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award winner.
Nominated for "Best Cover Art" award for May on The Authors' Lounge. Go to The Authors' Lounge and cast your vote.
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About Me:
I am Val Greenwood. I was raised on a Utah family farm. A life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I love the Old Testament, love to read it, and love to tell its wonderful stories. As a student of the scriptures, my goal is to help people find clarity and meaning in the Old Testament.
I have taught LDS Institute classes in Salt Lake City, Utah; Moscow, Idaho; and Santa Barbara, California, as well as religion classes at Ricks College. I have also taught at Brigham Young University Education Weeks in Provo, Utah, and throughout Southern Idaho (back in 1965 when they used to do that)..
I was graduated from Brigham Young University in 1962 with a bachelor of science degree in journalism and from the University of Idaho with a Juris Doctor degree.
Before my retirement in 1999, I worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for thirty-seven years. My assignments included being a researcher and writer in the Genealogical Department (now Family History Department) and a faculty member at Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho). I also worked for more than nineteen years in the Temple Department and was a director in that department for fifteen years.
My writing experience is extensive and varied. I am the author of the classic work, The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, first published in 1973 and in its third edition since 2000. It is considered the standard work in the field, and many call it a classic. While in law school I wrote a national-prize winning treatise on copyright law that was published by ASCAP. I wrote a chapter on copyright law for a book entitled Professional Genealogy that was edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills and published in 2002 by Genealogical Publishing Company. I have also written articles for LDS Church magazines and for the Utah Genealogical Association Quarterly magazine..
I filled a mission for the LDS Church in Canada as a young man in the late 1950s and have also served in various Church leadership positions, including bishop and patriarch. In 2000 and 2001, I served a two-year mission for the Church Educational System in Santa Barbara, California, with my first wife Peggy. I am a sealer in the Jordan River Utah Temple, having served in that capacity since 1985; I also serve as a volunteer assistant temple recorder.
I live in Riverton, Utah, with my wife, Patty, whom I married in 2004. (My first wife, Peggy, passed away in early 2003 from cancer.) I have three daughters, a stepdaughter, and two stepsons. I am pleased to say that Patty and I have twenty-two grandchildren between us (nine boys and thirteen girls, ranging in age from 19 years to 1 year).
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About my award-winning new book: 
How Often Would I Have Gathered You (ISBN-10: 1-58982-380X;
ISBN-13: 978-1-58982-380-8). This book was awarded a 2007 Our History--Our Heritage Publication Award (Golden Quill) by the League of Utah Writers. It was also named a "Top Ten Read" for 2007 by Carolyn Howard-Johnson on My Shelf.com.Most recently, it has been nominated for the "Best Cover Art" Award on The Authors' Lounge. You can cast your vote.
The book contains 229 intriguing stories from the Old Testament, based on the King James Version of the Bible. They are written in clear modern English for adult and young adult Latter-day Saints. They will, however, also be of interest to any person of any religious persuasion who wants to better understand the Old Testament. With a Mormon running for President of the United States, there is extensive interest on what the Mormons teach about the scriptures.  My stories will help answer that question.
The stories are told, as nearly as possible, in chronological sequence. The first story is about the Grand Council in heaven and the last story, from the book of Nehemiah, tells of some of the trials and challenges faced by the Jews following their return from captivity. Some stories are very short; others are quite long. Some relate to only a small portion of one chapter of the Old Testament; while others cover entire books (like Deuteronomy, Job, Ruth, and Esther).
To make this award-winning book even more valuable, I have included a pronunciation guide and a chart showing the kings of both Judah and Israel from the division of Israel into two kingdoms until Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The chart shows when each king served in relation to the other kings. It shows where accounts of them are found in the scriptures and which stories in my book tell their stories.
Most of the stories use dialog to enhance their message---staying as close to the scriptural dialog as possible---but the dialog is both simplified and shortened where appropriate. I have made careful efforts to enhance--but not to embellish or fictionalize the scriptural message.
The stories are divided into twelve chronological sections. These are:
- The Council, the Creation, the Fall, and the Early Patriarchs covers the period from the great council to the tower of Babel.
- Abraham and Isaac contains several remarkable stories relating to these two great patriarchs.
- Jacob and Joseph covers events in the lives of these patriarchal fathers through the time when Joseph is ruler of all Egypt and Israel goes to live in Egypt. The story of Job is also included in this section because of its apparent time sequence.
- From Egypt to Sinai covers the life of Moses, the exodus, and the dealings of Jehovah with Israel until after their tabernacle was built at Mount Sinai.
- Through the Wilderness and Into Canaan covers events during Israel's forty years in the wilderness, their entry into the Promised Land under Joshua, and their settlement in the land until the death of Joshua.
- The Reign of the Judges covers the period in Israel's history when military heroes became the leaders of the people and served as their judges. Among these stories are accounts of Deborah, Samson, Gideon, Ruth, and Samuel.
- Saul and David: The Rise and Fall of King Saul has stories from the lives of Saul and David down to the time of Saul's death and David's accent to the throne of Israel.
