John Bytheway

John Bytheway served a mission to the Philippines and later graduated from Brigham Young University. He has a master’s degree in religious education and is a part-time instructor at the BYU Salt Lake Center. John is the author of many bestselling books, audio talks, and DVDs, including How to Be an Extraordinary Teen; Life Rocks; and his first children’s picture book, The Sacrament. He and his wife, Kimberly, have six children.

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John Bytheway: God is not a God of explanations—lessons from Job

By John Bytheway

December 29, 2021 12:42 PM MST

The book of Job is the perfect place to go for a case study of someone who was visited with problems that just plain didn’t make sense.

7 Min Read

Crop image of woman buying a refreshing drink at a vending machine in Japan

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Pending, not vending: John Bytheway shares how God helps things work out … eventually

By John Bytheway

December 21, 2021 09:30 AM MST

Sometimes life doesn't make sense—especially if we expect God to simply “deliver the goods” once we’ve made some required spiritual deposit. These five scriptures can help make sense of things while we wait for our “eventually.”

8 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

John Bytheway on how to find the ‘happy feeling nothing in the world can buy’

By John Bytheway

December 17, 2021 12:38 PM MST

I believe the Lord may place us in “orbits” so that you and I may be a light, be a friend, and serve in such a way that we may capture that “happy feeling nothing in the world can buy.”

7 Min Read

Men are that they ‘might’—or ‘might not’—have joy, but it's always available, John Bytheway explains

By John Bytheway

December 14, 2020 01:00 PM MST

The December pick for LDS Living Book Club is Born This Happy Morning by John Bytheway. Follow the LDS Living Book Club Instagram to join the conversation.

5 Min Read

John Bytheway answers why anti-Christ arguments like Korihor’s are preserved in the scriptures

By John Bytheway

July 06, 2020 12:00 PM MDT

An intriguing question is a gift. When a student asks a tough one, the whole class goes into “search mode,” and we put our collective heads together searching for an answer. Here’s a good one:

6 Min Read

What happened when the firsthand Nephite witnesses of Christ were gone and why they matter to us today

By John Bytheway

July 01, 2020 12:00 PM MDT

In the New Testament, the resurrected Jesus appeared to many people, including Mary Magdalene, the women who came to the tomb, the Twelve, the disciples, and, according to Paul, “above five hundred brethren” (1 Corinthians 15:6), as well as, of course, to Paul himself on the road to Damascus.

4 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

5 Powerful Scriptures in 5 Words or Less

By John Bytheway

November 02, 2019 12:17 PM MDT

Joseph Fielding Smith changed John Bytheway's life in five words when he said, "We read scriptures too fast." Check out these five "sermons in a sentence" from the scriptures that could change your life, too!

4 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The "Haunting" Arabian Phenomenon That Can Change How You Think of Lehi's Dream in the Book of Mormon

By John Bytheway

March 09, 2019 03:37 PM MST

And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. —1 Nephi 8:22–23

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The Best Advice For When You Don't Get a "Burning in the Bosom" Feeling

By John Bytheway

September 28, 2018 12:43 PM MDT

Most often when we talk about testimonies, we refer to feelings. We talk about “feeling the Spirit,” or “feeling good” about a decision, or “feeling impressed” to do something. And yet, when we try to describe how we felt, or exactly what something felt like, we discover it’s very hard to explain. President Boyd K. Packer taught:

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The Perfect Analogy for Anyone Who Worries Their Testimony Isn't Strong Enough

By John Bytheway

August 17, 2018 01:42 PM MDT

Many years ago, a young man (he was only 23 years old) was called to be the new stake president in Tooele, Utah. In those days, stake conferences had two sessions, and at lunch between the sessions, Joseph F. Smith, one of the General Authorities attending, said to the new stake president, “You said you believe the gospel with all your heart, and propose to live it, but you did not bear your testimony that you know it is true. Don’t you know absolutely that this gospel is true?”

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

An Unforgettable Message All Singles in the Church Need to Hear from John Bytheway

By John Bytheway

January 20, 2018 03:22 PM MST

One memorable evening, after participating in a fireside in Tremonton, Utah, I strapped myself into my little Hyundai and set out for the drive home. As I proceeded southbound along the Wasatch Front, I marveled at the number of temples I passed along the way. . . .

2 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

What We Learn About Loneliness and Despair from Moroni

By John Bytheway

December 11, 2017 10:19 PM MST

Moroni’s father, Mormon, was the major abridger of the Book of Mormon, which is why the book appropriately bears his name. One wonders if Moroni had any idea that he would suddenly be called upon to finish his father’s work. Given the circumstances, he was in fact the only one who could finish the record. The events that overtook him and left his family dead seemed to have come as a surprise. Mormon did not die of natural causes. He was killed in battle at age 73, and so he was not around to finish his book. This is why Mormon chapter 8 begins with these words:

4 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

John Bytheway: A Line-by-Line Look at the Sacrament Prayers That Will Change How You Understand Them

By John Bytheway

December 01, 2017 10:00 PM MST

For Moroni to engrave the sacrament prayers on the plates is a testimony that the sacrament was an essential, not an optional, part of their worship.

7 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The LDS Teen Who Turned Down $1 Million from MLB's Angels to Serve a Mission

By John Bytheway

November 03, 2016 02:30 PM MDT

Fresh out of high school, teenage athlete McKay Christensen was highly sought after by both baseball and football teams. As a running back, he held the California state record for touchdowns scored. In baseball, his batting average was .500 and he was named to the all-American team.

2 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

John Bytheway: How Do I Know If the Gospel Is Right for Me?

By John Bytheway

November 17, 2015 03:16 PM MST

MR says: John Bytheway puts it so simply and poetically when he says, "When we live what we know, we become true. The thirteenth article of faith begins by saying, 'We believe in being honest, true . . .' Why doesn’t it just say, 'We believe in honesty and truth'? The key word in there is being —being honest, being true. It’s not just about knowing things, it’s about being something, or, in other words, becoming something."

1 Min Read