Brent LaMar Top (born 1953) is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU). Top served as dean of religious education at BYU [1] and the director of BYU's Religious Studies Center from 2013 to 2018. [2]
Top is a native of Idaho Falls. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Denmark. He holds a bachelor's degree in history, a master's degree in instructional media and a Ph.D. in instructional science and technology, all from BYU.
Prior to joining the BYU faculty in 1987, Top was both a seminary and an institute instructor in the Church Educational System. He currently holds an endowed professorship in moral education at BYU.
Among other callings in the LDS Church, Top has served as a bishop, member of a stake presidency, and as president of the Pleasant Grove Utah East Stake. Top was president of the church's Illinois Peoria Mission from 2004 to 2007, and the president of the church’s Mormon Battalion Historic Sites in San Diego, California, from 2022 to 2024.[ citation needed ]
Top has written several books, including Ten Secrets Wise Parents Know: Tried and True Things You Can Do To Raise Faithful, Confident Responsible Children (written with Bruce A. Chadwick), When You Can't Do It Alone and Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. He has also written articles for such publications as The Elementary School Journal. [3]
Neal Ash Maxwell was an American scholar, educator, 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 1981 until his death.
Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the third most senior apostle in the church.
Merrill Joseph Bateman is an American religious leader who was the 11th president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1996 to 2003. He is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was the LDS Church's 12th presiding bishop in 1994 and 1995. Bateman was the Sunday School General President of the LDS Church from 2003 to 2004, a member of the Church's Presidency of the Seventy from 2003 to 2007, and the president of the Provo Utah Temple from 2007 to 2010.
Bruce Clark Hafen is an American attorney, academic and religious leader. He has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1996.
Daniel K. Judd is an American educator and religious leader who served as first counselor to A. Roger Merrill in the Sunday School General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2004 to 2009. From 2019 to 2021, Judd was dean of Brigham Young University's (BYU) Department of Religious Education. He had previously served as chair of BYU's Ancient Scripture Department.
John Kay Carmack has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1984. He is currently an emeritus general authority and was the managing director of the church's Perpetual Education Fund from 2001 to 2012.
Ned Cromar Hill is the American National Advisory Council professor of business management and was dean of the Marriott School of Business (MSB) at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1998 to 2008. From 2011 to 2014, he served as president of the Romania Bucharest Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
John Sears Tanner was the tenth president of Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii), serving from 2015 to 2020. He previously served as first counselor in the General Sunday School Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as president of the church's Brazil São Paulo South Mission and as academic vice president of Brigham Young University (BYU). Tanner is married to Susan W. Tanner, a former general president of the LDS Church's Young Women organization.
Ed Jolley Pinegar was a Latter-day Saint author, educator and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His books include Look to the Temple, Raising the Bar, and several works dealing with the study of the Book of Mormon. Many of his books were written with LDS author Richard J. Allen. With Rodger Dean Duncan, Pinegar is co-author of the book Leadership for Saints.
Terry Briggs Ball was the dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2006 until 2013.
Marcus Helvécio Martins is the former dean and department chair for religious education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii), and also the author of Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood. Martins was the first black member to serve as a missionary after the revelation extending the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to all male members regardless of race or color. Martins is the son of Helvécio Martins, the first Latter-day Saint of African descent to serve as an LDS Church general authority.
Noel Beldon Reynolds is an American political scientist and an emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he has also served as an associate academic vice president and as director for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). He was a member of the BYU faculty from 1971 to 2011. He has also written widely on the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member.
Matthew Ottesen Richardson was the Advancement Vice President at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2014 to 2020. He served previously as a professor of religion at BYU and from 2002 to 2006 he was an associate dean of religious education at BYU.
Russell Trent Osguthorpe is an American professor of education and was the 20th general president of the Sunday School of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2009 to 2014.
David Brian Galbraith is a retired Brigham Young University (BYU) professor of political science who served as director of the BYU Jerusalem Center.
Ellis Theo Rasmussen was an American professor and dean of Religious Instruction at Brigham Young University (BYU). He helped produce the edition of the Bible published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979.
James R. Rasband is an American academic and religious leader who has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2019. He was previously the Academic Vice President (AVP) at Brigham Young University (BYU) from June 2017 until shortly after he was called as a general authority. He also previously served as dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School (JRCLS). He has also been the Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law.
Bradley Ray Wilcox is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU) and has been a counselor in the Young Men general presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2020.
Religious Education at Brigham Young University (BYU) administers programs related to Latter-day Saint religious teaching at the university. In the past, it has granted various master's and Doctor of Religious Education degrees. Currently its only degree programs are a Master of Arts (MA) in religious education, primarily aimed at full-time Church Educational System employees, and an MA program for military chaplains. Most students who take courses with Religious Education are studying other topics, since BYU undergraduate students have to take the equivalent of one religion course per semester.
Camille Fronk Olson is a retired professor and former chair of Brigham Young University's (BYU) Department of Ancient Scripture in Religious Education and a scholar who has written multiple books on the role of women in the scriptures. She has also spoken widely in various forums on Latter-day Saint beliefs, especially as they relate to women.