Stephen Brown Allen (born January 12, 1950) is a maker of

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 ...

religious and proselytizing films. Allen was born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, to Arthur Tranter and Virginia Brown Allen. His mother died from complications related to childbirth and his father subsequently married June Fowler Allen. His father was involved in

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) building program. On assignments, his family moved to various parts of the world. Allen spent four years of his childhood in Australia and New Zealand. At the age of twelve his family moved to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay, where he later graduated from high school. Allen served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in the church's Guatemala–El Salvador

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 1969 to 1971. He then attended

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 ...

where he graduated with a major in Communications—Television Production and a minor in Advertising and Public Relations. He married Nancy Billings on January 28, 1972, 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 ...

. They have six children—four boys and two girls. The Allens now have 25 grandchildren. Allen served 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 church's Arizona Tempe Mission from 1993 to 1995. He has served as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

twice, counselor in a stake presidency, and

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

. Prior to his call as a mission president, Allen was the director of Media and Public Programs in the church's Missionary Department. He was responsible for the production and distribution of radio, television, and print media directed to nonmembers as well as the church's pageants, visitors' centers, and historic sites. Earlier in his career, Allen was the executive producer of the LDS Church's ''Homefront'' radio and television commercials and many other church films, including '' Mr. Krueger's Christmas'' (1980) and ''

The Last Leaf "The Last Leaf" is a short story by O. Henry published in his 1907 collection ''The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories''. It first appeared on October 15, 1905, in the ''New York World''. Summary The story is set in Greenwich Village during a pneum ...

'' (1983). Following his service as a mission president in Arizona, Allen served as managing director of the church's Missionary Department for 18 years until he retired in February 2017. Concurrent with his service in the church's Missionary Department, Allen served from 2011 to 2016 as an

area seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of J ...

in the Fifth Quorum of Seventy, assigned to the Utah Salt Lake City

Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

. From 2018 to 2020, Allen served as director of the

Laie Hawaii Temple Laie Hawaii Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the North Shore (Oahu), northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill, half a mile from th ...

Visitors' Center.

Key projects

Ad campaigns

*Emmy Award-Winning Homefront PSAs, '' I'm a Mormon''

Films

*'' Mr. Krueger's Christmas'' (1980) *''

'' (1983) *'' Man's Search for Happiness'' (1987 Remake) *''The Nativity: Luke II'' (1986) *''Together Forever'' (1987)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Stephen B. 1950 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Guatemala American Mormon missionaries in El Salvador Area seventies (LDS Church) Living people Mission presidents (LDS Church) Spokespersons American expatriates in Uruguay Filmmakers from Utah Mass media people from Salt Lake City