Brent L. Top

Brent L. Top was dean of Religious Education and former chair of Church history and doctrine at BYU. Brother Top has written numerous books, including coauthoring LDS Beliefs: A Doctrinal Reference, and is a popular speaker at BYU Education Week. He served as mission president of the Illinois Peoria Mission. Brent and his wife, Wendy, are the parents of four children.

Latter-day Saint Life

The Second Coming: 1 crucial, uplifting element we don’t often talk about

By Brent L. Top

May 31, 2019 01:01 PM MDT

The signs of the times can sometimes have us feeling gloomy or despondent. But the Savior’s promise can give us hope and optimism.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Life after death: 6 insights into the spirit world

By Brent L. Top

November 03, 2018 04:04 PM MDT

Here are just a few of these profound principles about the after-life that are unique to the Church.

10 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Were we foreordained in our premortal life? A look into how God’s time and calls work

By Brent L. Top

August 30, 2018 09:15 AM MDT

Everyone who believes in God at all believes that He knows what you and I are going to do tomorrow. But if He knows I am going to do so-and-so, how can I be free to do otherwise?

7 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

3 Crucial Ways to Prepare Spiritually for the Second Coming

By Brent L. Top

August 03, 2018 08:00 AM MDT

Despite apostolic warnings and repeated admonishments to avoid becoming caught up with Second Coming sensationalism and apocalyptic alarm, there have been many in every generation that assume the answer to the age-old question “When will He come again?” is “Now.”

9 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

What People Who Have Visited the Spirit World Wish You Knew

By Brent L. Top

June 05, 2018 02:00 PM MDT

One of the most important lessons learned by those people who have glimpsed beyond the veil of death is what is most important and lasting in life. It often brings a radical reordering of their priorities in mortality. These glimpses into the spirit world remind us that one of the greatest blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we know which things matter most; what our eternal priorities should be. . . .

7 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

What Does It Really Mean to Speak Lightly of Sacred Things

By Brent L. Top

May 28, 2018 11:15 AM MDT

Many years ago when my children were small, my wife prevailed upon me to “be a good father” and buy a swing-set for the family. She envisioned the children swinging and playing happily in a yard full of neighbor kids, and then she could be a “Kool-Aid mom” by providing treats. In contrast to her vision of all the great things a swing-set would do for our children, I envisioned fights, broken arms, and worn spots on my grass.

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

How we can feel loved ones on the other side of the veil and the angels who surround us

By Brent L. Top

April 21, 2018 03:00 PM MDT

There is another kind of reunion with departed family members. It sometimes occurs even before we enter into the spirit world.

7 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

What the Spirit World Will Be Like (+ Uplifting Messages for Parents Who've Lost Children)

By Brent L. Top

April 14, 2018 03:00 PM MDT

This is the first in a two-part series excerpted from Brent L. Top's book, What's on the Other Side.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

9 Things You Have Forgotten About Your Premortal Life

By Brent L. Top

October 27, 2017 09:00 AM MDT

In virtually all of us, there is some sort of innate yearning to know what was before this life and how it affects us here.

11 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Where Is the Spirit World and How Can We Feel Those on the Other Side?

By Brent L. Top

June 14, 2017 01:30 PM MDT

The following is an excerpt from Brent L. Top's Beyond Death's Door: Understanding Near-Death Experiences in Light of the Restored Gospel.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Why We’ve Been Thinking About Death All Wrong (+ What We Need to Be Teaching Our Kids)

By Brent L. Top

July 14, 2016 02:07 PM MDT

The following is an excerpt from Brent and Wendy Top's Beyond Death's Door: Understanding Near-Death Experiences in Light of the Restored Gospel.

3 Min Read

Latter-day Saints know that we lived before we came to earth and that we will live again after death. But exactly how many details do we know about this spiritual existence? Find out what Church doctrine teaches us about our premortal and postmortal life.

Latter-day Saint Life

11 Insights Into Life Before & After Our Mortal Existence

By Brent L. Top

June 11, 2015 09:00 AM MDT

All illustrations courtesy of Alex NabaumLatter-day Saints know that we lived before we came to earth and that we will live again after death. But exactly how many details do we know about this spiritual existence? Find out what Church doctrine teaches us about our premortal and postmortal life.

14 Min Read