Richard Charles Neitzel Holzapfel (born 1954) is a former professor of Church History and Doctrine at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) and an author on topics related to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), Western and Utah History, and the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

. As of 2018, Holzapfel is working in the LDS Church's Missionary Department as a senior manager.

Biography

Holzapfel was born in

Blackfoot, Idaho Blackfoot (Shoshoni language: Soo-gahni) is a city in Bingham County, Idaho. The population was 11,907 at the time of the 2019 census. The city is the county seat of Bingham County. Blackfoot boasts the largest potato industry in any one area, and ...

, and moved regularly as a child, due to his father's naval career. In addition to his native state, his family resided in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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, and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. He attended

Castle Park High School Castle Park High School, established in 1962, is a high school in Chula Vista, California. It offers Advanced Placement classes. Along with Bonita Vista High School, it is one of only two schools in the Sweetwater Union School District that of ...

(

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

) and graduated from York High School (

York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home ...

) in 1972. Holzapfel served from 1973 to 1975 as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for the LDS Church in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Holzapfel attended BYU,

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, and the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

(UC Irvine), receiving

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degrees respectively, with an emphases in Middle Eastern Studies, Jewish History, Ancient History, American History, and Nineteenth Century American Religious History. Holzapfel met Jeni Carol Broberg at BYU, and they were married in 1978. A year later their first child, Nate, was born and the family also moved to California to pursue graduates studies, with Holzapfel completing a doctorate at UC Irvine. While at UC Irvine, he simultaneously worked for the LDS Church's seminary and institute program. His first book, ''Old Mormon Nauvoo 1839-1846'' was released in 1990 and received the citation for Significant Contribution from the John Whitmer Historic Association. He is the author of the state history textbook used in Utah public schools, ''Utah: A Journey of Discovery''. Holzapfel taught at BYU from 1993 until 2018 when he began working for the LDS Church's Missionary Department overseeing the development of worldwide missionary curriculum. In this position, he was involved in creating the updated missionary handbook in 2019. Holzapfel and his wife reside in

Springville, Utah Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, Utah that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work ...

and are the parents of five children. In 2007, Holzapfel assisted the More Good Foundation in launchin
Christ.org
a website intending to bring people closer to Jesus Christ. In 2013, Holzapfel's oldest son, Nate Holzapfel appeared as a contestant on ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...

'', signing an ultimately successful business deal worth millions. However, in 2021 Nate was arrested on allegations that he defrauded a woman he had been dating out of nearly $200,000.

Academia and scholarship

Holzapfel earned his Ph.D. in history from UC Irvine in 1993. Following his graduation in 1993, Holzapfel went to BYU as an assistant professor, teaching in the Church History and Doctrine, Ancient Scripture, Honors, and History departments. His courses included World Civilization, Utah History, American Heritage,

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

, New Testament, and Foundations of the Restoration. He taught at the

BYU Jerusalem Center The Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (often simply referred to as the BYU Jerusalem Center or BYU–Jerusalem), situated on Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, is a satellite campus of Brigham Young University ( ...

from 1997 to 1998 and directed the BYU Study Abroad program in Italy and Greece in 2009. Holzapfel has lectured around the United States and around the world including in Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, England, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Holzapfel served as the Publications Director of the

Religious Studies Center The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on the culture, history, scripture, and doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

at BYU from 2006 to 2010, and as editor of the

Religious Educator The Religious Studies Center (RSC) is the research and publishing arm of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU), sponsoring scholarship on the culture, history, scripture, and doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, a quarterly publication from 2000 to 2010. Throughout his academic career, Holzapfel received several awards including: * Special Citation, Mormon History Association * Dwight L. Smith Award, Western History Association * Numerous awards from the Charles Redd Center for Western History * Alcuin Fellowship in General Education * Honors Professor of the Year * Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship In addition to teaching and filling various committee assignments at BYU, Holzapfel continued a research, writing, and publication agenda. He has been published in several national and regional journals including the ''Utah Historical Quarterly, The History Teacher'', ''Western Historical Quarterly, Christian Century, Journal of Mormon History, Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, and Utah History Encyclopedia.''

Works

Holzapfel has written over 45 books, including biographies and various photographic works. Following is a partial list. *''He Will Give You Rest: An Invitation and a Promise'' (with Gaye Strathearn) *''Sisters at the Well: Women and the Life and Teachings of Jesus'' (co-authored with his wife, Jeni Broberg Holzapfel) *''Women of Nauvoo'' (co-authored with his wife, Jeni Broberg Holzapfel) *''Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament'' (co-author) *''Jesus Christ and the World of the New Testament'' (co-author) *''What Da Vinci Didn't know: An LDS Perspective'' (co-author) *''Within These Prison Walls: Lorenzo Snow's Record Book, 1886-1897'' (co-edited with Andrew H. Hedges) *''Joseph Smith's Prophetic Ministry: A Year-by-Year Look at His Life and Teachings'' (co-author) Holzapfel also edited, along with Thomas A. Wayment, a three-volume series ''The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ''. He has also published several book reviews and over 100 articles or book chapters on a wide variety of subjects including LDS Church leadership and succession, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Life of Christ, New and Old Testament culture and history, Jewish religious practices, and women's perspectives on religion both ancient and modern.

LDS Church Service

Holzapfel has served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, ward Young Men president,

high councilor A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

, bishop's counselor, stake mission president, and member of the Gospel Doctrine class manual writing committee. He served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

from 2010 to 2013, and as

of the church's Provo Utah YSA 1st

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, Holzapfel was called as an

area seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jes ...

Notes

Sources

''Provo Herald'', March 8, 2008Course listing including a short bio of HolzapfelWorld Cat Publication listing ''Richard Neitzel Holzapfel''

External links

Holzapfel's blog
hosted by the BYU

.
BYU Religious Education faculty website

Interview with Holzapfel
on the Doug Wright Show on KSL radio.
Holzapfel's vita
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzapfel, Richard N. 1954 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers American Latter Day Saint writers Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Church Educational System instructors Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Living people American Mormon missionaries in Italy American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Blackfoot, Idaho Writers from Provo, Utah University of California, Irvine alumni People from Chula Vista, California American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Historians from California