Daily Herald Fall 2015 LDS Conference Issue

187th Semi-Annual General Conference

Sept. 27, 2015

Special Witnesses Apostles leAd, inspire lds ChurCh members Around the globe

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Selected and sustained: Understanding the process of calling new apostles LDS Apostles express humble responses to a sacred calling Called of God: Learning more about our prophets and apostles How LDS General Authorities represent a global church Legendary leaders: Prominent apostles of the 20th century General Conference games and activities

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Daily Herald September 27, 2015 LDS WEEK 3

SELECTED AND SUSTAINED Understanding the process of calling new apostles Genelle Pugmire

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DAILY HERALD

s The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prepares for October’s Semi-Annual General Conference, it is anticipated members of the church will have the opportunity to sustain three new apostles.

The new apostles will fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve left after the deaths of President Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Richard G. Scott who passed away Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Historically, the last time three new apostles were ordained in a General Conference was 109 years ago when George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney and David O. McKay were ordained on Feb. 6, 1909.

Elder Russell M. Nelson was recently ordained as the new president of the Twelve. Seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve is determined by the date an apostle is called rather than by age.

According lds.org, the process of selecting a new apostle is the responsibility of the president of the church, currently President Thomas S. Monson.

“Apostles are chosen through inspiration by the President of the church, sustained by the general membership of the church, and ordained by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by the laying on of hands.”

Seemingly, the three new apostles will most likely come from other leadership areas of the church, including the Quorum of the Seventy. Typically, they will have had many years of service in the church and will be not only spiritually prepared for their new calling, but also scripturally as well, being likewise knowledgeable in the day-to-day functions of the church.

Their calling as an apostle is for

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LDS Guide

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attending General Conference raise their right hands to sustain the general authorities and officers of the church. the remainder of their life.

As in the days of Jesus Christ, these apostles will be selected and set apart from the rest of the church as special witnesses of Christ.

By virtue of the New Testament teachings and modern day accounts of the apostleship, one can somewhat understand the significance of their calling, and the heavy responsibility that is placed on their shoulders.

These men will spend most of their time in not only administering to the affairs of a worldwide church, but will also travel to the corners of the world meeting with church members, establishing relationships with government leaders and leaders of other faiths, all the time testifying of Christ as special witnesses.

In “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” issued in celebration of the new

September 27, 2015 Daily Herald

millennium, the Prophet Joseph Smith is quoted, sharing his own testimony of Christ, relating the the very nature of the Savior.

“Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father”’” “The Living Christ” document continues with this testimony recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24: “Of Him the Prophet also declared: ‘And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: That

He lives!

‘For we saw Him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father— ‘That by Him, and through Him, and of Him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God’” The final paragraph of “The Living Christ” reiterates the testimony of today’s apostle’s duty to witness of Him. “We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles — that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

Witnesses of Christ Humble responses to a sacred calling Genelle Pugmire DAILY HERALD

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hen he first received the call to serve as an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve, President Spencer. W. Kimball, by his own personal account, was stunned.

President Kimball received the call to the apostleship by Heber J. Grant in October of 1943. Like others before him, the day he accepted the call his life was changed forever.

In a feature in the BYU Studies Quarterly on Spencer W. Kimball, written by Edward L. and Andrew E. Kimball, the article recounts the emotions President Kimball experienced at his calling to be one of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“When he was called as an apostle. . . he was stunned, uncomprehending, reduced to uncontrolled weeping, even skeptical for the first time of the authorities’ inspiration — until he spent a day on a mountain near Boulder, Colorado, and received a dream-vision of his grandfather, Heber C. Kimball, and an assurance that the call was divine.”

While a calling to be an apostle is sacred and extremely personal, there have been small glimpses shared through personal histories and stories that give readers a greater perspective on the heavy responsibility and importance of a call to the Quorum of the Twelve.

All of these stories can be found through various references on lds. org and through the topics pages at

www.mormonnewsroom.org. Some of them are from their own biographies or conference talks.

In a portion of Jeffery R. Holland’s biography on lds.org it tells of how he, too, was caught off guard when the call to the apostleship came.

