[1] Osguthorpe was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and went on to receive multiple degrees, including a Ph.D., from Brigham Young University (BYU), where he was a professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology until he retired in 2013.

Osguthorpe wrote Choose to Learn: Teaching for Success Every Day and Balancing the Tensions of Change.

Osguthorpe spoke on submitting one's will to the Lord at a 2013 Church Educational System devotional for young adults originating in the Marriott Center on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah.

[5] In the April 2014 General Conference, Osguthorpe and his counselors were released, with Tad R. Callister named as his successor.

[6] Later in 2014, Osguthorpe began an anticipated 3-year assignment as president of the church's Bismarck North Dakota Temple.