John Bytheway was born and raised in Salt Lake City, and he served in the Philippines, Baguio Mission in the early 1980s. He attended the University of Utah and later earned a Bachelor’s Degree in business and Master's Degree in Religious Education from Brigham Young University. He taught as a part-time instructor in Religious Education at BYU Provo from 1996 - 2005, and currently teaches courses on the Book of Mormon (Religion 121, 122 and 275) and the New Testament (Religion 211) at the BYU Salt Lake Center.
John and his wife Kimberly have six children and a completely packed SUV which doubles in value when it's full of gasoline. In June of 2020, John was called to serve as a member of the Young Men's Advisory Council (formerly known as the General Board).