Monte S. Nyman

Monte S. Nyman will always be remembered for his humility, sense of humor, and profound knowledge of the gospel.  Monte was born on October 16, 1929 in North Logan, Utah to Andrew B. and Dessie Thurston Nyman.  He served as a missionary in the Northern States Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He married Mary Ann Sullivan on August 15, 1956 in the St. George Temple.  They had eight children: Scott, Lori, Dessie, June, Mary Jo, Virgil, Lorna, and Carol.  He passed away on Friday, September 30, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.

Monte received a BS and MS in physical education from Utah State University.  During his time at USU, he played short-stop on the baseball team, and semi-pro baseball in the summer.  He later graduated from Brigham Young University with a doctorate in education administration.

Monte taught in the Church Educational System in Logan, Utah and in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  He was eventually hired by BYU, where he taught for thirty years as a professor of Ancient Scripture.  Monte served in many positions in Religious Education at BYU, including associate dean, acting department head, and director of Book of Mormon Studies for the BYU Religious Studies Center.  During his time at BYU, Monte led church tours to Central America and taught several times at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.

Monte published extensively on the scriptures, including Great Are the Words of Isaiah (1980), The Words of Jeremiah (1982), An Ensign to All People: The Sacred Message and Mission of the Book of Mormon (1987), The Words of the Twelve Prophets, co-authored with his brother Farres Nyman (1990), and The Most Correct Book: Why the Book of Mormon is the Keystone Scripture (1991).  His other academic interests included the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Joseph Smith Translation.

After he retired from BYU, Monte worked in several capacities at Southern Virginia University, including baseball coach (1999-2000), academic vice president (2001-2002), and university president (2003-2004).  After retiring from SVU in 2004, he continued to publish on the scriptures, most notably two multi-volume commentaries: one on the Book of Mormon and one on the Doctrine and Covenants.