Gerald Niels Lund was born September 12, 1939, in Fountain Green, Sanpete County, Utah to Jewell and Evelyn Lund. They later moved to Salt Lake City and then to Murray, Utah. After serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lund earned a bachelor's and later master's degree in sociology from Brigham Young University. He also got a degree in New Testament Studies from Pepperdine University and in Hebrew from the University of Judaism. In 1963, he married Retta Lynn Stanard, from Great Falls, Montana. They had seven children. Lund began teaching seminary in Salt Lake City in 1965 and continued to work for the Church Education System for the next 34 years, during which time he became an administrator and executive. Lund also wrote many popular books and articles during this time, including his best-selling series "The Work and the Glory," a Latter-day Saint fiction series. After retiring from his work in the Church Education System, Lund was called to serve as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2002 to 2008. He continued to write and publish successfully in both non-fiction and fiction. As of 2022, Gerald N. Lund was a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah.