Joseph Brent Walker

Joseph Walker (Joe Walker) was a former Mormon bishop and LDS Public Affairs employee in Washington, Utah.

In 2025, Walker was charged with one third-degree felony count of enticing a minor and two third-degree felony counts of distributing material harmful to a minor.

According to a police affidavit obtained by Floodlit, Walker allegedly “engaged in several sexually explicit conversations within which he sought or attempted to seduce, lure, and entice Minor into engaging in multiple sexual acts.”

The “Minor” was an undercover persona of a 14-year-old female created by a detective with the Layton Police Department in Layton, Utah.

“Minor made it abundantly clear that her age was 14. Despite this, WALKER, believing that Minor was 14-years-old continued his actions to engage in sexual activities,” the affidavit stated.

Walker was a Mormon bishop in the early 1990s in the Bountiful area of Utah. Floodlit is trying to determine the name of the ward of which Walker was bishop.

In 1993, Walker was second counselor in the Bountiful Utah Orchard stake presidency, according to the Mormon church’s 1993 directory of officials (Floodlit owns a copy, thanks to your donations).

For three years, Walker worked for the LDS church’s Public Affairs department.

Walker wrote numerous articles for the church-owned Deseret News, including a weekly syndicated column called ValueSpeak, in which he discussed traditional values.

At the time of the charges against Walker in 2025, he was a communications director for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).

Walker is listed as a co-author of a biography of deceased Mormon apostle Russell Ballard, Anxiously Engaged (2021).

UPDATE Aug. 28, 2025:

Last week, we here at Floodlit.org added former Mormon bishop Joseph Walker of Utah to our growing database of reports of sexual abuse in the Mormon church.

Walker, 70, was the initial editor in 2008 of MormonTimes.com (see https://web.archive.org/web/20080225160640/http://mormontimes.com/contact.php), a publication of the church-owned Deseret News.

In 2021, Deseret Book published a biography of then-apostle Russell Ballard, co-authored by Susan Easton Black and Walker.

Today, Judge Michael Direda ordered Walker to be released from the Davis County Jail to home confinement with an electronic ankle monitor.

Walker is facing charges for allegedly enticing a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl to meet for “multiple sexual acts such as sodomy and sexual intercourse,” according to a police affidavit obtained by Floodlit.

Yesterday, the court received 10 letters from supporters asking for Walker to be released after he was initially held without bail.

Seven of those letters, obtained by Floodlit, reference the LDS church.

Thanks to the anonymous person who alerted us to the letters’ publication as part of the public court record.

One supporter who didn’t mention the church called Walker “a spiritual mentor” to them and multiple members of their family.

Another supporter said he “enjoyed serving a full-time church mission as well as multiple stints in a Bishopric as a counselor to our bishop,” and described going on “an incredible road trip” recently with Walker in which Walker “opened up about his love for his church.” The supporter said Walker “is a flawed man, but he is not a predator nor a threat to any community he is involved in.”

Walker’s son, Joe Walker, wrote: “I am the President of Larry H. Miller Senior Health. […] We have about 3,500 employees […] I [am an] active [member] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Select Health. […] My dad is […] fallible and imperfect. He makes mistakes. In the case before you, he has made serious mistakes. While I do not believe that the charges that have been brought are an accurate depiction of my father, I do believe that he had a lapse of judgement that needs to be addressed. The charges in this case and serious and merit careful consideration. I understand that in the limited and objective view that the court and the prosecution have with respect to my dad, there is a reasonable concern about whether he presents an ongoing threat. I get that. But for those of us who know him, we know that he was not, and is not, a threat to minors. […] We have never observed or been made aware of any behavior suggesting an inappropriate interaction between my dad and a child. He may have gotten carried away in a fantasy world online, but he made no attempt to make that fantasy a reality, nor do I believe he ever would.”

In another letter, a supporter told the court that “Joe is one of the friendliest people I know. He’s always the one trying to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and is taken care of. At public events or church, he’ll be the one shaking people’s hands and welcoming them in.” In the same letter, the supporter said, “Joe has always been a deeply religious person.”

Earlier this week, Floodlit reported on Rich Mallard, another Mormon man charged with sex crimes who was released from jail on Aug. 14 after multiple letters of support from church members. Grant Jensen, a Brigham Young University college dean, called Mallard “a deeply religious man” in his support letter.

Another Walker supporter said they work as an “Education Specialist” at “a nonprofit in Utah county […] that seeks to prevent and treat child abuse and trauma by strengthening families.” The supporter wrote, “[Walker] needs to be with his community. He needs therapy, his ward, his family, his friends. He is not a risk to the community and never has been.”

In another letter, a supporter said, “I have […] served in various callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the 30 years I have known Joseph, I have found him to be kind, honest, hardworking, compassionate, and trustworthy. I am aware of the charges Joseph is facing and the seriousness of these charges. However, in the period of time before trial or other decisions or arrangements, I do not believe Joseph to be a risk to the community and I fully trust his ability to comply with any requirements.”

The final letter we obtained was from a department chair at Utah Valley University who said, “In the 20-plus years I’ve known Joseph Walker, he has been a trusted member of his community and church group, highly respected in his career field.” The supporter added, “I was shocked to read the Deseret News article describing the charges Joe is facing and the circumstances leading to those charges. Seeing those charges confirmed on the Davis County website only heightened my sense of shock and sadness and, quite frankly, disbelief. I know these are serious and disturbing allegations. As I’ve processed this knowledge over the past few days, it’s been nearly impossible to reconcile the man I know and the person described in that article. I don’t wish to downplay these charges in any way, only to offer mine as another voice asking that he be released on bail pending trial.”

Floodlit is redacting the letters of support we’ve obtained in Walker’s case and will make them available via his case report: https://floodlit.org/a/b342/