James R. Rasband (born March 20, 1963) is an American academic and religious leader who has been a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) since April 2019. He was previously the Academic Vice President (AVP) at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) from June 2017 until shortly after he was called as a general authority. He also previously served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the J. Reuben Clark Law School (JRCLS). He has also been the Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law.

Legal and academic career

Rasband received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from BYU (1986) and later graduated from Harvard Law School (1989), where he was an editor of the '' Harvard Law Review''. Following law school, Rasband clerked for Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. He then worked as a lawyer in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for the

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...

law firm. In 1995, he joined the faculty of the JRCLS. He has been a visiting professor in Australia at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

and Murdoch University. Rasband is a specialist in public land law and natural resources law. From 2004 to 2008, Rasband served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the JRCLS. In 2008 and 2009, he was BYU's Associate AVP for Faculty. Rasband served as dean of the JRCLS from 2009 to 2016. Rasband was succeeded as BYU's AVP by C. Shane Reese.

LDS Church service

As a young man, Rasband was a full-time

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the church's Seoul Korea

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. He served in the church as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Provo Utah YSA 8th Stake from 2011 to 2016. In April 2017, he was called as an

area seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Je ...

. Rasband was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 6, 2019, at age 56. Since August 2020, Rasband has been serving as a counselor in the presidency of the church's Asia North

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

Personal life

Rasband and his wife, Mary Williams, are the parents of four children.

References

Additional reading

BYU bio of RasbandBYU news announcement of Rasband's appointment as dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School"New dean for BYU Law School"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'', April 21, 2009

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder James Rasband
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasband, James 1963 births Living people American general authorities (LDS Church) Brigham Young University faculty Brigham Young University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) General authority seventies (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in South Korea People associated with Perkins Coie