Gerald (Jerry) N. Lund was born in 1939 in Fountain Green, Utah, the third child of Jewell and Evelyn Lund. While still young, his family moved to Murray, Utah, where he graduated from high school. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army Reserves and spent six months active duty at Ford Ord, California, for his basic military training, and at Fort Gordon, Georgia, at an electronics school. At age 20, he was called on a mission to the West Central States, laboring in several locations in Montana and Wyoming. 

​

On his return home, he enrolled at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology. Later, he did additional graduate work in New Testament studies at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles and studied Hebrew at the University of Judaism in Hollywood, California. He joined the Church Educational System (CES) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 1965. His career with CES spanned thirty-five years. He was employed as a seminary teacher, an institute teacher and director, a curriculum writer, and the Director of College Curriculum for CES. During the last ten years of his career, he served as a zone administrator for CES, with responsibilities for teacher training and curriculum development.  

While still attending BYU, he courted and married Lynn Stanard, who was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana. They had seven children.  

​​

During his time as an institute teacher in Southern California, Lund began doing research on the prophecies of the Second Coming. As he shared what he was learning in classes and firesides, many people suggested he write a book and make the information more widely available. He did so, submitting it to Bookcraft Publishers in Salt Lake City. They accepted the manuscript, and The Coming of the Lord was published in 1971. It has been in continuous print for forty years. That began his writing career. Since then, he has published more than two dozen books and has contributed numerous other articles to Church magazines, seminars and symposia. When asked what motivated him to become a writer, his standard answer is: “I write because I love to teach.”  

Gerald Lund is among the most-read authors in LDS Church literature. He is unusual in that he is equally successful in both fiction and non-fiction works. Titles written by Lund include The Work and The Glory series (9 volumes), The Kingdom and the Crown series (3 volumes), The Guardian (2 volumes), The San Juan Pioneers series (2 volumes), The Coming of the Lord, One in Thine Hand, The Alliance, Leverage Point, The Freedom Factor, and Jesus Christ, Key to the Plan of Salvation. His doctrinal book, Why Isn't God Answering Me? stands together with a trilogy exploring our relationship with our Heavenly Father and His love for His children. The other three books are Hearing the Voice of the Lord: Principles and Patterns of Personal Revelation, Divine Signatures: The Confirming Hand of the Lord, and Look Up My Soul, The Divine Promise of Hope. His latest historical fiction series, Fire and Steel, chronicles the lives of two families through some of the most turbulent times in the earth's history: World War I and World War II. 

​

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lund has held various Church callings, including twice serving as a counselor in a bishopric, as a bishop, as a member of the Church’s Correlation Review Committee, as a branch president at the Provo Missionary Training Center, and as president of the BYU 14th Singles stake. On April 6, 2002, while serving as stake president, Lund was called to be a General Authority of the Church, serving in the Second Quorum of the Seventy. He and his wife Lynn were assigned to the Europe West Area with headquarters in Solihull, England. After three years in England, the Lunds were transferred back to Salt Lake City, where Elder Lund served as an assistant executive director of both the Missionary Department and the Curriculum Department for the Church.

After the passing of his first wife, Gerald remarried Lena Vaieland. They live near the beautiful mountains of Utah.

​