Val R. Christensen

Val R. Christensen served as a General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1998 to 2004. He was serving as president of the Arizona Phoenix Mission at the time of his call as a General Authority and served as a regional representative, stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, bishop, and bishopric counselor. He served a full-time mission to Western Canada from 1955 to 1957.

He was born on September 27, 1935, in Hooper, Utah. His father passed away when he was a child. He learned to work hard to help his mother with the farm. He also hired himself out to other farmers to help provide funds for his family. Christensen earned his bachelor’s degree in English and his master’s degree in secondary education administration from Utah State University. He then received his doctorate at Michigan State University. He served in the Army, taught high school, and worked with Brigham Young University’s Continuing Education Center in Ogden, Utah. He worked at Utah State University for thirty years and retired as vice president of student services.

Christensen and his wife, Ruth Ann, are the parents of five children.