Law was born in
Avon, Utah, and raised on a ranch and farm. He married Leda Ethelyn Call in 1925 in
Logan, Utah, and they had five children. Law's career began as an elementary school principal in
Box Elder County, Utah. After teaching some high school, he became the first principal at the consolidated South Rich High School in
Randolph, Utah. After one year, he became the county
superintendent, here he served for six years in the 1930s. He then briefly served as superintendent in
Duchesne County School District before joining the faculty at
Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1936.
Church College of Hawaii Three years after becoming
president of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),
David O. McKay decided that the church would establish a college in Hawaii. Although Law had just finished building a new home in
Provo, Utah, he accepted the invitation plan the new school and be its first president and "turn President McKay's vision into a reality."
Eric B. Shumway, BYU–Hawaii's president fifty years later, said Law was "a man of strong character, [who] wielded a firm hand" and held an "absolute and fervent testimony of President McKay's calling as a
prophet, seer, and revelator". Some contemporaries also saw him as a strict or authoritarian figure. With no preexisting facilities, Law led the survey committee to investigate potential attendance and locations. Although Law recommended the school begin in Fall 1956 in
Honolulu, the population center, McKay decided it should be on church-owned property in
Laie, and open soon as possible, in September 1955. In the complex work of urgently organizing a new
junior college "from scratch", Law was given "direct access to President McKay on nearly all matters concerning the college, including budget, thus bypassing much of the bureaucracy and red tape of the church". Law had some private conflicts with Frank Woolley and the LDS Church's Pacific Board of Education about acquiring resources and the scope of academic programs. which he chaired in 1976 to 1977. He was also a temple worker in the
Provo Temple in the 1970s. In the LDS Church, Law served as a
bishop, a counselor in a
stake presidency, and a member of the church's
Sunday School General Board. Law's wife Leda died in 1973. Later that year he married Lue Groesbeck. In 1981, Law died at the age of 78 in Provo and was buried in Logan. ==Writings==