Leon R. Hartshorn was a religion professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) and an author of many books. Most of his books were the collections of stories about leaders or members of the LDS Church. Prior to joining the faculty of BYU Hartshorn was a seminary and institute instructor. In the LDS Church Hartshorn served as a bishop and as a mission president. Prior to joining the BYU faculty Hartshorn had also taught at the Church College of Hawai'i which has since been renamed BYU-Hawaii.