Paul Vere Johnson was born in Gainesville, Florida, on June 24, 1954. He married Jill Washburn in August 1976. They are the parents of nine children.
Elder Johnson graduated with degrees from Brigham Young University and Utah State University.
He has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Norway Oslo Mission. At the time of his call, Elder Johnson had been serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah North and Utah Salt Lake City Areas.
He is currently serving at Church headquarters as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. He previously served as commissioner of the Church Educational System and in the Chile and Europe Area Presidencies.