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May 13, 2024

Columnist

Maurine Proctor

Maurine Jensen Proctor is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Meridian Magazine.  With her husband, Scot, she has written several photographic books including Witness of the Light, a Photographic Journey in the Footsteps of the American Prophet, Joseph Smith; Source of…

Scot Facer Proctor

Scot Facer Proctor was raised in Rolla, Missouri, the youngest son of Paul Dean and Martha Facer Proctor.  He is the co-founder and publisher of Meridian Magazine. In his youth he was given the extraordinary opportunity to live in Ankara,…

BYU Media Relations

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Mark Albright

Mark Albright is currently an Institute Teacher and Stake Mission Preparation Teacher.  He has been a mission president, temple ordinance worker, stake president, bishop, high councilman, and seminary teacher. He is a partner in the Las Vegas, Nevada, law firm…

Robert Allen

Robert graduated from BYU with a B.A. in 1972 and an MBA in 1974. Immediately thereafter, he began investing in real estate. He is the author of some of the most influential financial books of all time including the #1…

Catherine K. Arveseth

Catherine Keddington Arveseth is a full-time mother to five young children, including two sets of twins. She has published articles at Meridian, Deseret News, Power of Moms, Segullah, Multiply Goodness, and Reader's Digest. She has co-authored two books with Power…

Michael R. Ash

Michael R. Ash is a veteran staff member of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), former weekly columnist for the Mormon Times and has presented several papers at LDS-related symposiums. Ash is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One's Testimony In the…

Larry Barkdull

Larry Barkdull is the author of number of books, including a seven-book series called Pillars of Zion (www.pillarsofzion.com) and Rescuing Wayward Children, a subject that he teaches at BYU Education Week. He is a regular fireside speaker and loves to teach Gospel Doctrine…

Kevin Beckstrom

Kevin Beckstrom is a native of Salt Lake City, served a mission in Korea and is a graduate of BYU. Beckstrom has been publishing cartoons since he was 16, and his work has appeared in numerous newsletters, trade publications, newspapers…

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Jeff has written extensively on the Book of Moses, Genesis, and the temple. His most recent books are “Freemasonry and the Origins of Temple Ordinances” and “Emer and Dennison Lott Harris: Owner of the First Copy of the Book of…

RoseMarie Briggs

RoseMarie Briggs is a former syndicated radio reporter for over 200 stations and an international radio network. She continues to have stories published in print and on the internet. She is the former executive director of Family Leader Network. RoseMarie…

Scripture Central

We build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by making the Book of Mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world.

McKay Christensen

McKay Christensen is a Gospel Doctrine teacher in the Alpine Utah 2nd ward. He and his wife Jennifer are the parents of five children. In his professional career McKay has served as Managing Director of External Relations at BYU, management…

Jon Clark

Jon Clark lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife and four children. He is an award-winning composer for TV, cartoonist and published children's book author. His cartoons have appeared in the New Era, Sunstone, Highlights, and Mormon Times online. Honest…

Roger Connors

Roger Connors is a four-time New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author with over 35 years of expertise in organizational culture, and is recognized as a top ten culture guru. He has co-authored many books including The Oz…

Becky Douglas

Becky Douglas is the Founder and President of Rising Star Outreach, a charity dedicated to serving the leprosy-affected of India. Her work with Rising Star has been featured on TV, radio, magazines and newspapers throughout the U.S. and internationally. Becky…

Rodger Dean Duncan

Rodger Dean Duncan is a descendant of 19th century Baptist evangelists and a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served as bishop of three wards, as a stake president, and as a stake mission…

William C. Duncan

William C. Duncan is director of the Marriage Law Foundation. He previously served as the director of the Marriage Law Project at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.

John Dye

John Dye spent 7 years at Bonneville Communications (boncom) where he led Social Media and Influencer Outreach activities and was involved in major initiatives for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the "I'm a Mormon" campaign, the…

Breck England

Breck England, product architect and consultant for FranklinCovey Company, earned a bachelor's degree in Medieval History and master's and PhD in English and literary theory from the University of Utah.An appointment in his college years as an assistant researcher to…

Richard and Linda Eyre

Richard and Linda Eyre are among the most popular speakers in the world on parenting and families. Their clients and audiences range from The Young President's Organization (YPO) and major corporations and associations to a wide array of school, civic,…

James L. Ferrell

James L. Ferrell was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from Brigham Young University with degrees in economics and philosophy and went on to receive a law degree from Yale Law School. He serves as managing director of…

