Robert G. Larsen earned two master's degrees, one in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and the other in public administration from California State University, Hayward. A longtime resident of the East Bay, his career was in county government. Over the years, he had a keen interest in collecting and analyzing Latter-day Saint history in the area. Therefore, his contributions form an important part of The Oakland Temple: Portal to Eternity. Unfortunately, he passed away in August 2013.