Education
He studied at the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute in Paris. He also studied at the University of Marburg and at universities in Geneva and Neuchâtel.
He studied at the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute in Paris. He also studied at the University of Marburg and at universities in Geneva and Neuchâtel.
Barker received his early education in the Weber County (Utah) School District and the University of Utah (Bachelor, 1901). After his return from this mission in 1904, he began an extensive study of foreign languages in Europe. In 1906, Barker married Kate Montgomery.
After his return to the United States, he was hired as Principal of Weber Academy (now Weber State University) and later as Chair of Brigham Young University"s fledgling language department.
In 1919, he was appointed head of the University of Utah"s Modern Language Department, a position he held for almost three decades. He is the author of the book Apostasy from the Divine Church which is a scholarly account of what he viewed as the decline and fall of the Christian Church not too many years after the times of the early Apostles.
His book cites extensively from early historical sources, not all of which are documented because of his death before the publication of the book The book was published by Barker"s wife in 1959, then went out-of-print for a number of years, was re-published in 1985, and is again out-of-print.
In this year he organized the first branch of the church in Uruguay.
The mission included all of France as well as French-speaking Switzerland and the Walloon region of Belgium. Barker also sent missionaries into Italy to try to contact church members there.