Gary Purse specializes in directing LDS Church History Tours. A former Episcopalian and having grown up in Fairfax, Virginia, Brother Purse converted to the Church 29 years ago. His interest was sparked by a visit to the Washington, D.C. Temple Visitor’s Center. After his baptism in Northern Virginia, he transferred from VA Tech to BYU, and then went on a Spanish-speaking mission to New York City. He then returned to BYU where he met his wife, Martha Campbell, in the Sunday School class Brother Purse was teaching. Sister Purse is from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and she also is a convert to the Church. They have 5 children–a son and four daughters. Brother Purse has served in many Church callings and currently serves as a Bishop of his home ward in Rexburg, Idaho.
Brother Purse has a B.A. and M.A. from BYU, and a Ph.D. from Ohio University. During his 23-year CES career he has taught Early Morning and Home Study Seminary, Institute on university campuses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and has been responsible for training hundreds of Seminary and Institute teachers in 4 states, 5 stakes, and 2 mission districts. For the past 10 years, Bro. Purse has taught in the Religion Department at BYU-Idaho, teaching such courses as the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the New Testament, and World Religions. He has also been a regular Education Week presenter, has spoken at a BYU-Idaho devotional, and has been the speaker at many firesides. In May of 2006 he directed a Religious History tour to Europe, and he has co-directed 3 other Europe tours since 2000.
