Anthony E Larson Biographical Profile

Anthony E. Larson (1943–2018) was a writer, composer, teacher, and independent religious scholar best known for his work exploring the intersection of Latter-day Saint scripture, ancient prophecy, and catastrophist cosmology. He passed away on September 9, 2018, at the age of 75, following complications from cancer. Over the course of his life, Larson authored five books, produced video content, composed music, and wrote numerous newspaper and magazine articles—all in service of a deeply personal intellectual and spiritual quest.

Early Life and Education

Born in 1943, Anthony (Tony) served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico from 1963 to 1965, an experience that honed his fluency in Spanish and began a lifelong pattern of teaching and exploration. He later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Brigham Young University, where he also discovered his passion for music and audio production. His early work included radio and television commercial composition, including jingle writing and orchestral scoring—at one point earning a CLIO nomination for his advertising work.

Creative and Professional Career

Larson’s professional path was both varied and integrated. He worked as a video producer, a composer, and eventually as a freelance journalist, writing weekly for multiple local newspapers in northeastern California. His career included a period at Nature’s Sunshine Products (NSP), where he deepened his interest in alternative health and herbal medicine, and a transformative phase as a small-town reporter, which helped sustain him when book sales waned.

Life in Northeastern California

In the 1990s, Anthony moved with his family to rural Alturas, California, where he hand-built a home on a 40-acre ranch with the help of his eight children. This move away from urban life was both practical and philosophical—meant to foster self-sufficiency, reduce stress, and reorient his children’s lives around family rather than peer culture. He cherished the solitude and labored lovingly over a well-kept lawn, hand-repaired fences, and the gravel road leading to his home.

The Prophecy Trilogy and Catastrophism

Anthony is best known in religious and alternative cosmology circles for his Prophecy Trilogy, beginning with And the Moon Shall Turn to Blood. Drawing from the controversial theories of Immanuel Velikovsky, Larson developed a unique framework that reinterprets prophetic and scriptural imagery—especially from Isaiah, Revelation, and Exodus—as literal descriptions of ancient planetary catastrophes involving Mars, Venus, and other celestial bodies. He taught that these symbols form a kind of visual vocabulary deeply embedded in the restored gospel and temple ritual.

Rather than dismissing scriptural accounts as metaphorical or mystical, Larson took them seriously and literally, often arguing that modern Latter-day Saints had lost touch with the symbolic and cosmological literacy of ancient prophets. He lamented that, despite initial visual intrigue from book covers and displays, many Latter-day Saints failed to grasp the deeper implications of his work, which led to increasing disillusionment in his later years.

Faith and Frustration

Anthony remained a believing and committed member of the LDS Church throughout his life, though his relationship with mainstream institutional perspectives was often strained. He described himself as standing alone—misunderstood, sometimes ostracized, yet unwavering in his conviction that prophetic imagery held profound, underappreciated truths. He often quoted Joseph Smith’s assertion that Revelation is “the plainest book God ever caused to be written,” insisting that what seems mysterious is only so because of modern ignorance.

Despite years of rejection from major LDS publishers and disinterest from Church educators, Larson pressed on with symposiums, writings, and direct outreach, quietly supported by some of his children and close friends. His work found greater resonance among non-LDS readers with scientific training—a fact he viewed as both ironic and disheartening.

Legacy

Anthony E. Larson’s legacy is one of intellectual courage, interdisciplinary synthesis, and unyielding inquiry. His writings remain preserved online and in private collections, and his influence endures among a small but devoted circle of truth-seekers who value his unique voice. He challenged his readers to ask deeper questions, to decode the heavens, and to recover the ancient language of God’s dealings with man—through symbol, star, and scripture.

Anthony is survived by his wife Laurel, six children, eighteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Susan, and two of their children, Judath and Rebekah