Joseph West was born in Utah, grew up in Boise, Idaho, and then moved back to Utah to finish high school at Brigham Young High School in Provo.

During his high school days he started to date Lani DeHart, who became his wife three months after he returned from the Brazil South Mission.

The Wests have been married 50 years, have nine children, and 46 grandchildren.

Joseph earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from BYU. He has served in the church as a primary teacher, Sunday school teacher, high counselor, bishop, and as Mission President of the Portugal Porto Mission.

In 2003, the BYH Class of 1968 planned to hold their 35th year reunion. Joseph designed a website to promote the reunion, and the website was so well designed that it has grown into the extensive alumni website that it has become today.

Meanwhile, Joseph has worked at BYU-Idaho for a decade as a project manager and business analyst in the Information Technology Department.

--2020

June 9, 2020
Text By Adam Small, BYU-Idaho Radio

Brother Joseph West, an IT Project Manager at BYU-Idaho, recently addressed the BYU-Idaho community during a devotional talk.

In his talk entitled “Look Back, Look Forward,” West described some past experiences in his life and how he got to where he is now.

The major message he shared is that we can look back on our lives one day and know that God was guiding us along the whole time.

“That insight comes from hindsight,” West said. “I invite you to look back over your life. Look carefully to see when and where the Lord guided you, indeed carried you.

"Don’t let yourself become dead in the water because you are afraid. I invite you to boldly move forward in faith. I did, and I have been richly blessed.”

West later spoke with BYU-Idaho Radio about his devotional message a little more in-depth.

He described some of the experiences he mentioned in his talk, as well as some things to keep in mind as we endure the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If you have that faith in the Lord ... and His interest in you ... somehow, you’ll make it through,” West said. “While you’ll have trials, He’s in charge; you will make it through, there is no need to be hopeless.”

Along with his thoughts on the principles in his talk, West shared some details of a major IT project he’s overseeing on the BYU-Idaho campus. He said his project involves redoing the systems the Testing Center uses to manage its capacity.

West said the project would help the center better calculate wait times for people in line, and it may also promote better social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when campus reopens. The project will help prevent long lines and waits, like the ones at the end of the Fall 2016 semester.

West, who’s retiring at the end of the current 2020 semester, said he’s grateful for BYU-Idaho and its atmosphere, and he invited others to feel that way as well.

“This is a truly unique place to be, and I hope people appreciate that,” West said.

West’s message comes as a reminder that better days are ahead, as we all fight our way through the pandemic, along with anything else we may be facing in our lives.

https://www.byui.edu/radio/look-back-look-forward-brother-joseph-west