1972
Called to Serve
December 1972


“Called to Serve,” New Era, Dec. 1972, 20

Called to Serve

October general conference this year occasioned the appointment of five new brethren as General Authorities for the Church.

Elder Bruce Redd McConkie was appointed to the Council of the Twelve to fill the position that was left vacant by President Marion G. Romney’s call to the First Presidency. Prior to his call to become one of the Twelve, Elder McConkie served for twenty-six years on the First Council of the Seventy.

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Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Elder McConkie was born July 29, 1915, to Oscar W. and Vivian Redd McConkie in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his father was studying law at the University of Michigan. Elder McConkie comes to his new position with a vast amount of experience. He served as a United States Army security and intelligence officer, as a newspaper editorial writer, and as a practicing attorney and public official in Salt Lake City. His Church work has included service as an M-Man and Gleaner instructor, instructor to two seventys quorums, president of the 340th Quorum of Seventy in the Bonneville Stake, and member of the First Council of the Seventy.

Elder McConkie is married to Amelia Smith, daughter of the late President Joseph Fielding Smith. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 13, 1937, and have nine children.

Brother McConkie is the author of a number of articles and books. His best known work is certainly the encyclopedia-like volume Mormon Doctrine. This monumental work covers more than a thousand subjects and has been a valuable tool and reference work for many members of the Church. Elder McConkie also edited the three volumes of Doctrines of Salvation, which contain the sermons and writings of President Joseph Fielding Smith.

Elder O. Leslie Stone, named as Assistant to the Twelve, was born May 28, 1903, in Chapin, Idaho, a son of Frank J. and Mabel Crandall Stone. Elder Stone married Dorothy Cobbley in the Salt Lake Temple on April 23, 1924. They have two living sons, Ronald V. Stone and Thomas R. Stone.

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Elder O. Leslie Stone

Elder O. Leslie Stone

Elder Stone has served as bishop of the Oakland Fifth Ward, as president of the Oakland-Berkeley Stake, and as Regional Representative of the Twelve. He was chairman of the Oakland Temple District prior to and during the construction of the Oakland Temple. Elder Stone was called to serve as president of the Salt Lake Temple in 1968 and was only just recently released.

Elder Stone spent most of his business career in the merchandising field, being part owner of several merchandising establishments and serving as vice-president of Safeway Stores, Incorporated.

Elder James E. Faust, also called as Assistant to the Twelve, is a native of Delta, Utah, and has given service to his state in politics as a state legislator and in the field of law as a prominent attorney. He served as president of the Utah Bar.

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Elder James E. Faust

Elder James E. Faust

Elder Faust’s Church service began with a mission to Brazil in 1939. He has served as bishop, high counselor, and counselor to the stake president in the Big Cottonwood Stake. In December of 1968 he was called to be a Regional Representative to the Twelve.

Married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 21, 1943, Elder Faust and his wife, Ruth Wright of Salt Lake City, are the parents of five children.

The other new Assistant to the Twelve, Elder L. Tom Perry, has served as president of the Boston Stake since 1969. Prior to that he served a year as a counselor in that stake presidency. Elder Perry moved to Boston six years ago to become vice-president of finance for Lechmere Sales.

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Elder L. Tom Perry

Elder L. Tom Perry

Elder Perry served on a mission to the Northern States from 1942 to 1944. After his mission he served in the armed services with the marines in the Pacific.

Elder Perry attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and there received his B.S. degree in finance in 1949. He is the son of L. Tom and Nora Sonne Perry. He is married to Virginia Lee of Hyde Park, Utah, and they are the parents of three children.

Elder Rex Pinegar, newest member of the First Council of Seventy, has served as mission president in Roanoke, Virginia, since mid 1971. Elder Pinegar has also served on the Sunday School General Board, as seventys group leader, as member of the seventys quorum presidency in the Glendale Stake, and as YMMIA president in the Hayward Stake.

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President Rex Pinegar

President Rex Pinegar

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, Elder Pinegar went on to earn his master’s degree from San Francisco State College and his doctorate in education from the University of Southern California. In California he served as a teacher in elementary and high school and as an LDS seminary and institute instructor and has been a member of the Brigham Young University faculty since 1965.

Elder Pinegar was married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 24, 1955, to Bonnie Lee Crabb of Spanish Fork. The Pinegars have five children.