“The events of 23 June 1994 stunned Elder Holland. There had been no particular sense of foreshadowing in President (Howard W.) Hunter’s invitation to a 7:30 a.m. visit. But by midday, Elder Holland had been called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve, had been introduced in the quorum by President Hunter, and had been ordained by the President.

“In quieter moments, after the rush of events following his ordination, there came a period of soul searching for Elder Holland. It went on for some time, motivated in part by his ‘unspeakable respect’ for the office to which he has been ordained. The calling, he reflects, requires a member of the Twelve ‘to be a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He stands for, all that He is, and all that His church represents. There is an overwhelming sense of responsibility in that.’ It brings a deep desire ‘to live up to the standard that the entire Christian world holds for the title “Apostle,” never doing anything that could ever diminish that office in anyone’s sight.’”

At a news conference in 2008 following his call to the apostleship, Elder D. Todd Christofferson said that he felt a degree of incredulity,

Daily Herald September 27, 2015 lds Guide 5

as well as a deep sense of humility and gratitude for the trust shown in him with respect to his new calling as an apostle in the church.

Sister Harriet Uchtdorf recalls the moments following President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s call. “We spent a very special hour together in our home, sharing our innermost feelings, which included moments of sacred turmoil.”

The words often seem the same and run together as these men recognize and accept the call to be a special witness of Christ.

Those words include; humble, stunned, gratitude, reflection, soulsearching, turmoil, uncertainty, respect, anxiety, hope, overwhelming responsibility and love.

For all that is required, these men with the support of a humble spouse and family, have volunteered to leave their worldly lives behind, and do the will of the Lord for the rest of their mortal life in whatever service they may be called to give.

Above Left: President Spencer W. Kimball, shown here with his wife, Sister Kimball walking on an airport tarmac with Elder Boyd K. Packer and Elder and Sister Gordon B. Hinckley, 1980s in Montevideo, Uruguay, admitted that he was openly stunned when he was first called as an apostle for the LDS Church in 1943. It was after deep contemplation that he assured the calling was truly divine.

Above Right: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency speaks during the Sunday morning session of the 185th Annual General Conference at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 5, 2015. When he was first called as an apostle, his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, recalled a special hour that included “moments of sacred turmoil” as they pondered the weight of the calling.

Grant Hindsley, Daily Herald

CALLED OF GOD Learning more about our prophets and apostles President Thomas S. Monson

President Thomas S. Monson was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 4, 1963, at the age of 36. Prior to that, he was president of the church’s Canadian Mission, and served in the presidency of the Temple View Stake in Salt Lake City.

President Monson served in the United States Navy near the close of World War II. After his service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Utah, and then graduated with an MBA degree from Brigham Young University. He was an executive in the advertising division of the Deseret News and the Newspaper Agency Corporation, and was then a general manager of the Deseret Press, the largest

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

When he was age 14, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gazed in awe at the airplanes in the Frankfurt, Germany Airport. He dreamed of the day he might take flight in one of those beauties. Six years in the German Air Force also brought him fighter pilot training in an agreement with the U.S. at pilot school inTexas.

Later, in 1973 as manager of the 737 fleet he negotiated with terrorists who had hijacked a 737 and successfully secured the release of the plane, the pilots and the passengers.

A beloved Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pres. Uchtdorf was born Nov. 6, 1940, to Karl and Hildegard Uchtdorf in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. His mother protected her two children during World War II by fleeing

printing plant west of the Mississippi at the time. He served there until his church calling.

For one year, from 1981-1982, President Monson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, served on the President’s Task Force for Private Sector Initiatives. Within the church, he supervised the process that eventually resulted in the new editions of all four standard works — Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price — of the church.

Born Aug. 21, 1927, President Monson served as a counselor to President Ezra Taft Benson, President Howard W. Hunter and President Gordon B. Hinkley, before becoming the President himself in 2008. He married Frances Beverly Johnson Oct. 7, 1948, in the Salt Lake Temple.

They have three children.

