Authors

Brigham Young (1 June 1801 – 29 August 1877) was the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the architect of the Mormon settlement of the American West. Born in poverty in Whitingham, Vermont, he had only eleven days of formal schooling but became an accomplished carpenter and craftsman. Young joined the Church in 1832 after two years of examining the Book of Mormon, and was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835. Following Joseph Smith’s assassination in 1844, Young assumed leadership of the Church and organized the epic westward migration. In 1847, he led the first group of pioneers 1,300 miles across the Great Plains to the Salt Lake Valley, declaring upon arrival, “This is the right place.” Nicknamed “American Moses,” Young supervised the overland trek of 60,000 to 70,000 pioneers and founded 350 to 400 settlements across the western territories. Four days after arriving in the barren Salt Lake Valley, he designated the exact location for the Salt Lake Temple. He established the Perpetual Emigration Fund, which helped some 30,000 immigrants reach America. Despite limited formal education, he founded the institutions that became Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Young served as the first governor of Utah Territory from 1850. He practiced plural marriage, with at least 20 wives who bore him 57 children. At his death, he was the wealthiest man in Utah. His extraordinary organizational abilities and vision transformed a persecuted religious community into a thriving civilization in the desert.

David Allan Bednar (born 1952) is an American religious leader who has served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2004. Born in Oakland, California, Bednar earned a PhD in organizational behavior from Purdue University. He served as president of Brigham Young University-Idaho from 1997 to 2004, overseeing significant innovations in higher education including year-round enrollment and online learning initiatives. His teachings emphasize covenant-making, the role of technology in hastening the Lord’s work, and the connection between generations in family history work. He has spoken about how hearts turning to family history reflects the prophesied work of Elijah.

Elias L. T. Harrison (1830–1900) was an early Latter-day Saint leader and writer who served missions in Great Britain and contributed thoughtful writings on priesthood responsibility and the nature of godliness. His 1858 essay in the Millennial Star articulated a profound vision of priesthood holders as representatives of God’s spirit and actions upon earth. He taught that ordinations alone do not make one godlike—rather, the priesthood calls individuals to put down evil and embody the virtues of the eternal God. Harrison emphasized that the world is to comprehend God through the lives of those who hold the priesthood. True priesthood, he taught, means becoming images of the living God, blessing and helping the weak and downtrodden until such service becomes natural.

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a Swedish pluralistic scientist, philosopher, theologian, and mystic. His theological writings describe a detailed structure of the spiritual world and emphasize the importance of useful service. Born in Stockholm to a prominent family, Swedenborg was one of the most learned men of his age, making significant contributions to mining engineering, anatomy, and other sciences before turning to spiritual matters in his fifties. His theological works, including Heaven and Hell , describe the afterlife as a realm of continued activity, purpose, and progression. His emphasis on useful service and continued growth after death has influenced many religious movements, including some aspects of Latter-day Saint thought about the nature of heaven and eternal progression.

Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death. Born in Whitney, Idaho, Benson served a mission to Great Britain and later earned degrees in agriculture. He served as United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961, the only Cabinet member to serve all eight years of that administration. He taught that God uses people of the earth, especially good people, to accomplish His purposes—a principle reflected throughout history and continuing today. His presidency emphasized the Book of Mormon and its role in bringing people to Christ.

George Quayle Cannon (1827–1901) was one of the most influential leaders in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later as First Counselor in the First Presidency under four successive church presidents. A skilled orator, prolific publisher, and astute politician, Cannon shaped the church’s public image and theological discourse during a critical period of its development. Born in Liverpool, England, Cannon immigrated to the United States with his family at age fifteen following their conversion to the LDS faith. After his parents’ deaths, he was raised by his uncle John Taylor, who would later become the third president of the church. Cannon crossed the plains to Utah in 1847 and soon demonstrated exceptional abilities as a writer and leader. In 1849, he was called on a mission to California, and later served in Hawaii, where he learned the Hawaiian language and translated the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian. Cannon’s publishing career began in San Francisco, where he edited the Western Standard. Returning to Utah, he founded the Deseret News and later established the Juvenile Instructor magazine. He served as editor of the Millennial Star in England and built a publishing empire that produced books, pamphlets, and periodicals defending and explaining Latter-day Saint beliefs. His editorials and writings helped articulate church doctrine on subjects ranging from plural marriage to the nature of God. In 1860, Cannon was ordained an apostle at age thirty-two. He also served six terms as Utah’s delegate to the U.S. Congress (1872–1882), where he advocated for Utah statehood while defending the church against anti-polygamy legislation. Though he was eventually denied his congressional seat due to polygamy charges, his political experience proved invaluable to church leadership during the difficult years of federal prosecution. Cannon’s theological contributions reflect themes resonant with transhumanist thought. He taught extensively about human deification and eternal progression, declaring that ‘the object of man’s existence is that he might become like God.’ He envisioned humanity’s potential for infinite development and wrote of the transformative power of knowledge and technology in advancing God’s purposes. His writings on the resurrection emphasized the perfection and glorification of the human body—ideas that anticipate contemporary discussions of human enhancement and transcendence.

