Elder Mark E. Petersen
1900–1984

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Elder Mark E. Petersen

Elder Mark E. Petersen, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly forty years, died January 11, 1984. He and a twin sister, Mona, were born on November 7, 1900, in Salt Lake City.

As a young boy, Elder Petersen was a newspaper carrier, and he also helped in his father’s construction business. Later he attended the University of Utah, and he served a mission for the Church in Nova Scotia. In pursuing a career, he became a reporter for the Deseret News and continued working for the paper for sixty years, advancing to the position of president and chairman of the board. Elder Petersen wrote numerous editorials and published more than forty books and many pamphlets used in the Church’s missionary effort.

In April 1944, while serving as general manager of the Deseret News, Elder Petersen was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In his calling he directed the Church’s public information programs and served on the Military Relations Committee. He was an adviser to the Relief Society, the Indian Affairs Committee, and the Music Committee. For more than six years he supervised Church activities in Western Europe. Elder Petersen was also involved in many community affairs. He was closely associated with the Boy Scouts of America, and he was awarded the Silver Antelope citation.

Elder Petersen was a sincere, dedicated man who did not seek recognition. Yet his longtime service to the Church and the community was prodigious.