- David and Solomon: The House of Judah on the Throne contains stories from the lives of these two great kings of united Israel, including their triumphs and their failures.
- Divided Israel (Part I): Two Separate Kingdoms contains incredible stories of both of these disobedient kingdoms---Israel in the north and Judah in the south. These are primarily stories relating to kings---both righteous and wicked---and the prophets of God who were in their midst. The prophets Elijah and Elisha appear in many of these stories.
- Divided Israel (Part II): Good Kings, Bad Kings, and the Threat of Captivity begins with the story of the healing of Naaman the Syrian by the prophet Elisha. It ends when Israel---the northern kingdom---succumbs to her own wicked kings and is taken captive by the Assyrians. Wicked King Manasseh and his son Amon are the last kings of Judah in this section. The prophet Isaiah is also part of several stories.
- Judah's Captivity: The Prophecies, the Siege, and the Reality begins with the righteous reign of King Josiah and the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. It continues through the reign of King Zedekiah and the fall of Jerusalem to King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. The Prophet Ezekiel also appears in many of the stories. This section ends with the remnant of Judah that was not taken to Babylon fleeing into Egypt contrary to Jehovah's will.
- The Captivity of Judah, the Return, and Beyond contains stories relating to the Jews in captivity---especially of Daniel. Account of the Jews' return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple and the city are also include.
During the writing process, I was blessed with abundant inspiration. I received critical help and profound insights important to the various stories from unexpected sources. It was amazing how the project unfolded and progressed.
I have made every effort to eliminate redundancy and cumbersome (and sometimes sordid) details. (You may, in fact, disagree with some of my omissions.) I also decided that I would not draw any morals, lessons, or conclusions from the stories, but to let the stories speak for themselves.
While seeking to be faithful to the scriptural message, I have attempted to use modern language and expressions rather than the cryptic language of the seventeenth-century King James translators. I have replaced the old-style pronouns (thee, thy, thou, and thine) relating to people with their modern equivalents. However, I chose to retain the old-style pronouns---and capitalized them---when they relate to Deity. Along with these pronouns, I have also retained the old-style verbs (wilt, shalt, canst, dost, doest, goest, sayest, couldest, etc., etc.) that go with them.
Because the King James translators replaced the name Jehovah with "the L ORD" (with L ORD in small caps, as you see here), I chose, in most cases, to put the name of Jehovah back into my stories.
I have used footnotes (not endnotes) extensively in my stories. Though these notes are not essential to the understanding of a story, they provide insight and salient background information. Some footnotes also provide a cross-reference between related stories.
To enhance understanding, I have---in addition to the King James text---relied heavily on the study helps contained in the Latter-day Saint editions of the scriptures, including footnote references, the Bible Dictionary, and the Joseph Smith Translation. I have also used the modern scriptures (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) to provide additional understanding and insight, where such were applicable. A few stories were taken entirely from these other scriptures---such as the stories relating to the Grand Council in heaven, the prophet Enoch, the council at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Moses' vision on the mountain, etc.
I do not intend that my book should replace or upstage the scriptures in any way. I hope, rather, that these stories will introduce the Old Testament in a way that will bring clarity and meaning to those who read them. My goal is to help you gain greater appreciation for the Old Testament canon.
I hope that, as you read these stories, you will gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the love that God has for His children---a love that is deeper and more abiding than we as mortals can begin to comprehend.
Sample stories are included on this web site under Inside the Book.
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MY OTHER BOOK: 
The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy was first published in 1973 by Genealogical Publishing Co. in Baltimore and has been in its third edition since 2000. It was the first general purpose text and reference book on American genealogical research to ever be published. It met with instant success and has since been spoken of by many as a classic. After 35 years, it is still the textbook of choice for those who teach American genealogical research.
Here are some of the nice things that have been written about The Researcher's Guide... :
"Definitive textbook; detailed examination of records in specific areas and times. Unlike some other manuals, it is indispensable and should become the most important manual for American researchers." ---American & British Genealogy & Heraldry
"There is no other textbook on American records to match this volume. Every genealogist should have a copy. If a beginning genealogist were to ask me to recommend just one book for purchase, this is the book I would recommend." ---Shirley Langdon Wilcox, Certified Genealogist
"There is no question among genealogists that this guide is the standard by which all other genealogical books are judged. It is the text of choice in colleges and universities or wherever courses in American genealogy are taught." ---Mississippi Genealogical Connections
"Val Greenwood's guide is recognized as one of the leading publications on the subject of genealogy. . . This volume has been and continues to be a classic, one of the few that every genealogist should own and read. It is both a reference guide and a textbook." ---New England Historical and Genealogical Register
"It is good to have a new edition of this work [speaking of the third edition]. Greenwood manages to make research in American genealogy understandable." ---American Reference Books Annual
In a news release entitled "Genealogical Publishing Company Partners with FamilyLinks.com," which was posted on SbWire on March 3, 2008, it states the following about my book (quoting Barry Chodak, president of GPC): "Our collection of guide books and how to books numbers more than 250, including the most widely used text, Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy." Of all of their books that Mr. Chodak could have mentioned, he mentioned this one--the book that built his company.
