Marvin Kent Gardner (born 1952) is a

Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

writer and editor. Gardner served as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

for

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 ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He then studied 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). After that he served as an editor of the ''

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

''. Gardner also was an editor of the '' New Era'' and the ''

Friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Although there are many forms of f ...

'' and '' Liahona''. He served as assistant or managing editor at one or more of these publications from 1978 to 2005. Among the hymns written by Gardner is "Press Forward, Saints." He was a member of the Hymnbook Executive Committee which compiled the 1985 LDS English Language Hymnbook.''Deseret News'', April 9, 2014
/ref> Gardner is currently a member of the BYU faculty where he is an associate teaching professor of English language and linguistics. Gardner has also taught religion classes at BYU.

Sources

* * Karen Lynn Davidson. ''Stories of Our Latter-day Saint Hymns''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988) p. 378.
BYU faculty bio

Vita
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Marvin K. 1952 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in Colombia Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Editors of Latter Day Saint publications Latter Day Saints from Utah Living people