Joseph Fielding McConkie

Joseph Fielding McConkie was a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, where he taught for 30 years. Previously, he taught Seminary and was the director of the Institute of Religion at the University of Washington for four years.

McConkie was born on April 3, 1941, in Salt Lake City, to Bruce R. and Amelia Smith McConkie. He graduated from BYU in 1965. He also held a Doctorate of Education degree from BYU.

He was the author of more than thirty books and numerous articles, among them Gospel Symbolism, Valiant in the Testimony of Christ, The Bruce R. McConkie Story, and 50 Truths the Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know. He co-wrote the four-volume Doctrinal Commentary of the Book of Mormon.

As a young man, he served as a missionary in the Scotland Edinburgh Mission. He later presided over the mission from 1989–1992.

McConkie and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of nine children. He died after a long battle with cancer on October 10, 2013.