If you are involved with research for ancestors who lived in the United States, I believe this is the guide you are looking for. You can read more about it and buy it from Genealogical Publishing Company. ---vdg
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Comments and Reviews pertaining to How Often Would I Have Gathered You
"How Often Would I Have Gathered You . . . fills a gap between published Church curriculum and the larger, more detailed studies available to the interested reader. It reads like a novel, but it tells a true story. Readers of all ages will appreciate this resource and enjoy the fine work that Val Greenwood has provided for us."
---Jeffrey Needle,
In book review for the Association for Mormon Letters (AML)
"The author has carefully gathered stories from the Old Testament that share the familiar theme of the title---then he has summarized those stories so that they can be quickly called to mind."
---Dennis Lythgoe,
Book editor, Deseret Morning News
"Val Greenwood's How Often Would I Have Gathered You captures the essence of these wonderful Old Testament messages. His easy style brings the Old Testament to life without embellishing the stories and without fictionalizing the message. . . [The] stories are clear, cogent, and true to their sources."
---Desert Saints Magazine
"Val Greenwood has done a wonderful service for the Latter-day Saint people. He has provided an incredible tool for a better understanding of the Old Testament. The stories, told from the Latter-day Saint point of view, are true to the scriptures and are without ornamentation, embellishment, or fictionalization. How Often Would I Have Gathered You will surely become an indispensable and timeless addition to the library of every LDS family."
---Thomas G. Chapman,
LDS Institute Director
"The Old Testament is a challenge for most students of the scriptures. The insights they will get from Val Greenwood's book will help the stories of the Old Testament come alive. I highly recommend it!"
---Robert K. McIntosh,
LDS institute director and author of How Do You Know When You're Really In Love?
"Val [Greenwood] puts it all in historical perspective, and gives magnificent insights into the stories. I feel this book is going to be a great treasure for those who want to know more about the Old Testament. And that's all of us--both the teachers and the learners.
"As I read many the stories I found myself thinking, 'Oh yes! Now I remember how that goes.' It was quite a revelation to me to read the stories again and fix them in my mind. But more than that, Val goes into some stories that I've really never understood and makes them perfectly clear. I know, at least in part, something of each of these stories, but Val gives me the rest of the story.
"I have known, respected, and loved Val for many years. His mind and heart have made him a valuable resource to family history and temple work. His book on family history research in the United States is a classic. Now, with this book, he has written an equally meaningful book on another vital subject. Thanks, Val Greenwood."
---George D. Durrant, LDS author and educator
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What Other readers are saying:
"[My husband] and I are really enjoying reading your book, How Often Would I Have Gathered You. It is absolutely wonderful! Every home should have a copy. It is so easy to read and understand... You have written so very well. Thank you for publishing such a wonderful book."
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"I am so impressed with your book. I would like to purchase a book for each of my children. What a wonderful resource for understanding the Old Testament. I hope you have plans to write more books."
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"We are really enjoying your book and appreciate all your hard work. I want all my children to have copies and am also sharing with friends."
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"I love the Old Testament book! My mom got me a signed copy. It has helped me a ton teaching Seminary."
<> "I... like the easy-to-
understand language your book is written in."
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"You have done a wonderful job."
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"I have not finished the book but find the beginning chapters to be an interesting read. I appreciate the clear explanations and logic."
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"The way you have compiled the stories makes it so much easier to read and understand. The book is a real gem for those finding it difficult reading the Old Testament."
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"Thanks for writing "How Often Would I Have Gathered You." I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed that it was so easy to read and the references were great.
"... gave me a copy signed by you. I am his Home Teacher and enjoy visiting with him. I shared a couple of stories with our HP Quorum and they were impressed with the story of Moses, when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as he was commanded and Jehovah said that because you sought to take the glory to yourself ..., you shall not bring the people into the promised land, and He also told him that Aaron would not be allowed to enter either. Most did not remember this story and it was an enlightenment to them and me.
"Again, thanks so much and let me know if you plan to write another, for I know I would enjoy it also. Not only enjoyable reading but spiritually edifying also."
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"I have started reading it and it is great. So easy to read."
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"I've started to read through your book--"How Often Would I Have Gathered You"--and it's so good! I honestly didn't know whether or not I would enjoy it, but I can truly say it's brought the Old Testament to light for me in a way that no teacher or manual ever has. I can't wait to read it every night!
"Thank you... for the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into this book. I really appreciate it."
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"I am so impressed with Val's book. The stories are great. They help me to understand and give 'clarity' as George Durrant says. Well done, Val"
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"I substituted in [my daughter's] seminary class this morning and used your book!! I had three boys act out Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh as I read your captivating prose!! Very fun."
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"We are so enjoying studying the Old Testament with your book."
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