Val D. Greenwood

What can I say? I believe I was meant to do this! Before I retired from Church employment in 1999, after 37 years, I made a list of “Twenty Things I Want to Do after I Retire.” Near the top of that list, something I had wanted to do all my life was “visit the Holy Land.” There are several things on that list that I have not yet done, but after I made it to the Holy Land, I lost interest in many of the other items. Upon my first visit, I fell in love with the Holy Land and desired to return again and again and to learn everything I could about every aspect of that most special place. And, because of what I have learned, I have much to share.

Val Greenwood was born and raised on a family farm in Utah. He worked in the fields, milked cows, and gathered eggs (and did everything else that goes along with those exciting pursuits). Out of high school, he attended Brigham Young University, served a mission to Canada, and spent six months in the United States Army. After graduation from BYU, he worked as a genealogical researcher for the Church three years, and then left to start a genealogy program at Ricks College. He stayed at Ricks for six years teaching genealogy, New Testament, and journalism. From there he spent three years in law school at the University of Idaho, and, after earning a JD degree, returned to Utah to work for the Church. He spent the next 25 years in the Genealogical Department (which we now called Family History) and then the Temple Department-where he was Director of Special Services and many other things.

Brother Greenwood was a member of the Utah State Bar until the time of his retirement, though he never actively practiced law; he believes he responded to a higher call. His job in the Temple Department put him in such a position that he says he practiced “ecclesiastical law” and was the Church’s “expert” on ordinance policies and validity issues. After his retirement and a two-year CES mission in California, he became a volunteer assistant recorder in the Jordan River Utah Temple. He has been a sealer in that temple since 1985, and he still serves in both of these positions.

Not only does Brother Greenwood love the Holy Land; he also has a deep love for-and significant familiarity with-the ancient scriptures that tell of God’s dealings with His chosen people who inhabited that land. Because of this, and especially because of his love for the Old Testament and its wonderful, inspiring stories, he undertook the task of re-telling those stories from a Latter-day Saint perspective for adults and young adults. The result of his efforts is a book released by American Book Publishing in 2007 entitled How Often Would I Have Gathered You: Stories from the Old Testament and Related Sources for Latter-day Saints. That book, which seeks to relate the scriptural accounts in modern English without embellishment or fictionalizing, contains more than 200 stories It begins with the Grand Council in heaven and continues, chronologically, till the Jews returned from captivity and rebuilt Jerusalem and the temple. Sordid and unnecessary details were not included.

Brother Greenwood’s wife Patty, who is a great inspiration to him, is also involved in his tours. She is an expert on the Holy Land in her own right and has visited there many more times than he has. They have been married only since 2004, following the passing of Peggy, Brother Greenwood’s first wife.

Tours Guided by Val D. Greenwood

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