Henry B. Eyring

Hal, as he is known to family and friends, was born May 31, 1933, in Princeton, N.J., to Henry Eyring and Mildred Bennion Eyring. Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th president of the LDS Church, was Eyring’s uncle.

With master’s and doctorate degrees in business administration, he became an assistant professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and found interest in teaching, lifting and strengthening students.

He has been president of Ricks College and served as Commissioner of Church Education.

Eyring was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 1, 1995. He was called as First Counselor in the First Presidency

by President Thomas S. Monson on Jan. 27, 2008, after he served four

months as Second Counselor with President Gordon B. Hinckley.

In an address in the April 2015, general conference, Eyring spoke about helping others, both temporally and spiritually.

“When we offer succor to anyone, the Savior feels it as if we reached out to succor Him,” he said.

“A picture in my mind of that day has grown more vivid in the days that I have prayed and fasted to know what to say this morning.”

With so many in the world in need of help, it can feel overwhelming to think of offering help, but the law of the fast is the way to provide that assistance, he said. He spoke of a cyclone which struck Vanuatu, killing at least six, and the assistance which was provided through fast offerings.

“Your fast offering will do more than help feed and clothe bodies. It will heal and change hearts,” he said.

»»QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES to Zwickau, Germany, then on to Frankfurt, West Germany. The Uchtdorfs were introduced to the gospel by an elderly woman in Zwickau in 1947.

He met Harriet Reich, “the sunshine in his life,” in MIA; they were sealed in the Bern SwitzerlandTemple on December 14,1962.Their two children, Guido Uchtdorf and Antje Uchtdorf Evans say they had a wonderful childhood.

President Uchtdorf served twice as stake president: Frankfurt Germany and Mannheim Germany stakes. He was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in 1994, ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004 and as Second Counselor to PresidentThomas S. Monson on February 3, 2008.

Sister Uchtdorf said of her husband’s call to be an apostle, “We spent a very special hour together in our home, sharing our innermost feelings, which included moments of sacred turmoil.”

6 LDS Guide September 27, 2015 Daily Herald

Russell M. Nelson

In medical circles, Elder Russell M. Nelson was known as Dr. Nelson, an internationally renowned surgeon and medical researcher. He was president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the American Heart Association, and president of the Utah State Medical Association.

He was part of a team that developed the first artificial heart-lung machine, and in 1951, it assisted during the first open-heart surgery. Dr. Nelson performed the first successful open-heart surgery in Utah, using the machine. In 1972, he performed heart surgery on Elder Spencer W.

Kimball, who would later become President of the church.

Besides medical successes, he also had quite a few other successes in his life as well. As a child, he hated liver, and quite successfully hid his servings in his pockets so he didn’t have to eat it. He and his wife, Dantzel White Nelson, had nine daughters and one son. He served as a medic in the Korean War for two years, serving in Korea, Japan and Washington D.C. He also has perfect pitch — he can sing any note without hearing it first, and was in many choirs when younger.

Born Sept. 9, 1924, President Nelson is the son of Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson. He was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 7, 1984. After Sister Nelson passed away in February 2005, he married Wendy L. Watson.

Dallin H. Oaks

At age 51, Elder Dallin H. Oaks was the youngest apostle at the time in 1984 and the youngest to be called to the Quorum since Boyd K. Packer, who was called in 1970 at age 45.

By profession, Elder Oaks worked as a lawyer in private practice, law professor at University of Chicago for 10 years, president of Brigham Young University from 1971-1980 and then was appointed as an appellate judge to the Utah Supreme Court. From there he was called to serve to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in April 1984.

Born to Lloyd and Stella Oaks on August 12, 1932 in Provo, Elder Oaks was one of three children. His father died before Elder Oaks was age eight, thus he calls his mother an extraordinary and noble woman

Robert D. Hales

Elder Robert D. Hales was born Aug. 24, 1932, in New York City to J. Rulon and Vera Marie Holbrook Hales. He grew up on Long Island.