Craig R. Frogley

Craig R. Frogley, DC is married to Janet and they are the parents of 8 children and 21 grandchildren. He is currently retired from 35 years with the Church’s institute program, BYU continuing education, and private practice as a chiropractic…

Ted Gibbons

H. Wallace Goddard

Wally Goddard is a retired professor of Family Life having served in Arkansas and Alabama. He developed programs on personal well-being, marriage, and parenting. He is well known for his many creative family programs, including The Marriage Garden, The Parenting…

Taylor Halverson

Taylor Halverson is an aspiring master learner who has discovered his life purpose is to help people find and act on the best ideas and tools in order to experience enduring joy. He currently is an Entrepreneurship Professor in the…

Ralph C. Hancock

Ralph Hancock (PhD Harvard) is Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, where he teaches the tradition of political philosophy as well as contemporary political theory. He has taught three times as Visiting Professor at the University of Rennes,…

Cassandra Showell Hedelius

Cassandra S. Hedelius studied political science and mathematics at the University of Oklahoma and law at the University of Colorado. She has practiced domestic and business law for profit, and researches and writes about Mormonism for pleasure. Her main focus…

Jacob Z. Hess

Jacob Hess is a mindfulness teacher and writer focused on exploring long-term, sustainable healing from depression. He is on the board of the National Coalition of Dialogue & Deliberation and co-author of "You’re Not as Crazy as I Thought, But…

Joni Hilton

Joni Hilton holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Professional Writing from USC. She has written five award-winning plays and 25 books, including her most recent, A Little Christmas Prayer (Covenant). She’s also the author of the bestselling As…

Daris Howard

Daris Howard, an award winning author and playwright, grew up on an Idaho farm.  He was a state champion athlete, competed in college athletics, and served a mission to Rochester, New York.   He has worked as a cowboy, a mechanic,…

Sutherland Institute

United Families International

For over 40 years, United Families International has worked on the national and international level to strengthen and defend the family. Our mission includes educating and empowering citizens and decision-makers to protect the family as the foundation of society, marriage…

Darla Isackson

Darla Isackson believes that writing is part of her "heavenly assignment" and has been a professional writer for four decades. In her twenties she found great joy and success serving in the California Mission, where she was asked to write…

Gary C. Lawrence

Gary Lawrence is a public opinion pollster who received a B.A. from BYU and a Ph.D. from Stanford. He is the author of three books: How Americans View Mormonism, Mormons Believe … What?!, and The War in Heaven Continues. His…

Sharon Lee

Sharon Lee received her bachelor's degree from BYU in American Studies with an emphasis on literature and history. She studied in Novosibirsk, Siberia; Vienna, Austria and Jerusalem, Israel. In her twenties, she was a contributing writer for the LDS curriculum…

Shalissa Lindsay

Shalissa Lindsay is the author of Answers Will Come: Trusting the Lord in the Meantime. She worked as a senior instructional designer within the MTC, creating a temple square display and refining language learning software. She also worked in change…

Marilynne Todd Linford

Marilynne Todd Linford has a passion for history—the Reformation, Colonial America, the Restoration of the Church, and writing family histories. She knows those who write history make history because only those things that are recorded are remembered. She has been…

Jeffrey Marsh

Dr. W. J. Marsh has written curriculum materials for seminaries and institutes in the Church Educational System. He has also prepared Melchizedek Priesthood manuals and the current Gospel Doctrine courses of study. He and his wife Kathie have conducted Church History…

Ron McMillan

About Ron McMillanRon McMillan is the four-time New York Times best-selling co-author of Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything. For more than 25 years, he has served as an expert in behavior change, interpersonal communication, and corporate training. A…

William J. Monahan

A U.S. Air Force veteran, William Monahan is a 1980 graduate of BYU Law School. He practices law in Gilbert, Arizona. A former stake and mission president, he teaches gospel doctrine class in his ward. Brother and Sister Monahan are…

Reid N. Moon

Reid Moon graduated from BYU in 1985. He is an antiquarian book dealer who specializes in rare Mormon books, documents, early Bibles [1250-1899 AD], classics in literature and important historical books and artifacts. He has traveled over a million miles—to…

Kerry Muhlestein

Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. As an undergraduate he spent time at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in the intensive Hebrew program. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern…

Tanya Neider

Some of Tanya’s earliest memories were traipsing through cemeteries, knocking on doors of potential relatives, and looking at giant books in courthouses. Many of the family “vacations” were devoted to reunions and visiting extended family. It seems as if doing…

