Joseph Fielding McConkie (3 April 1941–10 October 2013) was a professor of Ancient Scripture at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) and an author or co-author of over 25 books. McConkie was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) and the son of

Bruce R. McConkie Bruce Redd McConkie (July 29, 1915 – April 19, 1985) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1972 until his death. McConkie was a member of the First Council o ...

and Amelia Smith McConkie (daughter of

Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tenth President of the Church (LDS Church), president ...

). In 1966, he married Brenda Kempton in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

. McConkie was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and graduated from

Olympus High School Olympus High School is a public high school in the Granite School District in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Description The school opened on September 1, 1953, with an original enrollment of 1028 students. In the fall of 1960, th ...

in 1959, received a

Doctorate of Education A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from BYU in 1973 and was an

LDS Chaplain LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He served in many capacities in the LDS Church, including as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Scotland Edinburgh

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

from 1989 to 1992. He also served as

of a student

stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

at BYU and was an Institute Director in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Before retiring, McConkie taught at BYU as a Professor of Ancient Scripture in the College of Religious Education.

Works

Many of McConkie's books primarily address Joseph of Egypt,

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

, and the revelations of

The Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

. He said his book ''Between the Lines'' is an attempt to correct some misreadings of scripture. Books *
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Four Distinctive Aspects of Deity as Taught by Joseph Smith
'. Brigham Young University Master Thesis (1968) * ''True and Faithful, The Life Story of Joseph Fielding Smith''.

Bookcraft Bookcraft was a major publisher of books and products for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). History In 1940, LDS Church president Heber J. Grant asked the church's ''Improvement Era'' magazine to compile ...

(1971) * ''Teach and Reach''.

(1975) * ''Journal of Discourses Digest, Volume 1''.

(1975) * ''Seeking the Spirit''. Deseret Book (1978) * ''En Busca Del Don Celestial—In Search of the Spirit (Spanish)''.

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), th ...

(2006) * ''His Name Shall Be Joseph, "Ancient Prophecies of the Latter-day Seer"''. Hawkes Publishing, Inc. (1980) * ''The Spirit of Revelation''.

(1984) * ''Hearken, O Ye People, Discourses on the Doctrine and Covenants, Sperry Symposium 1984''. editor. Randall Book (1984) * ''Sustaining and Defending the Faith''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1985) * ''Gospel Symbolism''.

(1985) * ''The Life Beyond''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1986) * ''Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 1 - First and Second Nephi''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1987) * ''Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 2 - Jacob through Mosiah''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1988) * ''Prophets and Prophecy''.

(1988) * ''In His Holy Name''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1988) * ''Truth and Courage: Joseph F. Smith Letters'', editor. privately published by 1988 Joseph F. Smith Family Trustees and Officers (1988) * ''The Holy Ghost''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1989) * ''The Man Adam''. co-edited with Robert L. Millet.

(1990) * ''A Guide to Scriptural Symbols''. co-authored with Donald W. Parry.

(1990) * ''Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 3 - Alma through Helaman''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1991) * ''Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 4 - Third Nephi through Mormon''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet and

Brent L. Top 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 and the director of BYU's Religious Studies Center from 2013 to 2018. Biographical back ...

(1992) * ''Our Destiny The Call and Election of the House of Israel''. co-authored with Robert L. Millet.

(1993) * ''Sons and Daughters of God: The Loss and Restoration of Our Divine Inheritance''.

(1994) * ''Here We Stand''.

(1995) * ''Joseph Smith, The Choice Seer: The Prophet's Greatness as Teacher, Priesthood Leader, and Restorer''. co-authored by Robert L. Millet.

(1996) * ''Answers: Straightforward Answers to Tough Gospel Questions''.

(1998) * ''Witnesses of the Birth of Christ''.

(1998) * ''Revelations of the Restoration: A Commentary on the Doctrine & Covenants & Other Modern Revelations''. co-authored with Craig J. Ostler.

(2000) * ''The Bruce R. McConkie Story: Reflections of a Son''.

(2003) * ''Understanding the Power God Gives Us''.

(2004) * ''The Smith Family: A Tradition of Revelation''. Self-published (Christmas 2005) * ''Between the Lines: Unlocking Scripture with Timeless Principles''. Digital Legend (2009) * ''Valiant in the Testimony of Christ''. Digital Legend (2009) * ''Christ, Covenants, & Salvation''. Ben Haven Books (2010) * ''50 Truths the devil doesn't want you to know''. Ben Haven Books (2013) * ''Defending the Sanctity of Marriage''. Ben Haven Books (2014) Columns McConkie contributed columns to ''

Meridian Magazine Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor are the founders of the Latter-day Saint oriented website ''Meridian Magazine''. They have also issued a revised edition of Lucy Mack Smith's history of Joseph Smith which reintroduces material from Lu ...

'' and ''

LDS Living ''LDS Living'' is a bi-monthly magazine published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is published through the church's Deseret Book Company in Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt L ...

'': *''Mary and Elisabeth: Handmaidens of the Lord'' * ''What Was It Like to Have Bruce R. McConkie as Your Father?'' *''Political and Religious Freedom: Understanding the Power God Gives Us'' * ''Questions Commonly Asked By Those Not of Our Faith'' * ''From Father to Son: Joseph F. McConkie on Gospel Teaching'' * ''Joseph Smith and the One True Church Doctrine'' Talks Some of McConkie's talks and lessons: *''Finding Answers'', BYU Devotional, 12 December 2006
video audio transcript
*''The How of Scripture Study'', BYU Education Week, 23 August 2006
video audio
*''The Smith Family and a Tradition of Revelation'', Sperry Symposium, 28 October 2005
audio
*''The Prophet Joseph Smith: Revealer of Truth'', BYU Education Week, 15 August 2005
video

audio
*''Joseph Smith as Known to Isaiah'', BYU-I Devotional, 12 October 2004
audio
*''Agency'', Ricks College Devotional, 9 November 1999
audio
*''The Prophet Joseph Smith: Evidences of His Testimony'', BYU Education Week, 16 August 1999
audio
*''President Joseph F. Smith's Panoramic Vision: Doctrine & Covenants 138'', BYU Education Week, 18 August 1997
audio
*Recently interviewed on the topic of LDS scriptural interpretation and doctrine, on the LDS sponsored podcast "Mormon Identities," by Eric D. Huntsman (part

and part

)

Notes

References

Deseret Book Author Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:McConkie, Joseph Fielding 1941 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint writers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American military chaplains American Mormon missionaries in Scotland Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty McConkie family Military personnel from Salt Lake City Mission presidents (LDS Church) Smith family (Latter Day Saints) Vietnam War chaplains Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) Writers from Salt Lake City