As a freshman in high school he was the starting pitcher for his school’s baseball team. He continued his education at the University of Utah, graduating with a degree in communications and business in 1954. He then joined the U.S. Air

Jeffrey R. Holland

He was born to Frank D. and Alice Bentley Holland on Dec. 3, 1940. He lived in the St. George area and enjoyed playing sports.

He was on every kind of team that could have been assembled, he once said. While he was involved in athletics, he met Patricia Terry, who was a cheerleader. They dated for two years before Holland served a mission. They were married after his mission, on June 7, 1963.

M. Russell Ballard

Ballard began his life Oct. 8, 1928, when he was born to Melvin Russell and Geraldine Smith Ballard in Salt Lake City. He attended East High School, then the University of Utah.

He married Barbara Bowen in the Salt Lake Temple Aug. 28, 1951. Shortly after, he was called into a bishopric and has served in church leadership since. In 1974, he presided over the Canada Toronto Mission and was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976. In 1980, he was called to the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

Ballard saw success in business with a car dealership, but the brand failed and many around the country lost money. He said he learned empathy and understanding through the experience.

who gave him much responsibility and freedom. Encouraged by his mother to have a job, Elder Oaks has been continuously employed since age 11 or 12.

He married June Dixon, his favorite college cheerleader, on June 24, 1952; they have six children. His wife died of cancer in 1998 and he then married Kristen McMain on August 25, 2000.

Service in the church included second counselor in the Chicago South Stake. Lysle Cahoon was president and John Sonnenberg, first counselor of the Chicago South Stake.

Later all three served as regional representatives. Elder Oaks was Area President in the Philippines from 2002 to 2004.

Elder Oaks plans to spend his life “testifying of His plan and His authority and His Atonement and His Resurrection. …”

“If you keep working at a task and try to do what’s right and honest, ultimately it works out,” he said.

Ballard has examples in his family to follow. He is the grandson of Hyrum Mack Smith and Melvin J. Ballard, both who served in the Council of the Twelve. His greatgreat uncle was Joseph Smith, Jr. and his great-great grandfather Hyrum Smith. Joseph F. Smith was his great-grandfather.

In the October 2014, general conference, he compared The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to “the Old Ship Zion,” urging people to remain with the ship.

Ballard told of a friend’s journey down the Colorado River and its rapids. Their guide told them to stay in the boat, always wear a life jacket, and hold on with both hands. “Above all, remember rule number one: stay in the boat!” he emphasized.

Force and served as a jet fighter pilot. His unit’s motto was “Return with Honor.” He carried that motto forward and told his sons that message before they left to serve their missions.

When he finished his active duty he moved his family to Cambridge, Mass., where he attended Harvard University. He graduated in 1960 with a master of business administration.

He was called as an Assistant to the Twelve, then as a Seventy.

After three years, he was called as

president of the England London Mission. He then served as an area supervisor in Europe to help LDS members in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland.

In 1983 and 1984 he was Area President of the North America Southwest Area. He was then called to serve as Presiding Bishop, a position he held until he was sustained as an apostle April 2, 1994.

He encouraged Latter-day Saints to rely on and protect the four cornerstones of religious freedom

in an address in the April, 2015, general conference. Those are the freedom to believe, the freedom to share faith and beliefs with others, the freedom to form a religious organization and to worship peacefully with others, and the freedom to live faith and exercise it in the home and chapel and also in public places.

“The general lack of respect for religious viewpoints is quickly devolving into social and political intolerance for religious people and institutions,” he said.

He planned on becoming a doctor, but returned from his mission believing that he was supposed to be a teacher. Holland taught religion part time at BYU while he worked on a master’s degree in religious instruction. He then became an institute teacher. After a year, he became director of the Seattle, Wash., Institute.

To pursue a doctoral degree, he moved with his family to Connecticut to attend Yale University.

He served in three stake presidencies and as a regional

representative. He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy April 1, 1989, and on June 23, 1994, he was called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

One of the messages Holland is particularly remembered for is address in the October 2013, general conference, in which he spoke openly about mental illness, including the disclosure that he had suffered from depression.

