Ellis T. Rasmussen

Ellis Theo Rasmussen (September 21, 1915 – June 6, 2011)[1][2] was an American professor and dean of Religious Instruction at Brigham Young University (BYU).

[3] As a young man in the 1930s, Rasmussen attended Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he was forensic manager of the student body and received an associates degree in education.

[10] When the German borders were closing during the onset of World War II,[11] Rasmussen led several missionaries in an escape to Denmark, then back to the United States.

During the summer, he continued graduate work at BYU under his mentor, Sidney B. Sperry, who urged him to study Old Testament languages.

[6] With Sperry's encouragement, a sabbatical leave grant, and a private donation,[6] Rasmussen pursued doctoral studies in the language and literature of the Old Testament at Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[7] from 1957 to 1958.

[27] Being skilled in Hebrew, Rasmussen was given leave from his administrative duties at BYU during 1973–74 to work on the church's Scripture Publication Committee that produced the 1979 LDS edition of the Bible.