections on Secular Anti-Mormonism (2005)
Tangible Restoration: The Witnesses and What They Experienced (PDF) (2006)
God and Mr. Hitchens (PDF) (2007)
The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God (2009)
The Obligation to Do Apologetics (PDF) (2010)
Mormonism, Islam, and the Question of Other Religions (2011)
Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics (2012)
Toward a More Effective Apologetics (2013)
Some Reflections On That Letter To a CES Director (2014)
Papers
Apologetics by the Numbers
Book Reviews
Uncovering a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? A Brief Review of ‘Statements of the LDS First Presidency: A Topical Compendium’