Sidney Branton Sperry (December 26, 1895 – September 4, 1977)[1] was one of three scholars who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who began the scholarly and systematic study of the Book of Mormon in the mid-20th century — the other two being John L. Sorenson and Hugh W.
Sperry then served as an LDS Church missionary in the Southern States Mission from 1919 to 1921.
After returning from his mission, Sperry began work as a seminary and institute instructor for the Church Educational System (CES).
[6] In the early 1970s, Sperry's family established a research fund in his honor to promote original research of general interest, and a conference now called the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium has been held annually at BYU since 1973.
In 1975, it featured not only a member of the Religious Instruction faculty but also a professor from another department on campus, as well as a CES scholar, beyond BYU.