Randy L. Bott

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Randy LaMar Bott, born in 1945 in Utah, is a former religion professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo. He taught classes on missionary preparation and the Doctrine and Covenants and wrote books about LDS doctrine and everyday life. He earned a B.S. in psychology and an M.S. in education from Utah State University, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from BYU in 1988. Bott also speaks Samoan and has served the LDS Church as a bishop, high councilor, stake presidency counselor, and as a mission president in Fresno, California.

He married Vickie Pehrson in 1969; they had six children and 14 grandchildren. In BYU classes, he spent four to six hours daily answering students’ questions by phone and email, and his tests are open-note and open-book, called “celebrations.” In 2008 Bott taught 3,149 students, more than 10 percent of BYU’s enrollment, and was rated the top professor in the United States on RateMyProfessors.com.

In February 2012 he drew criticism for a quote in a Washington Post article about race and the LDS Church; the church issued a response and later a page about Race and the Priesthood. In March 2012 it was announced he would leave BYU to serve as a senior missionary with his wife, and he retired from BYU in June 2012. Bott has authored and co-authored books on missionary preparation, LDS doctrine, applying doctrine to life, and the writings of Joseph Smith. His wife Vickie Pehrson Bott died in 2023.