News Release
Professor of Ancient Scripture to Give Devotional Feb. 15
Andrew Skinner, professor of ancient scripture and Near Eastern studies at Brigham Young University will give a devotional titled “The Divine Principle of Friendship” on Friday, Feb. 15, at 11 a.m. in the Stoddard Center at Southern Virginia.
Skinner previously served BYU as dean of Religious Education from 2000 to 2005, and executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship from 2005 to 2008. He also was a member of the international editorial group that worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He has authored or or co-authored more than 200 articles and books on religious and historical topics.
He received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Colorado. He holds two master’s degrees, one in Judaic Studies from Iliff School of Theology, and one in Biblical Hebrew from Harvard University. He also has a doctorate in European and Near Eastern history from the University of Denver.
Skinner is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served the Church in multiple capacities, including bishop, a member of the Church’s Correlation Evaluation Committee, and a member of the Sunday School General Board.
He and his wife, Janet, have six children.
Community members and Southern Virginia faculty, staff and students are invited to hear forum and devotional speakers each Friday morning at 11 a.m. in the Stoddard Center. Recordings of past forum and devotional speeches may be accessed online.