author
Osborne J. P. Widtsoe
1877–1920
An early 20th-century educator and Latter-day Saint writer, he is best remembered for clear, practical religious books shaped by both scholarship and faith. His life was brief, but his work linked teaching, missionary service, and devotional writing in a way that still feels direct and accessible.
2 Audiobooks
What Jesus Taught
by Osborne J. P. Widtsoe
The Restoration of the Gospel
by Osborne J. P. Widtsoe
About the author
Born in Norway in 1877, Osborne John Peder Widtsoe later built his life in Utah, where he became an educator as well as a religious writer. Reliable sources describe him as principal of the Latter-day Saints University in Salt Lake City and a professor of English at the University of Utah.
He was also active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a missionary and writer. His books include The Restoration of the Gospel and What Jesus Taught, works that reflect his gift for explaining belief in a straightforward, readable way.
Widtsoe died in 1920 at just 42 years old. Even so, his career brought together teaching, church service, and authorship, giving his writing a tone that is both instructive and personal.