John Leon Sorenson (April 8, 1924 – December 8, 2021) was an American anthropologist, scholar and author. He was a professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

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 ...

, and the author of ''An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon'', as well as many other books and articles on the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

Life and career

Sorenson was born on April 8, 1924. He first performed archaeological work in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...

while pursuing a master's degree at BYU. From January to June 1953, he was involved in the New World Archaeological Foundation's initial fieldwork (under the direction of Pedro Armillas) in the state of

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Sorenson held a Ph.D. from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

. He began teaching at BYU in 1963, and later established the university's anthropology department. He also served as head of Social Sciences for General Research Corporation, based in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

, and was the founder of Bonneville Research Corporation. For a time, he served as editor of the '' Journal of Book of Mormon Studies''. He authored or co-authored some 200 books and articles, including ''Mormon's Codex: An Ancient American Book'' (2013), ''An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon'' (1985), ''Transoceanic Culture Contacts between the Old and New Worlds in Pre-Columbian Times: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography'' (with Martin Raish, 1988), ''Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life'' (1998), ''Mormon’s Map'' (2000), and ''World Trade and Biological Exchanges before 1492'' (with Carl L. Johannessen, 2004). While being a proponent of the historicity of the Book of Mormon, Sorenson also attacked the poor scholarship that some have used in defending the Book of Mormon. Sorenson was the father of eight children, all boys, and had one adopted daughter, as well as 23 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren. He also served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the BYU 99th Ward. He died on December 8, 2021, at the age of 97.

Notes

References

*Biography in Parry et al., ed., ''Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon'' (Provo: FARMS, 2002) pp. 504–505. *

Life and career

See also

Notes

References

Further reading