“With the grace of God and the love of my family, I kept functioning and kept working, but even after all these years I continue to feel a deep

sympathy for others more chronically or more deeply afflicted with such gloom than I was,” he said.

He encouraged those facing the afflictions to never doubt God’s love.

“Believe in miracles,” he said. “I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon or fully or seemingly at all, remember the Savior’s own anguished example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead.”

»»CALLED OF GOD Learning more about our prophets and apostles (Continues on next page) Daily Herald September 27, 2015 LDS Guide 7

»»CALLED OF GOD Learning more about our prophets and apostles Neil L. Andersen

Elder Neil L. Andersen speaks four languages: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. He was born Aug. 9, 1951 in Logan, to Lyle and Kathryn Andersen and raised in Pocatello, Idaho.

He served an LDS mission in France.

Later after he was married, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and enjoyed a successful career. Elder Andersen was called as president of the France Bordeaux Mission. In 2001 he was assigned to the Brazil South Area Presidency. While living in Europe as a General Authority he decided to learn Spanish. Thus he learned English as a child, French as a missionary and mission president, Portuguese while serving in the

David A. Bednar

Elder David A. Bednar was a teacher before being called as an apostle, and it has served him well in his service. After earning his doctoral degree in organizational behavior from Purdue University, he was a professor of business management at Texas Tech University and at the University of Arkansas. In 1997, he was appointed the president of Ricks College in Idaho. During his term as president there, he oversaw the college’s transformation from a two-year college to the four-year university it is today, under the name of BYU-Idaho.

While a missionary in Germany, Elder Bednar met Elder Boyd K. Packer, who was organizing a stake there. He helped Elder Packer and his wife secure train tickets when they could not get a flight to Berlin, and also felt the need to give them a 20-mark note for their trip. He learned later that the note helped the Packers during that train ride, when a German soldier claimed Sister Packer’s passport was not valid.

Elder Bednar was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 7, 2004.

Brazil presidency and Spanish as a general authority.

On his family’s Idaho dairy farm he learned the value of hard work by milking countless cows and moving a lot of irrigation pipes.

Elder Andersen met Kathy Williams at BYU and married her in the Salt Lake Temple in March 1975. With six children, the Andersens have moved their family eight times because of church assignments.

He was called as an apostle on April 4, 2009. Prior to the call he was the senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy and also a member of the Area Presidency which oversaw the church in western Europe. Elder Andersen has supervised church’s audiovisual productions including the filming of “The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd.”

D. Todd Christofferson

Elder D. Todd Christofferson spent his early years in Pleasant Grove, but ended up graduating from high school in New Jersey. He later became a lawyer, and practiced law in various states, until becoming a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica. Elder Christofferson was also senior vice president and general counsel for Commerce Union Bank of Tennessee in Nashville, and associate general counsel of NationsBank Corporation, which is now Bank of America.

Before those career positions, he was a young boy learning lessons and serving. When he was 13 years old, his mother had major cancer surgery. The surgery was successful, but it limited his mother’s ability to do some of the household tasks she’d done previously. Knowing how much his mother loved homemade bread, but knowing she could no longer bake it, Elder Christofferson learned how bake. He was the breadmaker for his family until he left for college.

He met his wife, Katherine Jacob, at BYU after his mission, and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 28, 1968. They have five children.

8 LDS Guide September 27, 2015 Daily Herald

Quentin L. Cook

Elder Quentin L. Cook has served as a bishop, counselor and president of the San Francisco California Stake, regional representative and area seventy before he was called to the Second and then First Quorum of the Seventy.

He was sustained as an apostle on Oct. 6, 2007. Elder Cook has served in the presidency in the Philippines Area and president of the Pacific Islands and North America Northwest Area. He’s also been the executive director of the Missionary Department.

Health and law are in his professional background having headed up several health care systems and managed law firms in California.

He also worked pro bono as a city attorney for 14 years. Elder Cook’s compassionate nature began early.

