Brad Wilcox
Man in a suit and tie speaking at a podium
Born25 December 1959 (1959-12-25) (age 64)
Alma materBrigham Young University, B.S., M.Ed.
University of Wyoming, PhD
OccupationProfessor
EmployerBrigham Young University
SpouseDeborah G. Gunnell
Children4
Websitewww.bradwilcox.com

Bradley Ray Wilcox (born December 25, 1959) is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU) and has been a counselor in the Young Men general presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2020.

He is the author of several books, most notably The Continuous Atonement. He often speaks at various events of the LDS Church and served on its Sunday School General Board.[1]

Early life and career

Wilcox was raised in Provo, Utah and, for a time, lived in Ethiopia. He served as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Chile Viña del Mar Mission, where he wrote the mission song.[2][3] He attended BYU, graduating with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1985.[4] Wilcox then worked as a sixth-grade teacher in Provo.[1] He later earned a master's degree in teaching and learning, also from BYU.[4] Wilcox received a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Wyoming in "curriculum and instruction with a focus in literacy."[4] He then became a professor at BYU, first in the Teacher Education Department, and later in the Department of Ancient Scripture.[5]

LDS Church service

He has served in multiple capacities within the LDS Church, including scout leader, bishop, member of the Sunday School General Board, and as president of the Chile Santiago East Mission from 2003 to 2006.[1] In 2007, he was called as a counselor in the presidency of the BYU 4th Stake.[6] Wilcox has often been a speaker at such Church Educational System programs as Especially for Youth, BYU Education Week, and the BYU Women's Conference.[7] His speech given at BYU, His Grace is Sufficient,[8] is "the most viewed speech of all time among BYU speeches,[9] and has more than 400,000 views on YouTube," according to Deseret News.[10] On April 4, 2020, Wilcox was called as second counselor to Steven J. Lund in the LDS Church's Young Men general presidency.[11] In April 2023, Wilcox was called as first counselor to Lund.[12]

Controversial speech

On February 6, 2022, Wilcox delivered a devotional speech for the youth in Alpine, Utah (which was recorded on Zoom and widely shared on social media) and subsequently broadly criticized for its racial implications in his efforts to describe a point on faith in God's timing.[13] He issued an apology the next day.[14] After subsequent discussions with several African-American friends, including Ahmad S. Corbitt, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, Wilcox issued a second apology during a youth devotional the following Sunday.[15] Reporter Jana Riess stated that Wilcox's speech and scornful tone revealed that he "felt disdainful toward women" and believed that "God is a racist", and that his subsequent "not-quite-apologies" did not go far enough.[16] Videos have surfaced of at least two other instances of Wilcox making similar speeches downplaying the concerns of latter-day saints over the priesthood and temple ban against Black members of the church.[17]

Personal life

Wilcox married Deborah G. Gunnell and they are the parents of four children. She is a registered nurse and served a mission in Guatemala.[1]

Works

Books written by Wilcox include The Continuous Atonement, The Best Kept Secrets of Parenting, and Raising Ourselves to the Bar. He has also written articles on how to encourage children to read.[18]

