Scott H. Faulring was born in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, New York. He joined the United States Air Force as a young man, where he became a member of LDS Church. Faulring received his bachelor's degree in history from Brigham Young University in 1983. He then continued with the Air Force, where he spent much of his time in Vogelweh, Germany, and then in Izmit, Turkey. During this time he received an MPA from Troy State University. He later returned to BYU as an instructor with the Air Force ROTC there. After retiring from the Air Force, Faulring became a research historian with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History.