During an elementary school fire

drill when he was in first grade he lagged behind in an all-school evacuation. His sixth grade brother chastised him and asked what he was doing. The younger brother explained that his friend had left behind his boots and ran outside barefooted. “I didn’t want his feet to be cold in the snow,” said young Elder Cook.

One of three children, the general authority was born to J. Vernon and Bernice Cook in Logan, on September 8, 1940. His family history includes being the greatgreat grandson of Apostle Heber C. Kimball and great-grandson of David Patten Kimball.

After returning from his mission to England (where he served as a companion with future apostle Jeffrey R. Holland) he married high school sweetheart, Mary Gaddie in the Logan Temple on Nov. 30, 1962.

They have three children.

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Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the First Quorum of the Seventy speaks in his native language of Cantonese at the Saturday morning session of general conference, 4 October 2014.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints photos

REPRESENTING A GLOBAL CHURCH

Elders Jörg Klebingat (left), who is originally from Germany, and Paul B. Pieper (right), pose with Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, a French cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Kurt Hanson

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DAILY HERALD

tah is often referred to as the Mecca of the Mormon world, with Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City and the highest concentration of church members anywhere in the world.

But The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has become an international faith, with more members of the church outside of the United States than inside in recent years.

At the Los Angeles World Affairs council in 2011, President Dieter F. Ucthdorf said each member of the church is a person, not just a statistic.

“It is important to recognize that the growth of the church is not merely about numbers,” he said.

“Our mission is to bring souls unto Christ. … Divine leadership principles are based on the commandment that ye love one another, and that is irrespective of religion. By reemphasizing this commandment, the Savior has made feeding His sheep one of our ongoing responsibilities, which cannot be dismissed.”

With this global expansion comes global leadership, and many general authorities come from across the world to help lead and counsel their local church members.

In the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy, there is a unique global diversity that gives evidence to the church’s goal of teaching all nations.

Of the 91 members of the Quorums of the Seventy, 17 of them are from Latin America, including

Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Portugal.

Six are from Europe, including Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Another six are from Asian countries, including Japan and the Philippines.

And seven other members of the quorums are from other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and South Africa.

The LDS Church reports that 31 General Authorities speak languages other than English as their primary language.

While most members of the quorums are from the United States, the global diversity of the Seventies was perhaps a catalyst when the church announced in September 2014 that speakers in general conference could speak in their native languages.

In the October 2014 General Conference, Elder Chi Hong Wong of the Seventy was the first to speak in a language other than English: his native Cantonese.

Since that session of conference, talks have been given at general conference in Spanish, Portuguese and other languages to accommodate not only the speakers, but also the listeners who are listening in around the world.

Uchtdorf said that as the church continues to focus on global initiatives, not just state or national initiatives, members of the church will have to become “bridge builders.”

“Many of you are exemplary bridge builders. You have created bonds between many nations, cultures, and religions. The world needs builders — especially bridge builders — not destroyers.”

Daily Herald September 27, 2015 LDS Guide 9

LEGENDARY LEADERS Prominent apostles of the 20th century Danielle Downs

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DAILY HERALD

ncompassing two world wars, a great depression, men walking on the moon and the emergence of the Internet, the 20th century was a period marked with explosive growth and change for the world.

During the 20th century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints experienced similar landscape-altering moments that changed the face of the church forever.

Here is a look back at some notable apostles who served during this influential period in history, as the church emerged from its early, humble beginnings to a global, worldwide force.

James E. Talmage Talmage was born in England in 1862, baptized at the age of 10, and moved to Provo with his family at 13 years of age. He was ordained an apostle on Dec. 8, 1911, following the death of Charles W. Penrose, second counselor in the First Presidency.

Talmage was a prolific LDS writer, and is well-known for his many influential works including “The Articles of Faith” (1899),

“The Great Apostasy” (1909), “The House of the Lord” (1912) and “Jesus the Christ” (1915) — titles still widely read today by church members.

A fellow member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Orson F. Whitney, once said of Talmage (as quoted in Andrew Jenson’s third volume of the Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia): “Professionally a scientist and a preceptor, with gifts and powers equalled by few...Talmage is also a writer and speaker of great ability and skill.

