Victor Ludlow Teaching Gems

About Victor

Victor L. Ludlow Emeritus Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU (Ph.D. in Near Eastern & Judaic Studies)

Dr. Victor L. Ludlow is well known at BYU as a scholar on Isaiah and Judaism. He graduated with high honors from BYU and was a Danforth Fellow at Harvard and Brandeis Universities in the Boston area where he received a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. He began teaching at Brigham Young University in 1972, where he now is a retired Emeritus Professor of Ancient Scripture and Near Eastern Studies. Professor Ludlow developed and taught a variety of classes at BYU, with an emphasis on the Bible (especially the writings of Isaiah), the Book of Mormon, and Judaism.

Dr. Ludlow's scholarship explores the areas of Bible studies, the Middle East, Jewish history and theology, and comparative Latter-day Saint theology. He has authored numerous articles (including some in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and the Book of Mormon Reference Companion) and the books:

Unlocking the Old Testament
Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet
Principles and Practices of the Restored Gospel
Unlocking Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.

He has appeared in many televised sessions of the BYU Scripture Roundtable Discussions. His extensive travels throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Asia have deeply enriched his appreciation for other cultures and have strengthened his understanding and scholarship about how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is expanding into many different countries and cultures of the world.

Brother Ludlow's church callings have included branch president, stake young men's president, high councilor (five times in four different stakes), bishop (twice), counselor in a stake presidency, and as mission president of the Germany Frankfurt Mission (1983-86). His most frequent callings have been as a gospel doctrine teacher and as an Aaronic Priesthood leader and Varsity Scout team coach.

He has served the Utah Valley community in various Boy Scout positions, as president of the Provo Rotary Club, as a certified first-aid and CPR instructor, and in minor political offices. He is also well known in the Western United States for the many Passover Seder services which he conducted each spring.

He and his wife, Cheryl, enjoy camping, jogging, hiking, walking, and traveling in ancestral homelands and in the Middle East (which he has visited over sixty times.) They are the parents of four sons and four daughters, 34 grandchildren and five great-grandsons who, at times, fill their home and mountain cabin with love and laundry, friends and fun, and a host of enriching experiences. Adjusting to his retired life, he strives to be a loving, spoiling grandparent; a researcher and writer of family history; a frequent visitor of God's natural wonders and His Holy House; and, a true Latter-day Saint preparing himself and others for Christ's approaching millennial reign.