President Merrill J. Bateman has announced that the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) has accepted an invitation from the BYU Board of Trustees to become part of the university.
In extending the invitation, President Gordon B. Hinckley, chairman of the board and LDS Church president, said, “FARMS represents the efforts of sincere and dedicated scholars. It has grown to provide strong support and defense of the Church on a professional basis.”
President Hinckley also noted that FARMS has earned credibility and recognition for its work both inside and outside the LDS community.
“I wish to express my strong congratulations and appreciation for those who started this effort and who have shepherded it to this point,” he said. “I see a bright future for this effort now through the university.”
FARMS and BYU have had a long-standing relationship. “Most of the scholars who have participated in FARMS projects or have served on the FARMS board of directors have been BYU faculty,” said FARMS president Noel B. Reynolds, a BYU professor of political science.
More than 100 BYU faculty members have participated in FARMS projects. The foundation has provided them with financial and staff support for scholarly work, including opportunities for scholarly publication and peer review.
FARMS and BYU have also cooperated on a number of projects, most recently working together on the Masada and Dead Sea Scrolls exhibitions at the BYU Museum of Art.
This new arrangement offers significant benefits to both the university and FARMS, said President Bateman, who has served on the FARMS advisory board. “Bringing FARMS into the university will give both entities more visibility and increased scholarly prestige. I am excited about the work that we will be able to do together.”
Reynolds said an important advantage to FARMS is the access scholars will now have to university services. In addition, it will be easier for BYU faculty from a wide range of disciplines to participate in FARMS projects.
“We have thought long and hard about this move,” said Reynolds. “Our organizational independence has served us well in our formative years, and we are confident that FARMS will continue in the future to deliver the same dynamic and innovative scholarship as it has in the past.
“Two things in particular,” he added, “have made the prospect of joining forces with BYU more and more attractive: the growing complexity of our relationship with the university, as we have involved more BYU faculty and staff in our projects and programs, and the expanding opportunities for Book of Mormon research, with a corresponding growth in our need for resources.”
Founded in 1979, FARMS exists to promote and coordinate Book of Mormon research and to make the results of such research available to the general public. Through its nearly 20 years of work, the organization has sponsored symposia, published books, supported research, and delved into many other projects, including a cooperative effort with Deseret Book to published the complete works of Hugh Nibley.
“FARMS has grown much faster and far larger than we ever could have anticipated,” says FARMS founder and BYU law professor John W. Welch. “This reflects the intense interest that people have in the Book of Mormon all over the world.”