Talmage died on July 27, 1933, at the age of 70.

J. Reuben Clark

Clark was born Sept. 1, 1871, in Grantsville.

Despite limited opportunities for a formal education Clark went on to receive a law degree from Columbia Law School in New York City. Throughout his professional career, Clark held many prominent positions including Solicitor for U.S. State Department, U.S. Undersecretary of State, and U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Philander C. Knox, U.S. Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913, once said of Clark, “I am doing him but justice in saying that for natural ability, integrity, loyalty, and industry, I have not in a long professional and public service met

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his superior and rarely his equal,” as quoted in a biographical sketch by the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

In April of 1933, Clark was called to serve as second counselor in the First Presidency to President Heber J. Grant. He later served as first counselor to Grant, first counselor to President George Albert Smith, as well as both first and second counselor to President David O. McKay before his death in 1961.

Richard L. Evans

Evans is perhaps best known for his nearly 40 years of broadcasting narration of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir radio program. Following a mission to Great Britain, Evans was made an announcer for KSL Radio, of which he later became the director. In 1930, Evans began his assignment as producer and announcer of the Tabernacle Choir nationwide broadcast.

In an article for the 1971 December issue of the Ensign, Marion D. Hanks wrote of Evans, “His broadcasting, heard by millions, brought him wide recognition and made his name a household word across the country and the world. The keen intellect, broad learning, compassionate spirit, and deep faith of the man radiated through the airwaves into countless human hearts, and his word became for many the oracle of truth.”

In addition to his broadcasting involvement, Evans was instrumental in the creation of the “Ensign,” “New Era” and “Friend” magazines.

Evans was ordained an apostle in 1953, a calling which he held until his death in 1971.

N. Eldon Tanner

Hailing from Alberta, Canada, Tanner was made a member of the Quorum of the

Twelve Apostles in October of 1962 at age 64. He served as a second counselor to President David O. McKay and President Joseph Fielding Smith, as well as first counselor to presidents Harold B. Lee and Spencer W. Kimball.

One of the more memorable moments of Tanner’s service came in 1978 at the 148th Semiannual General Conference when he announced that all worthy male members of the church could hold the priesthood.

Tanner passed away in 1982, after 20 years of service as an apostle.

Bruce R. McConkie McConkie was called by President David O. McKay to the First Council of the Seventy while on assignment covering a semiannual general conference session of the Church as a reporter for the “Deseret News.”

McKay approached him at the press table before the beginning of the session and told him of his call to serve in the Seventy. McConkie reportedly finished his assignment covering conference while he heard his name announced and sustained during the session.

He would later be called to the Quorum of the Twelve in 1972 to fill the vacancy left by the death of his father-in-law, Joseph Fielding Smith.

McConkie is known for his contributions to LDS literature, including “Mormon Doctrine,” an informational book on more than 1,000 gospel topics, and a threevolume work, “Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” He was also known for his thorough knowledge of the scriptures, his powerful testimony and his treatment of profound doctrinal subjects.

S. Dilworth Young, a contemporary and colleague in the First Council of the Seventy, once said of McConkie in an article for the January 1973 Ensign: “His gift to write and speak concisely and with clarity amounts almost to genius, and he exercises these gifts willingly for the benefit of the work of the Lord whose name he reveres.”

10 LDS Guide September 27, 2015 Daily Herald

Primary Song Mix Up!

Answers: Choose the Right. Families can be Together Forever. Beautiful Savior. Love is Spoken Here. Stand for the Right. Keep the Commandments.

This is My Beloved Son. Mary’s Lullaby. Our Dorr is Always Open. Daddy’s Homecoming. Do As I’m Doing. Your Happy Birthday. Teach Me to Walk in the Light. Reverently, Quietly. Once There Was a Snowman. Follow the Prophet. Search, Ponder, and Pray. For Heath and Strength.

Called To Serve.

Games courtesy of OvertheBigMoon.com. For more General Conference games and activities, log on to heraldextra.com/ldsweek

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12 LDS WEEK September 27, 2015 Daily Herald