Comments on: President Uchtdorf to First Presidency

By: Kylee

Kylee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:26:06 +0000

Well I must say Pres. Utchdorf is pretty amazing! I had the oppritunity to help him at my work just days after he was put into the presidency. It was a wonderful experience and you can just tell he was called of God!! He is so caring and will do amazing in his new calling!

By: Curtis

Curtis — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:51:17 +0000

My mom thinks President Uchtdorf is positively dreamy…

By: John Lambert

John Lambert — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:02:18 +0000

Anthon H. Lund served as a missionary in Denmark before he immigrated to the United States. Henry B. Eyring served as a district missionary when he was going to Harvard, and from what I have read this involved tracting and teaching on a regular basis. It was not exactly a regular mission like we have today, but things change over time.
President Monson was not a \”combatant\” in any meaningful sense. He never made it past San Diego.
My understanding is that Elder Uchtdorf\’s family were not Sudenten Germans. I have read his father was an employee of the German Customs Agency. I think when him and his sibblings left their home with their mother they travled to one of his Grandparents homes in Germany itself.
We must also remember he was twice a refugee, because the family latter fled East Germany for the west due to his fathers political views. This makes Elder Uchtdorf the first member of the First Presidency to have been a resident in a communist country.
President Lund was in the first presidency from 1901-1921 so he was definantly post-Polygamy. He had immigrated to the United States at age 22, so Elder Uchtdorf is definantly the First Presidency member who spent the most of his adult life outside the United States and Canada. The only person who might even come close is Anthony W. Ivins, who was the president of the Colonial Juarez stake in Mexico, but that put him largely amongst Americans, and he was born in New Jersey and had largely grown up in Utah, so he was as American as Henry B. Eyring.

By: Hans Hansen

Hans Hansen — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:35:13 +0000

Which universities did the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve attend and/or graduate from?

First Presidency:
President Monson: BS, Business Management, University of Utah; MBA, BYU.

President Eyring: BS, Physics, University of Utah; MBA, DBA, Harvard Graduate School of Business.

President Uchtdorf: studied engineering & business administration in Cologne, Germany; international management in Lausanne, Switzerland; pilot’s wings, German Air Force & American Air Force, Big Spring, Texas; fighter pilot training in Phoenix, Arizona.

Quorum of the Twelve:
President Packer: BA & MA, Utah State University; Ph.D., Educational Administration, BYU.

Elder Perry: BS, Finance, Utah State University.

Elder Nelson: BA & MD, University of Utah; Ph.D., University of Minnesota.

Elder Oaks: BS, Accounting, BYU; JD, University of Chicago.

Elder Ballard: attended University of Utah.

Elder Wirthlin: BS, Business Management, University of Utah.

Elder Scott: BS, Mechanical Engineering, George Washington University; post-graduate work, nuclear engineering, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Elder Hales: BA, University of Utah; MBA, Harvard University.

Elder Holland: BA, English, BYU; MA, Religious Education, BYU; MS & Ph.D., American Studies, Yale University.

Elder Bednar: BA, Communications, BYU; MA, Organizational Communications, BYU; Ph.D., Organizational Behavior, Purdue University.

Elder Cook: BA, Utah State University; JD, Stanford University.

*****************************************************************
of the 14, 6 either attended or graduated from the University of Utah. “Go Utes”!

“HH”: BM, Music History & Literature, University of Utah; MM, Musicology, University of Utah; C. Phil., Historical Musicology, UCLA.

By: John Mansfield

John Mansfield — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:31:07 +0000

Looking up the last time that none of the First Presidency had served missions as young men, it looks the only other time it has happened since Joseph Smith was 1918-1921 with Heber J. Grant, Anthon Lund, and Charles Penrose.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:49:52 +0000

Last President who never served in the First Presidency? I was going to say Joseph Fielding Smith, but it turns out that he was a 3rd counselor for the last several years of Pres. McKay’s tenure.

It never really seemed that he was in the First Presidency, though, since the other two counselors (Hugh B. Brown and N. Eldon Tanner) seemed young and vigorous and capable of doing what was necessary. In addition, although JFS was called as an additional counselor to Pres. McKay, there was no additional apostle called when JFS was called as a 3rd counselor (check the Church Almanac–the last apostle called by Pres. McKay was Pres. Monson, in 1963, and next in seniority to him is Pres. Packer, called in 1970 after the death of Pres. McKay). So, Joseph Fielding Smith retained his position in the 12, and as president of that quorum, even though he had been a counselor to Pres. McKay since October of 1965.

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:58:10 +0000

Ages of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve:

Joseph B. Wirthlin – age 90
Richard G. Scott – age 79
Robert D. Hales – age 75
Jeffrey R. Holland – age 67
David A. Bednar – age 55
Quentin L. Cook – age 67

By: annahannah

annahannah — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:57:53 +0000

I agree with #20, I would like to see a Hispanic apostle. But the Lord will decide.

By: East Coast

East Coast — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:49:39 +0000

(I’ll try not to flub up on these dates)

After Pres Packer, you have Elder Perry (85), Elder Nelson (83), Elder Oaks (75), and Elder Ballard (79) none of whom have served in the First Presidency.

I find it interesting that Pres Uchtdorf is basically starting a new “career” at an age when many people are taking social security and settling into an easy chair to read the newspaper. Reminds me of Pres Hinckley’s comment when Mike Wallace asked about the church being a “gerontocracy.” Pres Hinckley: “Isn’t it wonderful? To have a man of maturity at the head, a man of judgment, who isn’t blown about by every wind of doctrine?”

By: Porter Rockwell

Porter Rockwell — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:13:44 +0000

“Unless Eyring or Uchtdorf pass and BKP is called into the 1P.”

Yikes!

Monson – age 80
Eyring – age 74
Uchtdorf – age 67

BKP – age 83