Howard William Hunter (14 November 1907 – 3 March 1995) was the fourteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving the shortest presidential tenure in Church history—just nine months from June 1994 until his death. Born in Boise, Idaho, he was the first Church President born in the twentieth century and the last to die in it. Hunter grew up in a part-member family; his mother was an active member while his father did not join until Howard was an adult. He begged to be baptized and was finally permitted at age twelve, becoming the first Church President to be baptized in an indoor font. He was the second person to earn Eagle Scout in Idaho. He met Clara May “Claire” Jeffs in 1928; they married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1931 and had three sons, though their first son William died in infancy. After graduating with a law degree in 1939, Hunter served as the first president of the Pasadena California Stake. In 1959, President David O. McKay called him as an Apostle, prompting him to leave his law practice for full-time Church service. He served for over 35 years as a general authority, contributing to the establishment of the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden in Jerusalem, and the BYU Jerusalem Center. From 1964 to 1972, he oversaw the Genealogical Society of Utah’s first computerization of records. As Church President, Hunter emphasized Christlike living and temple attendance. Despite numerous health challenges including a heart attack, tumor surgery, and quadruple bypass, he dedicated the Orlando Florida and Bountiful Utah temples before his death. His ministry, though brief, called Latter-day Saints to make the temple the great symbol of their membership.

Hugh Winder Nibley (1910–2005) was one of the most celebrated scholars in Latter-day Saint history. A professor at Brigham Young University for nearly 50 years, he was fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, German, French, and Spanish. Born in Portland, Oregon, he served as an LDS missionary in Switzerland and Germany before earning his doctorate from UC Berkeley in 1938. During World War II, Nibley served in military intelligence for the 101st Airborne Division. He drove the first jeep ashore on Utah Beach during D-Day, participated in Operation Market Garden, and witnessed the aftermath of Nazi concentration camps. At the request of Apostle John A. Widtsoe, he joined the BYU faculty in 1946. A prolific author, Nibley wrote extensively on ancient scripture, apologetics, and Latter-day Saint history. He was known for both vigorously defending the Church and frankly critiquing what he saw as shortcomings in Latter-day Saint culture. His works include An Approach to the Book of Mormon , Since Cumorah , and Approaching Zion .

James Edward Talmage (1862–1933) was an Englishborn scientist and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death. Born in Hungerford, England, he emigrated with his family to Utah in 1877 and began teaching at Brigham Young Academy at age sixteen. Talmage pursued advanced studies in chemistry and geology at Lehigh University and Johns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1896. He served as president of the University of Utah and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and the Geological Society of London. At the request of the First Presidency, Talmage wrote Jesus the Christ , completing much of it in a room set aside for him in the Salt Lake Temple. Published in 1915, it remains one of the most influential Latter-day Saint works on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. His other significant works include The Articles of Faith and The Great Apostasy .

Jeffrey Roy Holland (3 December 1940 – 27 December 2025) was an American religious leader, educator, and author who served as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in St. George, Utah, to a convert father and a mother from a long line of Latter-day Saints, he was a student leader and varsity athlete who met his future wife Patricia Terry while she was a cheerleader. Holland served a mission to Great Britain from 1960 to 1962, where his companions included future apostles Quentin L. Cook and his mission president Marion D. Hanks. He earned a BA in English and an MA in Religious Education from BYU, followed by a second master’s degree and PhD in American Studies from Yale University. He married Patricia in 1963; they have three children. His educational career included service as an Institute director, dean of Religious Instruction at BYU (where he established the Religious Studies Center), commissioner of the Church Educational System, and ninth president of Brigham Young University from 1980 to 1989. During his BYU presidency, he founded the BYU Jerusalem Center. He was called as a general authority in 1989 and ordained an apostle on June 23, 1994. Known for his powerful oratory and passionate testimony, Holland chaired the Missionary Curriculum Task Force that developed Preach My Gospel . He served as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve from November 2023 until his death. His books, including Christ and the New Covenant and Trusting Jesus , combined scholarly depth with pastoral warmth. He died on December 27, 2025, from complications of kidney disease.