Kelly R. Johnson was born in Ogden, Utah, on January 16, 1963. He married Teressa Lynn Bartrum in 1986. They are the parents of five children.
He received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Weber State University in 1987. In 1989 he received a master of business administration degree from Brigham Young University.
He has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Thailand Bangkok Mission, counselor in a stake Young Men presidency, elders quorum president, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president, ward mission leader, president of the Thailand Bangkok Mission from 2015 to 2018, ward Young Men adviser, and stake Missionary Preparation teacher, Area Seventy and a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah Area.
Elder Kelly R. Johnson is currently serving at Church headquarters as Second Counselor in the North America Northeast Area Presidency.
He began his career in 1989 as a forensic accountant for KPMG. At the time of his call as a General Authority, he was a forensic accountant and partner for Norman, Townsend & Johnson, LLC.