Elder and Sister Welch, who said they love to be known as Jack and Jeannie, raised their four children in Provo, Utah, which they said is a good place for families. Two of their daughters both chose to move back to the same neighborhood, they said, so they have lived the grandparent’s dream with 11 of their 17 grandchildren in their ward.
Jack is widely known as the man who discovered chiasmus in the Book of Mormon while on his mission in Germany. After studying at BYU Provo, Oxford, and Duke Universities, he practiced law in Los Angeles and then taught 40 years in the BYU Law School, retiring in August 2020. He specialized in tax and corporate law, although preferring his classes and research on ancient law in the Bible and Book of Mormon and on American law during the lifetime of Joseph Smith. For 27 years he was also the Editor in Chief of BYU Studies Quarterly, a scholarly Latter-day Saint journal. The author of numerous books and articles in both law and biblical studies. October of 2022 he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from The LDSPMA (Latter-day Saints in Publishing, Media and the Arts). He is Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of the Book of Mormon Central website.
Two years ago, He and his wife co-authored a book, “The Parables of Jesus: Revealing the Plan of Salvation,” illustrated by the artist, Jorge Cocco. They have also worked in several capacities for Book of Mormon Central. They said these projects have showed them over and over again how much fun it is to work together and to make presentations as a couple at places like Education Week. They said they are all the more excited for this assignment at BYU–Hawaii where they will be team teaching religion classes on the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel.
They added they love to travel, especially in Europe and in Israel, where Jack has led tour groups and Jeannie has directed a study abroad program. Twice Jeannie has also organized large family group bus tours to all the early Church history sites. They said they are eager to share their testimonies and spiritual experiences they have had in all these places.