William E. Berrett

Who is William E. Berrett?

William Edwin "Ed" Berrett was a Vice President of Brigham Young University and a Latter-day Saint author.

Berrett was raised in southern Salt Lake County in what is today Midvale, Utah. He attended Jordan High School. He received his undergraduate education from the University of Utah. Berrett graduated from there in 1924 and then worked for a time as the principal of the LDS seminary in Roosevelt, Utah. He received a law degree from the University of Utah in 1933. He also did graduate studies at BYU from 1927 to 1933. In 1926, Berrett married Eleanore Louise Callister in the Salt Lake Temple.

By 1936, Berrett began writing text books to be used in the LDS schools and was an editor for the Church Educational System's curriculum development. Berrett's most notable work was The Restored Church, a text to teach the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the book went through at least 16 editions. He also compiled with Alma Burton Readings in LDS Church History.

In 1943, Berrett was appointed special prosecutor for the Office of Price Administration for the Utah Division. In 1946, he became an assistant U.S. attorney in Alaska Territory. He left government employment in 1947 and became a lawyer in private practice in Salt Lake City. He also was on the editorial staff of the Deseret News.