John L. Sorenson was born on 8 April 1924. He is an emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University and the author of An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, as well as many other books and articles on the Book of Mormon and archaeology.

Professor Sorenson first did archaeological work in Mesoamerica while pursuing a masters degree at BYU. From January until June 1953 he was involved in the New World Archaeological Foundation's initial fieldwork (under the direction of Pedro Armillas) in the state of Tabasco in Mexico.

Dr. Sorenson holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. He began teaching at BYU in 1963, and he later established BYU's anthropology department. He also served as head of social sciences for the General Research Corporation based in Santa Barbara, California, and was the founder of Bonneville Research Corporation.

Brother Sorenson is the father of eight boys, has one adopted daughter, has twenty-three grandchildren, and has ten great-grandchildren.