Joseph B. Wirthlin
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- This article is about the Latter-day Saint Apostle Joseph B. Wirthlin. For the Latter-day Saint Presiding Bishop, see Joseph L. Wirthlin.
Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (born June 11, 1917) is an American businessman and religious leader and is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was sustained to the Quorum on October 4 1986, and ordained an apostle on October 9 1986, following the death of Church President Spencer W. Kimball. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Wirthlin is accepted by the church membership as a prophet, seer, and revelator.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wirthlin is the son of Joseph L. Wirthlin, who was also an LDS Church general authority. He is a half-first cousin of Church President Gordon B. Hinckley; the two cousins attended the same LDS Church congregation as children. Wirthlin played American football as a running back for the University of Utah.
As a young man, Wirthlin earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. As a standout high school quarterback, Wirthlin was offered a football scholarship at the University of Utah, but deferred it and served as a missionary in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from 1936 to 1939, returning to Utah just before the the outbreak of World War II. He played halfback for Utah following his mission. Before his call as a general authority, Wirthlin was a prominent business leader in Salt Lake City. He was also president of a trade association in Utah.
Wirthlin's call to the Quorum of the Twelve came very shortly after his call to serve in the presidency of the seventy. Wirthlin became a general authority of the church in 1975, when he was called to serve as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the last individual called as an Assistant to the Twelve before the position was discontinued in 1976.
Wirthlin married Elisa Young Rogers on May 26, 1941, in the Salt Lake Temple. She died in August 2006 of causes incident to age.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- LDS Church biography
- Searle, Don L. (Dec. 1986). Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: Finding Happiness Serving the Lord. Ensign, p. 8–9.
| Preceded by M. Russell Ballard | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles October 9, 1986— | Succeeded by Richard G. Scott |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
|---|
| Packer • Perry • Nelson • Oaks • Ballard • Wirthlin • Scott • Hales • Holland • Uchtdorf • Bednar • Cook |
Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
|---|
| Romney • McKay • Young • Sonne • Smith • Morris • S. Richards • Christiansen • Longden • Brown • Sill • Hinckley • Taylor • Critchlow • Dyer • Tanner • F.D. Richards • Burton • Isaacson • Packer • Brockbank • Cullimore • Hanks • Ashton • Anderson • Haight • Bennett • Vandenburg • Simpson • Stone • Faust • Perry • Fyans • Maxwell • Bangerter • Hales • Komatsu • Wirthlin |
Categories: Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | General authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Presidents of the seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 1917 births | American Latter Day Saints | General presidents of the Sunday School of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Hinckley-Bitner family | Living people | Mormon missionaries in Austria | Mormon missionaries in Germany | Mormon missionaries in Switzerland | People from Salt Lake City, Utah | Utah Utes football players
