Randy L. Bott

Randy L. Bott
Born	1945 Utah
Residence	Provo, Utah, USA
Education	B.S. Psychology M.S. Education Ed.D. Educational leadership
Alma mater	Utah State University Brigham Young University
Occupation	Religion professor at BYU
Known for	Insensitive remarks concerning racial origins and the Mormon priesthood 2008 RateMyProfessors.com #1 National Professor
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Spouse	Vickie (Pehrson) Bott
Children	6

Randy L. Bott (born in 1945 in Northern Utah) is an American professor of religion at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, USA. He teaches classes on missionary preparation and the Doctrine and Covenants, and is a prolific author of LDS doctrinal and motivational literature. In 2008, he was also listed as the highest-ranked professor on Ratemyprofessors.com.

Biography

Education and personal life

After earning a B.S. in psychology from Utah State University, Bott subsequently earned a M.S. in education from the same university and an Ed.D. from BYU in 1988. Bott also speaks Samoan.

Bott is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served in various leadership capacities for the church, including bishop, high councilor, stake presidency counselor (twice), and as a mission president in Fresno, California. Bott married Vickie Pehrson in September 1969, after dating for two and a half years, despite the age difference—the two beginning their courtship when he was 21 and she 16. They are now the parents of six children (three boys, three girls) and the grandparents of eight.

Professional life

Bott says he spends four to six hours every day answering phone calls and e-mails from his students, which "enables him to have a more personal touch with the students he teaches". At the beginning of every class, he also invites students to ask any question they wish about missionary life, LDS Church doctrine, and personal comportment.^{[citation needed]} Bott's tests, which he calls "celebrations", are open-note, open-book. In 2008, Bott taught 3,149 students at BYU, which is more than 10 percent of the university's student body.

Out of the more than one million professors listed on Ratemyprofessors.com and the six million ratings listed there, Bott was the highest-rated professor in America in 2008.

Washington Post article

See also: Black people and early Mormonism and Black people and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In February 2012 Bott was quoted in a Washington Post article about the LDS Church's stand on race. In the article Bott referred to a piece of long-repudiated Mormon folklore (i.e. a belief not officially espoused by the church but circulated as rumor/gossip among its membership) regarding the origins of a ban on giving black Mormons the church's lay priesthood. Bott implied that the reason for the ban was black individuals' descent from Cain through Egyptus, who married Ham, Noah's son. Bott asserted that Cain's descendants were marked with dark skin and were prohibited from holding the priesthood. His explanation contravened official LDS Church doctrine, which states that the reason for the ban (which was lifted in 1978) is unclear.

In response to the article, the LDS Church published a press release repudiating Bott's statements and condemning racism in any form. Members of the Black Student Union at BYU and the Provo Peace Forum planned a literature distribution campaign to combat erroneous conceptions in the LDS community concerning race. Various church members expressed hope that this incident, although embarrassing for themselves and church leadership, will help educate those in their community who hold these fringe folklore beliefs.

Works

Bott has authored and co-authored books on missionary preparation, LDS Church doctrine, application of doctrine to life, and the writings of Joseph Smith.

Non-fiction - religious and general interest

• Bott, Randy L. (1995). Prepare with Honor. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 978-0875799544. OCLC 32921793. 
•    (1995). Serve with Honor. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 978-0875799551. OCLC 32894312. 
•    (1995). Home with Honor. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 978-0875799568. OCLC 32925501. 
•    (1997). Send forth with Honor. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-0966023114. OCLC 39207000. 
•    (1997). Divorceless Marriage. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-0966023107. OCLC 41553104. 
•    (2003). Preparation Precedes Power. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597066. OCLC 54996984. 
•    (2003). Parenting with Eternal Perspective. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597011. OCLC 60354112. 
•    (2003). Eternal Marriage. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597035. OCLC 60354110. 
•    (2003). Death: Finding Hope Beyond the Sorrow. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597042. OCLC 60354111. 
•    (2003). Depression: Finding His Light amid the Storm. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597028. OCLC 60354109. 
•    (2005). Overcoming Addictive Behavior. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597288. OCLC 62099022. 
•    (2007). Abuse: Breaking the Cycle. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597486. OCLC 173182318. 
•    (2007). Broken Covenants. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597479. OCLC 173182629. 

Collaborations/inclusions

• Shute, R. Wayne; Nyman, Monte S.; Bott, Randy L. (1999). Ephraim, Chosen of the Lord: what it means to be of the tribe of Ephraim. Salt Lake City, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-0966023138. OCLC 42018902. 
• Bott, Randy L. (2005). "The Vision: Doctrine and Covenants 76". In Black, Susan Easton; Skinner, Andrew C. (eds). Joseph: exploring the life and ministry of the prophet. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 978-1590384718. OCLC 59817848. 
•    (2006). "Understanding mortal trials: enlightenment from the Doctrine and Covenants". In Shute, R. Wayne; Krogh, John E. (eds). Clay in the master's hands: understanding trials, tragedy and tribulation. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597332. OCLC 159966337. 

Academic

• Bott, Randy L. (1988). A comparison of gain scores and retention rates of four selected learning strategies (Ed. D.). Dept. of Educational Leadership, Brigham Young University. OCLC 22015388. 
• Marett, Kevin M; Gibbons, W Eugene; Memmott, Rae Jeanne; Bott, Randy L.; Duke, Lee (1998). "The Organizational Role of Clinical Practice Models in Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice". Clinical Social Work Journal (Springer) 26 (2): 217-225. OCLC 360558760. 

Fiction

• Bott, Randy L.; Bott, Vickie (2006). Tidings of comfort and joy. Orem, Utah: Millennial Press. ISBN 978-1932597356. OCLC 71747010. 

External links

• Thriving in Marriage and Parenting by Keeping an Eternal Perspective, 2004 BYU Family Expo Conference address
• Bott's cameo in a BYU independent film