Elder Bruce C. Hafen, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, will speak tonight, March 21, 2008, at the second annual Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship lecture. He will speak on "Disciple-Scholarship in the Lord's Kingdom," in rooms 2258 and 2260 of the BYU Conference Center at 7 p.m.

Elder Hafen was born and raised in St. George. He served in the West German Mission and afterward attended BYU, where he met and married Marie Kartchner. They have 10 children.

After receiving a bachelor's degree from BYU and a juris doctorate from the University of Utah, Elder Hafen practiced law in Salt Lake City for four years. He came to BYU as assistant to the President of BYU and helped begin the J. Reuben Clark Law School during that time. He later served as dean there for four years.

He served seven years as president of Rick's college and seven years as BYU Provost. He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1996. Since his call, he has served as president of the Europe Central Area, and served in area presidencies for the North America Central, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific areas.

Elder Hafen wrote "A Disciple's Life: The Biography of Neal A. Maxwell," which Deseret Book published in 2002, just two years before Elder Maxwell died.

The Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship is an administrative organization that oversees various programs for research and preservation of ancient texts. The name was originally different but was changed in 2006 to honor Elder Neal A. Maxwell. Three of the major programs in the institute are the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, and the Center for Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts.

Copyright Brigham Young University 21 Mar 2008