John Henry Evans was an early-20th century Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 educator and writer, most known for his 1933 biography Joseph Smith, An American Prophet, published by Macmillan

Macmillan Publishers (United States)

Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than 30 others....

.

Biography

Evans was born in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 to John David Evans and Margaret Thomas Evans. When he was four years old, they emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In 1900 Evans married Amy Jane Whipple, who served on the Relief Society

Relief Society

The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories...

 general board starting in 1921. They had four children.

Evans served from 1906-1920 as a member of the General Board of the Religion Classes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He also taught at Latter-day Saints University, the predecessor of LDS Business College

LDS Business College

LDS Business College is a two-year college in Salt Lake City, Utah, focused on training students in business and industry. The college is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and operates under the Church Educational System and is associated with the Brigham Young University...

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Evans lived in Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 for over 50 years, where he also died and was buried, in the Salt Lake City Cemetery

Salt Lake City Cemetery

thumb|The northern section of the cemetery at night, looking towards Salt Lake CityThe Salt Lake City Cemetery is in The Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 120,000 persons are buried in the cemetery. Many religious leaders and politicians, particularly many leaders of The...

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Publications

In 1912 Evans published with B. H. Roberts a work on the Spaulding theory of the origins of the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

. Evans also wrote some of the entries included in Andrew Jenson

Andrew Jenson

Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for much of the early-twentieth century...

's Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia.

Evans authored Joseph Smith, An American Prophet as well as Messages and Characters of the Book of Mormon (with his son John Henry Evans, Jr.), The Story of Utah (1933), One Hundred Years of Mormonism and biographies of Ezra T. Benson

Ezra T. Benson

Ezra Taft Benson was as an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:Benson was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of John Benson and...

 and Charles C. Rich

Charles C. Rich

Charles Coulson Rich was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....

. He also compiled material to write a biography of James Moyle

James Moyle

James Henry Moyle was a prominent politician in Utah.-Biography:Moyle was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory to a Cornish American family. From about 1879-1881 Moyle served as a missionary in North Carolina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 but became terminally ill before the book reached beyond the initial manuscript stage and the book was completed after his death by Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...

.

Sources

• Dew, Sheri L.
  Sheri L. Dew
  Sheri L. Dew is an American author and publisher, currently acting as president and chief executive officer of Deseret Book, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dew has also been a religious leader within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , an inspirational speaker, writer, and acted as a...
  
  , Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
  Deseret Book
  Deseret Book is the largest Latter-day Saint book publisher and also owns a chain of LDS bookstores in the western United States. Over 150 people work in its Salt Lake City headquarters...
  
  , 1996) p. 138.
• Listing of 50 important Mormon books, including one by Evans
• A historiographical article on Utah

External links