Ben Spackman is a historian of religion, science, and biblical interpretation whose work explores how historical context, assumptions about scripture, and changing understandings of science shape the way Latter-day Saints read and interpret sacred texts.

Spackman earned a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University and an MA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, where he also completed doctoral coursework in Comparative Semitics. His training includes Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, biblical and Jewish studies, and the history of Christianity. He later earned a PhD in American Religious History from Claremont Graduate University.

From 2022 to 2023, Spackman served as the University of Utah’s Tanner Fellow for Mormon Studies. His doctoral research examined the development of Latter-day Saint creationist thought in the twentieth century, particularly the influence of fundamentalism, biblical interpretation, and changing ideas about scientific authority.

Much of Spackman’s work focuses on helping Latter-day Saint readers distinguish the ancient context of scripture from modern assumptions brought to the text. He has written and spoken extensively about Genesis, creation and evolution, biblical interpretation, revelation, science and religion, and the human elements involved in scripture and prophetic teaching.

Spackman has been involved with FAIR since 2003, when an email challenging something he had read on FAIR’s website unexpectedly led to an invitation to volunteer. Since then, he has become a longtime FAIR contributor, presenting regularly at FAIR conferences and providing scholarship on scripture, biblical interpretation, science, and Latter-day Saint thought.