Val D. Greenwood

Val D. Greenwood was born during the Great Depression and raised on a Utah family farm. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and from the University of Idaho with a Juris Doctor degree. Though a member of the Utah State Bar until his retirement in 1999, he was employed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for thirty-seven years with assignments that included being a researcher and writer in the Family History Department and a faculty member at Ricks College (now Brigham Young University–Idaho). For his final nineteen–plus years of his employment, he worked in the Temple Department and was a director in that department for fifteen years.

His first book, “The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy,” first published in 1973 and in its fourth edition since October 2017, has long been considered by many to be a classic and has been the standard textbook for many years for those who study and those who teach American genealogical research. Val was awarded The prestigious Silver Tray Award 2018 by the Utah Genealogical Association "for Publication Efforts and Contributions to the Field of Genealogy."

Val's most recent work is a book of 229 Old Testament stories for adults and young adults titled “How Often Would I Have Gathered You.” It was published in 2007, with an enhanced second edition published in 2013. The first edition was given the "Gold Quill Award" by the League of Utah Writers.

There is also another version of this book. It was published in 2008 and is entitled "I Will Make of Thee a Great Nation." It has 219 stories after excluding those materials primarily of interest to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book was a "Best Books Award Finalist" for USA Book News. It was also the "Book of the Day" at Onlinebookclub.org on August 1, 2019, and "Book of the Month" on that same website during the month of August 2019.

More information about both the Old Testament itself and Val's books is available on his website, https://newviewoldtestament.com. I