John L. Sorenson was born on April 8, 1924, in Smithfield, Utah. He went on to serve in the U.S Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1955, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant, and was decorated with a Victory medal, a South Atlantic Theater arm patch, and a Good Conduct medal. He married Kathryn Richards in November 1946, and then served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in New Zealand, Rarotonga, and the Cook Islands from 1947-1949. Sorenson studied radio engineering and meteorology at several different universities before obtaining a masters degree in Archaeology from Brigham Young University in 1952 and a Doctor of Philosophy with an emphasis in Social Anthropology from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1962. Professionally, Sorenson has served in many different capacities after working as a professor of Anthropolgy at BYU, such as Chair of the Department of Anthropology and University Studies, and acting as a Social Science Librarian. He also took part in many faculty committees and served in many different special functions at BYU. Sorenson is the author of a great number of published articles and research papers on the topics of anthropology and the Book of Mormon, has worked as the director of two research groups, and has worked as an archaeologist at the New World Archaeological Foundation. He is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has served in many callings within the Church. After Kathryn's death in 1991, he married Helen Christianson in 1993. Sorenson passed away December 8, 2021.