With heavy hearts, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship announces the death of former executive director M. Gerald Bradford. He passed away during the morning of Wednesday, April 22, from causes unrelated to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Dr. Bradford served as executive director of the Institute from 2008 until the appointment of J. Spencer Fluhman in 2016.

“I am a grateful beneficiary of Gerald Bradford‘s experience and kindness,” Dr. Fluhman said. “Since I succeeded him as executive director, he has been a steady and warm supporter and friend. I’m grateful for his years of dedicated service to the Neal A. Maxwell Institute and to Brigham Young University. All of us at the Institute are saddened by this loss.”

Dr. Bradford received his doctorate in religious studies from the University of California-Santa Barbara 1977. He earned a master’s degree in religious studies, also from UCSB, and in business administration and finance from San Francisco State University. He joined the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) in 1995 as director of research. After FARMS became an official part of Brigham Young University under the Institute for Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, Dr. Bradford served as the Maxwell Institute’s associate executive director for several years before being named its executive director.

We are grateful for Dr. Bradford’s leadership and for the faith in Jesus Christ he manifested in the performance of his duties. We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Bradford’s wife, JeNeal, and to the rest of his family, loved ones, friends, and colleagues.

Further Reading:

“What It Means to Me to Be a Latter-day Saint,” by M. Gerald Bradford (FairMormon.org)

Obituary