Articles

Books

  • Growing Up: Gospel Answers about Maturation and Sex (2000)
  • Where Do Babies Come From? (2004)
  • Raising Ourselves to the Bar (2007)
  • The Continuous Atonement (Deseret Book Company, February 4, 2009, ISBN 978-1606410370)
  • Developing Literacy: Reading and Writing To, With, and by Children, with Timothy G. Morrison (2013)
  • 52 Life-changing Questions from the Book of Mormon (2013)
  • Armor Up! with John Bytheway, Laurel Christensen, John Hilton III, Hank Smith, and Anthony Sweat (2013)
  • Suit Up! with John Bytheway, Laurel Christensen, John Hilton III, Hank Smith, and Anthony Sweat (2013)
  • The Continuous Conversion: God Isn't Just Proving Us, He's Improving Us (2013)
  • With Healing in His Wings with Gary J. Coleman, John M. Madsen, Gaye Strathearn, Andrew C. Skinner, and Brent L. Top (2013)
  • The 7-Day Christian: How Living Your Beliefs Every Day Can Change the World (Ensign Peak, April 8, 2014, ISBN 978-1609078515)[19]
  • Tips For Tackling Teenage Troubles (Shadow Mountain, June 19, 2014 ISBN 978-1573454124 )
  • The Best-Kept Secrets of Parenting: 18 Principles That Can Change Everything with Jerrick Robbins (Deseret Book Company, July 15, 2014, ISBN 978-1942672586)
  • How to Hug a Hedgehog: 12 Keys for Connecting with Teens with Jerrick Robbins (Deseret Book Company, October 7, 2014, ISBN 978-1939629197)
  • Filled with Mercy: Daily Reflections On the Atonement (2014)
  • The Continuous Atonement for Teens (2015)
  • Practicing for Heaven: The Parable of the Piano Lessons (2015)
  • A Year of Powerful Prayer (2016)
  • Changed Through His Grace (Deseret Book Company, February 27, 2017, ISBN 978-1629722863)
  • Because of the Messiah in a Manger (2018)
  • Come Unto Me: Illuminating the Savior's Life, Mission, Parables, and Miracles (2018)
  • Born to Change the World: Your Part in Gathering Israel (Deseret Book Company, May 13, 2019, ISBN 978-1629725895)
  • Because of the Christ on Calvary (Deseret Book Company, March 2, 2020, ISBN 978-1629727486)

Children's books

  • Hip, Hip, Hooray! for Annie McRae with Julie Olson (Deseret Book Company, March 12, 2019, ISBN 978-1586850586)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Brad Wilcox Archives". BYU Speeches. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  2. ↑ Shill, Aaron. "23 years later, speaker remains young at heart", Deseret News, 28 February 2008. Retrieved on 12 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "La Viña Del Señor"
  4. 1 2 3 "Brad Wilcox". religion.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  5. ↑ Galieti, Nick. "What is Grace?", Latter-day Saint Perspective, 28 September 2016. Retrieved on 14 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "New stake presidents", Church News, April 14, 2007.
  7. ↑ "A Rabbi, Priest, or Teacher", Y Magazine, Fall 2015. Retrieved on 14 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "His Grace is Sufficient - Brad Wilcox - BYU Speeches". BYU Speeches.
  9. ↑ "Devotionals, Forums, Commencement Addresses".
  10. ↑ Toone, Trent (2017-03-22). "What started out as a BYU devotional talk has become a new book on 'grace' for author Brad Wilcox (+video)". Deseret News. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  11. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Former Utah Valley University president joins LDS Church’s general authority ranks", The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 April 2020. Retrieved on 14 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "New Young Women general presidency sustained, along with a change in Young Men presidency counselors". Church News. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  13. ↑ KUTV, Victoria Hill & Daniel Woodruff (2022-02-07). "Latter-day Saint leader Brad Wilcox apologizes for comments about race". KUTV. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  14. ↑ "LDS Church leader apologizes after making controversial statement in youth meeting". ABC4 Utah. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  15. ↑ Jensen, Jon Ryan (2022-02-14). "Brother Wilcox offers a 2nd apology for 'insensitive and hurtful' comments". The Church News. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  16. ↑ Riess, Jana (16 Feb 2022). "Jana Riess: LDS leader Brad Wilcox's apology for racist remarks does not go far enough". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 Feb 2022.
  17. ↑ Chow, Vivian. "More videos released of a LDS Church leader making controversial race statements". ABC4. Nexstar Media Inc.
  18. ↑ Alisa Morgan; Bradley R. Wilcox; J. Lloyd Eldredge, "Effect of Difficulty Levels on Second-Grade Delayed Readers Using Dyad Reading" in The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 94, no. 2, DNov-Dec 2000, p. 113-119
  19. ↑ Toone, Trent. "Author Brad Wilcox writes about becoming a more faithful Christian", Deseret News, 12 April 2014. Retrieved on 14 April 2021.
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