- John Taylor
John Taylor (November 1, 1808 - July 25, 1887) was the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. Taylor was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now Cumbria), England, the son of James and Agnes Taylor. He had formal schooling up to age fourteen, and then he served an initial apprenticeship to a cooper and later received training as a woodturner and cabinetmaker. He was christened in the Church of England, …
- Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley (born March 27, 1910 in Portland, Oregon - died February 24, 2005) was one of Mormonism's most celebrated scholars. Nibley is notable for his extensive research and publication on ancient languages and culture, his vigorous defense of doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for frankly discussing what he saw as the shortcomings of the LDS people and culture.
- Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American author, working in several genres. He is known for his novel series Ender's Game series and its sequels. The novel "Ender's Game" and its sequel "Speaker for the Dead" both won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2007) winner of both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years. His writing contains detailed characterization and moral issues.
- B. H. Roberts
Brigham Henry Roberts (commonly known as B. H. Roberts) was a leader, historian, and "defender of the faith" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although he was elected as a representative to the U.S. Congress, he was denied a seat due to his practice of plural marriage. He was also a prolific writer and editor and published a comprehensive history of the church. Roberts was born in Warrington, a manufacturing town of Lancashire, England.
- Joseph F. Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. (November 13, 1838 - November 19, 1918), usually known as Joseph F. Smith to distinguish him from his son of the same name, was the sixth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the last President of the Church to have personally known the founder of the Mormon faith, the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., who was also his uncle.
- Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce Redd McConkie (July 29, 1915-April 19, 1985) was an influential theologian and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. McConkie served in the First Council of the Seventy of the LDS Church from 1946 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1972, where he served until his death in 1985.
- Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith (July 19, 1876 - July 2, 1972) was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 to 1972. He had been named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1910, when his father, with whom he shared a name but who is generally referred to as Joseph F. Smith, was President of the Church. Since he was called, there has not been an Apostle chosen as young as he was.
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley (born June 23 1910) is the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a position he has held since March 12, 1995. He is the oldest person to preside over the LDS Church in its history. As President of the LDS Church, he is considered by its members to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. His administration has been noted for the building of new temples, …
- Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt (September 19, 1811 - October 3, 1881) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He was born in Hartford, New York, USA, the son of Jared and Charity Dickenson Pratt. Orson Pratt died of complications from diabetes on October 3, 1881, the last surviving member of the Original Council of the Twelve.
- Jack Weyland
Jack Weyland (born 1940) was a professor of physics at Brigham Young University-Idaho and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is also perhaps the best known author of fiction for Latter-day Saint audiences. He is the author of many novels and short stories, mostly placed in contemporary settings. His novel "Charly" was made into a feature film in 2002. Weyland was born and raised in Montana.
- Dallin H. Oaks
Dallin Harris Oaks (b. August 12, 1932) is an American attorney, jurist and religious leader. He is currently a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Oaks was born in Provo, Utah. He is a former professor of law at the University of Chicago's school of law, former president of Brigham Young University, and former justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
- David O. McKay
David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 - January 18, 1970) was the ninth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church"; see also Mormon), serving from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordained an Apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, he was a General Authority for nearly sixty-four years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church history.
- Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1973-1985). His grandfather, Heber C. Kimball, was one of the original Apostles of the church and later served as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency.
- J. Reuben Clark
Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr. (1871-1961) was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader (General Authority) in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born September 1, 1871, in Grantsville, Utah. Clark was a prominent attorney in the Department of State, and Undersecretary of State for president Calvin Coolidge. In 1930 Clark was appointed ambassador to Mexico.
- Richard Dutcher
Richard Dutcher burst into the public conscience in March of 2000 with the release of his groundbreaking independent film "God's Army." Since then, his name has become almost synonymous with "Mormon cinema" (his term) specifically, and with independent niche filmmaking in general. While the content of his Dutcher's films has often triggered wide-spread controversy, both among Latter-day Saints and the general public, his filmmaking skills have received almost universal acclaim.
- Heber J. Grant
Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 - May 14, 1945) was the seventh President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormonism). He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale. Grant served as Church President from 1918 to his death in 1945, which makes him the longest-serving President during the twentieth century.
- Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith (July 8, 1775 - May 14, 1856) was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: "Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations." She was a great and important leader of the movement during the life of Joseph. Lucy is a model of the early nineteenth-century republican mother, who displayed piety, dispensed values, …
- D. Michael Quinn
D. Michael Quinn (born in 1944) is a historian who has focused on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 1976 to 1988, he was a professor at Brigham Young University, after which he resigned. At the time, his work concerned church involvement with plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, in which the practice was officially renounced.
- Leonard J. Arrington
Leonard J. Arrington (July 2 1917 - February 11 1999) was born in Twin Falls, Idaho. He earned a doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in March 1952. In 1958, Harvard University Press published his "Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints", a classic in western American history based on his dissertation. Arrington established the Mormon History Association and served as its first president.
- John A. Widtsoe
John Andreas Widtsoe was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1921 until his death. Widtsoe was also a noted author, scientist, and academician. Widtsoe was born on the Island of Froyen, Norway. In 1884, he immigrated to the United States. Widtsoe was ordained an Apostle March 17, 1921 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of First Presidency member Anthon H. Lund.
- John H. Groberg
John Holbrook Groberg (born 1934) is an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born in Idaho Falls in 1934 and was reared there after the Great Depression. After a year at Brigham Young University, and shortly after the Korean War, he served a mission to Tonga. After much difficulty in getting to Tonga with strikes, visa problems, and problems finding boats, he served briefly in Los Angeles, Samoa, …
- Robert L. Millet
Robert L. Millet is Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding and Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He received the B.S. and M.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University and the Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Florida State University. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-day Saints and Getting at the Truth: Responding to Difficult Questions About LDS Belief.
