Biography of Denver C. Snuffer, Jr

Raised as a Baptist, Mr. Snuffer was converted and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) in 1973 at the age of 19, while serving in the US Armed Forces. He was an active member of the LDS church for 40 years, serving in various lay member positions, including Elder’s Quorum President, Sunday School President, Bishop’s counselor, Ward Mission Leader, Stake High Councilor, and Graduate Institute Instructor. 

Mr. Snuffer has authored 16 volumes on Mormonism that cover both Mormon history and doctrine (one of which is now translated into Spanish). Mr. Snuffer maintains a website where he publishes short essays and posts links to his books, talks, and longer essays. He taught for three years at Brigham Young University's Summertime "Education Week" on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. He has presented papers at the annual Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah for several years.

He was excommunicated in September 2013 from the LDS church on the 40th anniversary of his original baptismal date. His excommunication was due to the publication of a book on LDS history, entitled Passing the Heavenly Gift, which the church demanded be taken out of print as a condition for his continued membership in the organization.

Professionally, Mr. Snuffer received his law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1980, and has practiced law for 36 years. He was a Senior Editor for the Journal of Legal Studies while a law student, publishing an article on Types of Zones in the Summary of Utah Real Property Law. He was also the Assistant Editor of the Clark Memorandum. He was appointed to the Ad Hoc Organizing Committee for the US Inns of Court, serving with law school dean Rex Lee, US District Court Judge A. Sherman Christensen, Ninth Circuit Court Judge J. Clifford Wallace, US Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger, classmate and former congressman Bill Orton, and classmate Michael Eldredge. The National American Inns of Court Foundation presented Mr. Snuffer with a certificate recognizing his service in founding the organization. 

Mr. Snuffer is a founding partner of the law firm Nelson, Snuffer, Dahle & Poulsen, Mr. Snuffer has litigated cases before State, Federal, Administrative and Arbitration proceedings primarily as counsel for plaintiffs. He is admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Court of Federal Claims, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, US District Court for Arizona, US District Court for Utah, and the Utah Supreme Court.

He served the bar as an editor for the Utah Bar Journal eleven years, was a member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, chairman of an ethics panel for the Utah Ethics Committee for six years, and assisted lawyers in need for several years as part of the Lawyers Helping Lawyers program of the Utah State Bar Association. He has taught Continuing Legal Education courses on Discovery, Negotiations and Ethics. He also taught night classes on business management, law and negotiations for the University of Phoenix for five years.

Education:
Associate of Arts: Daniel Webster Junior College, Nashua, New Hampshire
Bachelors of Business Administration: McMurry University, Abilene, Texas
Juris Doctor: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah