About the Ancient America Foundation
Our Mission
Missionary Productivity
AAF through its Discover the Book of Mormon initiative uses proven digital marketing tools to get people excited about reading the Book of Mormon and eventually meeting with the missionaries.
Gospel Advocacy
AAF through its Faith Creators Alliance initiative helps individual and organizational content creators amplify their voice and advocate more effectively for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Informed Testimonies
AAF through more than a dozen channels shares light and truth on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Threads, iTunes, Spotify, etc.
Faithful Scholarship
AAF works with people who examine and affirm the Restoration through the lens of multiple scientific and historical-cultural disciplines.
The History of AAF
Systematic study of the Book of Mormon’s cultural context began in earnest when Milton R. Hunter (1902-1975), Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005), M. Wells Jakeman (1910-1998), and Thomas Stuart Ferguson (1915-1983) met at UC Berkeley in the 1930’s. They formed the Itzan Society which developed into the BYU University Archaeological Society (UAS) in 1946 and later into the Society for Early Historic Archaeology (SEHA) in 1967.
Ancient America Foundation (AAF) was incorporated in 1983 by people such as Paul R. Cheesman (1921-1991) and F. Richard Hauck who had a passion for the Book of Mormon. When SEHA ended in 1988, its assets transferred to AAF. Over the years AAF supported the work of Book of Mormon researchers such as Bruce W. Warren (1928-2013) and V. Garth Norman (1934-2021).
After 2002 when the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) became the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship (MI) at BYU, some former FARMS researchers began using AAF as their fiscal sponsor for projects. In 2015 when Lynne H. Wilson and John W. Welch founded Book of Mormon Central (BMC), it was under the AAF umbrella. That eventually changed and BMC became a dba of the legal entity Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF). In 2023 BMC changed its name to Scripture Central (SC).
In 2025 SC underwent a management change which resulted in the departure of several people who joined AAF and began building it into the powerhouse it is today. AAF is a non-profit research and digital publishing organization dedicated to missionary productivity, gospel advocacy, informed testimonies, and faithful scholarship. AAF publishes new content every day across multiple media channels in English and Spanish. It gets friends excited about the Book of Mormon, then sends them a copy free of charge so they can discover the Nephite masterwork for themselves. AAF helps nurture content creators so they can become effective voices supporting the ongoing Restoration. You are welcome to come join with us if you want to share time, treasure, or talent to help advance the cause of the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world.