Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerry Muhlestein
Hi Kerry, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In some ways my story started when I was very young. I can remember in grade school hating it when we were not really learning anything new, but being so excited when we could dig into something I hadn’t heard about. Still, it was really in college that I fell in love with learning, and especially learning about the ancient world. The more I learned the more exciting it was, and the more I saw the endlessly deep pool of learning I could draw from. As I learned, I fell absolutely in love with helping others also learn. When I could see someone else getting excited about learning, it was thrilling for me. I still get overly energized when I see light bulbs coming on for people; and I am deeply, deeply satisfied when I can help someone else slake their thirst for knowledge.
Part way through my undergrad experience I figured out that I would not be satisfied if I didn’t do everything I could to be as good as I could be at learning and teaching. That was when I decided to get a PhD in some kind of ancient studies. I was able to study in the Intensive Hebrew Program at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies for six months. That was a life changing experience in several ways, including that I met my wife there. After that, I was fortunate to be able to get into a Master’s program at BYU in Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Hebrew. While doing that I taught Hebrew and religion classes at BYU, and classes for the Utah Valley State College extension program in Hebrew, Dead Sea Scrolls, Temple Studies, etc. I also worked on a Dead Sea Scrolls database, and helped write some historical books, and had a lot of wonderful opportunities come my way.
Then I was fortunate enough to get into a PhD program at UCLA. There I studied Egyptology and Hebrew Language and Literature. I was fortunate to be a TA for some incredible professors, and to also teach classes at UCLA and at Cal Poly Pomona. I also did volunteer teaching for the Westwood Institute of Religion. I studied under some of the very best teachers, and was blessed to be able to have more good opportunities than I could take advantage of.
When I graduated I was able to get a job at BYU Hawaii, in a joint position in the History and Religion departments. There I experienced more support in pursuing my dreams than I thought possible. I also loved being immersed in so many different cultures. I had already had a lot of great experiences with Polynesian cultures, and reveled in doing more of that. Beyond that, BYUH has such an incredible infusion of so many cultures that my family was able to drink in. We had exchange students from Japan, Korea and China live with us regularly, and had so many other amazing opportunities.
After a few years in Hawaii I was hired by BYU in Provo. Soon I was given the opportunity to direct an excavation in Egypt. That excavation has been an exciting and regular part of my life for over 17 years now. I have also been able to take my family to live in Jerusalem twice for a year each time as I have taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center.
During all of this my thirst for helping people learn, both in their heart and their mind, has only grown. With more experience has come more opportunity. So many people have asked for me to expand my audience that, with the help of family and friends, I was able to start a podcast in 2021 called The Scriptures Are Real. We do weekly episodes and I love having guests on my show as we explore scriptural texts and the ancient world. That has lead to more people wanting more experiences. So I created Edifying Educational Experiences, a charitable organization aimed at helping people grow through learning. We do workshops on Egypt, the Bible, and all sorts of things. We have an online presence (EEE, available at TSAR.website), where we have interfaith discussions, teach about mental health, cover gospel topics, provide daily thoughts, have some art explorations, and do monthly live lectures that are archived, and so much more. Because of the kind efforts of gifted people, we are set up as a charitable organization that can accept tax free donations to help us do the podcast and our other work. We are in the middle of creating a portable recording studio so that we can help others who have great content but no equipment realize their dreams of reaching a wider audience. We also do tours and cruises to help people have more opportunities to have experiences that teach them on many levels.
In other words, we are doing everything we can to help as many people as possible fulfill their dreams of growing and learning. We just want to keep expanding our reach and helping more people. There is nothing quite like helping people feel they have become more, and assist them in realizing their learning and growing dreams.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, doors, paths, and avenues just keep opening for us. But there have also been bumps. Expansion had come with a steep learning curve. My biggest problem is not having enough time to do everything we want to do. I am still learning how to not overextend myself, but I don’t seem to learn that lesson very well. I am often frustrated that with as many things as we are doing, we are not able to do even more. Financial restraints are also very real. We have been blessed by kind and generous people, and hope to keep finding even more people who can help us help others learn and realize their dreams. But fundraising is not my strongpoint, and I struggle with it. So, in the end, time and money are our biggest obstacles, which is probably true for everyone else too.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I teach people who want to know more, and I do it with deep dives, not with surface skimming. For example, I do some workshops and lectures on Egypt. We don’t do surface touches on stories that are half true and half not. We do good Egyptology, and make comparisons with topics my audience cares about. We examine real artifacts and talk about real things. Workshops I do on Isaiah, or covenants, or anything similar are the real deal. Real thinking is required, but I explain in a way that makes it so that anyone with any background can understand it if they are willing to put in the effort. Tours of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Church History sites, etc. are the same. We don’t do touchy-feely stuff. Those feelings will come naturally as we just look at the honest to goodness real facts and stories. I know the archaeology, the history, the context, and the details, and can tell the story so that people have a fantastic experience and can learn something and become something no matter where they were before.
So many people who do lectures or tours or podcasts or teachings have a strange mixture of facts and things they think are facts, but really aren’t. I am always amazed as I hear people teach or talk about topics that have wide appeal, but just aren’t based in good information. I don’t think they are intending to give bad information, it just happens because they are excited and they don’t know better. I have paid the price to be able to distinguish between fact and wistful thinking, and I give people enough real knowledge that we don’t need to rely on fishy information. The truth appeals better than the sensational in my experience.
In the end, I think I am known for bringing a lot of information to the table and doing it in a way that is understandable and compelling. And I like to have fun while doing it.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memories are of going to Lake Powell, where we would waterski until our legs couldn’t stand, and then we would play games until we were rested enough to waterski some more. Getting away from all the distractions and having a lot of fun together is something we all need more of.
Pricing:
- Podcasts are free
- Extra content on our Patreon site (TSAR.website) is $10 a month, or $100 a year
- Church HIstory tours are typically under $4,000
- Egypt and Israel tours are typically around $4,000
- Workshops are variable prices, depending upon their length and if food is included
Contact Info:
- Website: TSAR.website and outofthedust.org
- Instagram: kerry.muhlestein
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheScripturesAreReal
- Other: https://thescripturesarereal.org