Holly E. Newton

Holly Newton has been reviewing children’s books for 18 years. She reviewed weekly on NBC for 8 years in both Columbia, Missouri and Phoenix, Arizona. Holly wrote weekly for the Columbia Tribune for 14 years and received the Literacy Award…

Carolyn Nicolaysen

Carolyn Nicolaysen grew up in New Jersey where she loved baking with her grandfather, swimming, singing in school choirs, and visiting the Jersey Shore. Carolyn joined the Church while attending Central College in Pella, Iowa, where she earned a degree…

Nicholeen Peck

Nicholeen Peck is a popular author and public speaker around the world who most often addresses the subjects of parenting and education. Her parenting methods clam tantrum toddlers to tough teens while creating a family structure which invites the spirit…

Janice Kapp Perry

Janice Kapp Perry was born in Ogden, Utah, raised in Vale, Oregon, and currently lives in Provo, Utah. She and her husband, Douglas, have five children and 13 grandchildren. Through the years, they have also had many foster children. Janice…

Steven Kapp Perry

Steven Kapp Perry is a Pearl Award-winning songwriter, playwright, and broadcaster - the host of "Soft Sunday Sounds" on FM100 in Salt Lake City. Steve loves music, cream cheese on bagels, his wife Johanne, and whichever of their 4 children…

Daniel C. Peterson

Daniel C. Peterson is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University, and editor-in-chief of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative.

Anne Hinton Pratt

Anne Hinton Pratt is a composer and writer. After doing graduate work at BYU, she married her best friend, had five children in three different countries, (Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Mexico), and now divides her time living in El…

Mariah Proctor

Mariah Proctor received her Masters in Creative Writing from Oxford University. She is a graduate of BYU with a Bachelors in Theater and German. She considers herself a citizen of the world and particularly loves writing about her travels. She…

Scot and Maurine Proctor

After receiving her education from University of Utah and Harvard, Maurine Jensen Proctor, the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Meridian Magazine, began her writing career with McGraw Hill Magazines and the Chicago Sun-Times. She has created award-winning television documentaries, has written…

Michaela Proctor Hutchins

Michaela Proctor Hutchins grew up in the Washington D.C. Metro area then spent her last two years of high school in Alpine, Utah. During that time she formed “The Africa Club” and led the effort for two major humanitarian projects…

Larry Richman

Larry Richman writes daily articles at www.LDS365.com to help Latter-day Saints become more aware of helpful resources from the Church and from others. He regularly encourages people to hasten the work of the Lord by sharing the goodness of the…

JeaNette Goates Smith

JeaNette G. Smith is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (L.M.F.T.) and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (L.M.H.C.) in private practice in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. She is the author of the recently released book, Unsteady: What Every Parent Absolutely Must…

Don Staheli

 Don H. Staheli holds a bachelor's degree in history and master's degrees in international management and social work.  He has lovingly assisted thousands of people in his work as a licensed clinical social worker and trainer. He has served for…

Geoff Steurer, MS, LMFT

Geoff Steurer is a licensed marriage and family therapist in St. George, Utah. He specializes in working with couples, pornography/sexual addiction, betrayal trauma, and infidelity. He is the founder of Lifestar of St. George, Utah and Alliant Counseling and Education.…

Mark J. Stoddard

For more than 30 years Mark has been a successful entrepreneur, marketer, and educator. In 1990, the USSR’s Deputy Minister of Higher Education brought Mark teach free market business principles to leaders of the president’s cabinet, got him to be…

James T. Summerhays

James T. Summerhays has served as Senior Editor for the academic journal BYU Studies Quarterly, Editor and Instructional Designer in the Continuing Education Department at BYU, and as New Media Editor at Deseret Book. James and his wife Mary have…

Rachel J. Trotter

Rachel J. Trotter is a senior writer/editor at Evalogue.Life – Tell Your Story. She tells people’s stories and shares hers to encourage others. She loves family storytelling. A graduate of Weber State University, she has had articles featured on LDSLiving.com…

Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D.

G.G. Vandagriff

G.G. Vandagriff is the full-time writer of eleven books, including the Whitney Award Winner The Last Waltz: A Novel of Love and War. A Meridian columnist for ten years, she is a survivor of bi-polar disorder and has written, with…

Diana Webb

Diana Webb was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah in 1972 with a degree in English Education.  She got a job teaching school at John F. Kennedy Junior…

Kimberly White

A graduate of BYU in Philosophy, Kimberly White is a public speaker and author of The Shift: How Seeing People as People Changes Everything (published by Berrett-Koehler). The Shift demonstrates how the principles of the Arbinger Institute have been applied—with…

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