Ardeth Greene Kapp

Ardeth Greene Kapp

Educator, Leader and Author

Brigham Young High School
Class of 1949

Ardeth Greene is a member of the Canadian contingent that came to Brigham Young High School. She grew up in Glenwood, Alberta, Canada, a small farming town. She came to B.Y. High in Provo for her senior year of high school in 1948-1949.

An inspirational speaker and writer, she often says, "We come unto Christ through our earnest prayers." This is our way to reconnecting with our heavenly home. God has innumerable blessings that he is willing to give us "conditioned upon our asking."

"Sometimes we are homesick because we are away from our heavenly home," says Sister Kapp. She often tells about leaving her small Canadian town of 250 people -- 300 when the college students were home -- when she came to attend B.Y. High. She was young and scared and homesick, so she placed an international call to her hometown.

"Our phone number was #3," she recalls. When the operator answered, she recognized Ardeth's voice and was able to tell her that her parents had gone to the temple. She urged Ardeth to call back in a couple of hours, but Sister Kapp said she didn't need to because she had "called home". She encourages her listeners to "call home" frequently through prayer and reading the scriptures.

After graduation, she earned a BA at the University of Utah, and an MA in Curriculum Development at BYU.

Ardeth served as a teacher at the Institute of Religion adjacent to the University of Utah. She was also a member of the Church Curriculum Planning Committee as well as a board member of the Church Educational System. She enjoyed a long career in education.

She was an instructor for Mountain States Telephone Company, a teacher in the Davis County school system, and a writer and instructor in the College of Utah Network for Instructional Television series.

At BYU she was an instructor in the College of Education, coordinator of student leadership development, and chaired the Advisory Committee on Women’s Concerns. She received the Honored Alumni Award from the BYU College of Education.

She has served on the Board of Directors at the Deseret News Publishing Company.

She is the former Young Women's General President (1984-92).

Ardeth and her husband, Heber B. Kapp, have served in the Canada Vancouver Mission (1992-1995). Later they served as president and matron of the Cardston Alberta Temple.

She was a member of the Board of Trustees for Southern Virginia College. She was a member of Board of Directors for Utah Youth Village, and Deseret Book Company.

Ardeth G. Kapp has written a total of 16 publications, all published by Deseret Book or Bookcraft. See list below. She has been a frequent speaker for Deseret Book's "Time Out for Women" program.

Because Brother and Sister Kapp have no children, they have been able to counsel and comfort those struggling with infertility issues. She quotes 2 Corinthians 1:4, which says "...we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." She says that sometimes it takes "twenty or thirty years before we understand" the reasons for the things that happen.

She teaches the Gospel Doctrine class in her ward, and every Monday reads to third graders at a local elementary school. She says her fun comes from watching their faces light up when they learn something new.

Ardeth is a cousin of brother and sister Wayne Beaves and Medra Beaves, both members of the BYH Class of 1950.

Ardeth Greene Kapp
LDS Young Women General President: 1984 ~ 1992
Quotation:
“Never before in the history of the Church has there been such a need for young women who are willing to sacrifice popularity if necessary, suffer loneliness if required, even be rejected if needed, to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . . Let us all be filled—filled with the light, the strength, the faith that comes from prayer, scripture study, and obedience to God’s commandments each day of our lives. . . . We’ll hold our torches high that Christ’s true light through us will shine, His name to glorify.”

~~Ardeth G. Kapp, “Stand for Truth and Righteousness,” Ensign, November 1988, page 93.

Story:
Ardeth Kapp grew up in the small town of Glenwood in Alberta, Canada, and left friends and loved ones to attend Brigham Young High School in Provo, Utah. She recalled:

As a child I didn’t have great aspirations. . . . I just knew it was important to get an education, and to try to help people. I read books about young girls who were good, and I wanted to be good, too. . . . I had never excelled in school, but . . . I had a strong impression I should get an education, though many people told me that was foolish. . . . People sometimes have a lot of counsel for you.

But finally you have to follow your own promptings, even though it may not make sense to others until later. You have to dare to walk it alone, sometimes. . . . It was kind of like climbing a ladder. I had to let go with one hand before I could take the next step. . . . [It] was a blessing in disguise. . . .

I remember at BY High feeling that I looked different from the other kids, that I wasn’t dressed like the other kids in the latest fashions. I learned what it is not to be in the inner circle. I know the hurt of not excelling in school when the other kids are smart, and what it’s like not to have money and resources that sometimes seem so important for you to be like all the other kids.

The world is different now, but those basic needs for acceptance and approval are timeless.

I also learned not to let myself dwell on the negative, and that even though I can’t always control a situation, I can control my feelings about it.

(Kathleen Lubeck, “Ardeth G. Kapp: Refined,” This People, April 1985, 22-23, 26.)

Higher Education:

She received a B.S. degree from the University of Utah and an M.S. degree in Curriculum Development from Brigham Young University. She taught in the Davis County School District in Utah, supervised student teachers in BYU’s College of Education, coordinated the Student Leadership Development program at BYU, and wrote and instructed a series of TV programs for the Utah Network of Instructional Television.

Young Women Leadership Events:
1985—First Young Women satellite broadcast held.
1986—First Young Women worldwide celebration, “Rising Generation,” with launching of balloons.
1987—Young Women values, theme, motto, and logo are introduced.
1989—New Personal Progress program launched, emphasizing spiritual growth and family relationships.
1990—Leadership guidebook published and video released.
Source
Publications of Ardeth G. Kapp:

1977 ~ Miracles in Pinafores & Bluejeans,, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87747-644-6

1978 ~ The Gentle Touch (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87747-724-8

1979 ~ Echoes From My Prairie (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) ISBN 0-88494-384-4

1981 ~ More Miracles in Pinafores & Bluejeans (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87747-890-2

1985 ~ The Light and the Life (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) ISBN 0-88494-559-6

1987 ~ I Walk By Faith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87579-072-0

1990 ~ My Neighbor, My Sister, My Friend (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87579-299-5

1992 ~ The Joy of the Journey (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 0-87579-633-8

1996 ~ What Latter-day Stripling Warriors Learn from Their Mothers (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-57345-164-9

1997 ~ Rejoice! His Promises are Sure (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-57345-233-5

1998 ~ Lead, Guide, and Walk Beside (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-57345-439-7

2000 ~ The Little Book of Big Ideas About Friendship (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-57345-829-5

2003 ~ The Temple, Our Home Away from Home (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-57008-910-8

2005 ~ Better than You Think You Are (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-59038-380-X

2007 ~ The Joy of Believing (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1-59038-809-7

2012 ~ Doing What We Came to Do: Living a Life of Love (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 978-1-60908-743-2

Source

BYH Biographies