- Howard W. Hunter
Howard William Hunter (November 14, 1907 - March 3, 1995) was the fourteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1994-1995), and served the shortest amount of time of any Church president to date (nine months). He was the first president of the church born in the 20th Century. Hunter was born in Boise, Idaho. He was sustained as an Apostle at the age of 51, and served a little over 35 years as a General Authority for the Church.
- Stephen E. Robinson
Stephen E. Robinson is a Mormon scholar and was appointed as chairman of the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University in 1991 where he also received a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Ancient Scripture. He received a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Duke University and was tenured at Lycoming College after teaching religion there, at Hampden-Sydney College, and Duke. Robinson also served as chairman of the Religion Department at Lycoming.
- Mike Allred
Mike Allred is an American comic book artist and writer. He first rose to prominence with his work for small publishers including Slave Labor Graphics and Dark Horse Comics, especially for his character Madman. The "Madman" series later won a Harvey Award. He went on to gain further mainstream attention with the science-fiction/rock-and-roll comic "Red Rocket 7" and his art for writer Peter Milligan's series "X-Force", also known as "X-Statix".
- George Q. Cannon
George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827-April 21, 1901) (commonly known as George Q. Cannon) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served in the First Presidency under four successive Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow.
- Boyd K. Packer
Boyd Kenneth Packer (born September 10, 1924) is the current Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Packer has been an Apostle and a member of the Quorom of the Twelve since 1970 and a General Authority of the Church since 1961.
- Bryant S. Hinckley
Bryant S. Hinckley (born 1867, Coalville, Utah; died 1961) was an American author, religious speaker, civic leader and educator. He served as a prominent mid-level leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th century. His books were primarily designed for a Latter-day Saint audience. Hinckley was the father of Gordon B. Hinckley, who would later serve as an apostle and the president of the LDS Church.
- Susan Easton Black
Susan Easton Black is a very accomplished LDS author and professor. She joined the faculty of Brigham Young University in 1978, after receiving a doctorate degree from BYU in Educational Psychology. Susan became BYU’s first female professor of religious education in 1980.
- James E. Talmage
James Edward Talmage (September 21, 1862-July 27, 1933) born in Hungerford, England was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933. He studied chemistry and geology at Lehigh University, Johns Hopkins University, and Illinois Wesleyan University for nonresident work. Dr. Talmage was elected to life membership in several learned societies, …
- James E. Faust
James Esdras Faust (b. July 31, 1920) is Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was ordained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 1, 1978, and called into the First Presidency when Gordon B. Hinckley became President of the LDS Church on March 12, 1995.
- Juanita Brooks
Juanita Leone Leavitt Pulsipher Brooks was an American historian and author, specializing in the American West and Mormon history, including a book on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Brooks was born in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 1898. She was raised in Bunkerville and in 1919 married Ernest Pulsipher, who died of cancer little more than a year later, leaving her with an infant son. She acquired a bachelor's degree from BYU and a master's degree from Columbia University.
- Stephen Covey
Stephen R. Covey (born October 24 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is the author of the international best selling book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", first published in 1989. Other books he has written include "First Things First", "Principle-Centered Leadership" and "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families". His latest book is "The 8th Habit", published in 2004.
- George Reynolds
George Reynolds was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a longtime secretary to the First Presidency of that church, and a party to the 1878 United States Supreme Court case "Reynolds v. United States", the first freedom of religion case to issue from that court.
- Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt (12 April 1807-13 May 1857) (commonly known as Parley P. Pratt) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of The Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt. He was a productive missionary, poet, religious writer and longtime editor of the religious publication "The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star".
- Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider (born August 26, 1974) is a freelance journalist, film critic, and musician from Lake Elsinore, California. Best known in his fan community for his "Snide Remarks" humor column and his prolific and often satirical movie reviews, Snider has occasionally received national attention, most notably after one of his "Snide Remarks" columns satirizing movie junkets resulted in Paramount Pictures banning him from all Paramount film press screenings.
- Thomas S. Monson
Thomas Spencer Monson (born August 21, 1927) holds two of the most senior positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the First Counselor to Gordon B. Hinckley in the First Presidency of the church and is also the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In terms of Apostolic seniority, he is second only to Church President Hinckley.
- Zenna Henderson
Zenna Chlarson Henderson (November 1, 1917 - May 11, 1983) was an American elementary school teacher who wrote a series of fantasy novellas and short stories. She was born in 1917 in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of Louis Rudolph Chlarson and Emily Vernell Rowley. She received a bachelor of arts in education from Arizona State College in 1940, and taught school in the Tucson area.
- Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck (born February 10 1964) is a conservative talk-radio and television host. His radio show, "The Glenn Beck Program", is syndicated by over 230 radio stations and on XM Satellite Radio channel 165 talk radio, which airs from 9 AM - 12 PM (ET). The Glenn Beck Program is the 3<sup>rd</sup> highest-ranked national radio talk show among adults ages 25 to 54, according to Premiere Research/Arbitron. He is sixth for overall listeners with 3.75 million a week.
- M. Russell Ballard
Melvin Russell Ballard, Jr. (b. October 8, 1928 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American businessman and a religious leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was called to serve in the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1985. His public addresses often deal with the Mormon pioneers and their heritage. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Ballard is accepted by the church membership as a prophet, seer, and revelator.