Paul completed his B.A. with honors at Stanford University in 1968 and then received a Master of Architecture from Princeton University in 1972, thereafter working as an architect in Pasadena. In 1973, Anderson was awarded a fellowship by the Church’s Historical Department to study Mormon architecture and history. This parlayed into a career of restoring historic LDS buildings and assisting in the formation of the Museum of Church History and Art, where he subsequently designed its exhibitions for many years. Paul was also instrumental in the Church’s Nauvoo Restoration project, including the Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred, and also the restoration of the Manti Temple and the historic Newel K. Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio.