A native of southern California, Peterson received a bachelor's degree in Greek and philosophy from BYU and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles. Peterson is currently a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, where he teaches Arabic language and literature at all levels, Islamic philosophy, Islamic culture and civilization, Islamic religion, the Qur'an, the introductory and senior "capstone" courses for Middle Eastern Studies majors, and various other occasional, specialized classes. He has authored several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics. He also currently serves as editor-in-chief of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. Peterson has served in various capacities including chairman of the board for what is now known as BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He is the founder of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. In 2007, in recognition of his establishment of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, Peterson was named a Utah Academy Fellow and declared a lifetime member of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. Peterson is also known for his work as an apologist and scholar on subjects dealing with claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member. He is the former editor of the FARMS Review, a periodical produced by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. The institute fired him in June 2012. Peterson is also a regular participant in online fora about Mormonism where he discusses the LDS faith and its apologetics. One of his projects has been the development of a website featuring the testimonies of LDS scholars. Peterson is the first and current editor of . Peterson served an LDS Church mission in the Switzerland Zurich Mission, with Edwin Q. Cannon serving as his mission president. Peterson later served on the LDS Church's Gospel Doctrine Committee and as a bishop. Peterson and his wife, the former Deborah Stephens, have three sons.
