LeGrand Richards

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LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886–January 11, 1983) was a prominent missionary and leader of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as Presiding Bishop of the church from 1938 to 1952, and was then called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by President David O. McKay. Richards served in the Council of the Twelve until his death in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of ninety-six.

Born in Farmington, Utah, Richard's church service began when he filled a proselyting mission to the Netherlands between 1905 and 1908. He returned to the Netherlands as the presiding elder over the mission, accompanied by his wife Ina Jane Ashton Richards, from 1914 to 1916. Richards was ordained a High Priest and Bishop on June 29, 1919, by Charles W. Penrose, and presided over a Salt Lake City ward from 1920 to 1925. In 1926, he filled a short term mission to the Eastern States. Between 1931-1933, he presided over the Hollywood Stake, California, and then was once again asked to serve as President of the Southern States mission from 1934 to 1937.

Richards is also well known for a book A Marvelous Work and a Wonder: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, first published in 1950. The commonly referenced work contains a comprehensive teaching outline designed to assist missionaries in their study and presentation of the gospel. Based on a document titled 'The Message of Mormonism" he developed in 1937 for missionaries during his tenure as President of the Southern States Mission, it contains a clear and direct explanation of many doctrinal positions. In 1955 Richards published Israel! Do You Know?, an effort to demonstrate the bridge between Jewish traditions and beliefs and Mormon faith, in conjunction with an LDS church program aimed at proselyting Jews living in Southern California.

In a memorial address read by his personal secretary after Richard's death, LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball paid tribute to Richards as

...one of the greatest missionaries of our time. He reminded me of a modern-day Apostle Paul. I can think of no one who has borne his testimony to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with deeper conviction or with greater fervor. With it all, LeGrand Richards was a perennial optimist and his words were a rare combination of wit and humor, comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. He rarely, if ever, delivered a message from a written text. He just spoke from his heart, drawing upon a lifetime of experience, study, and inspiration.

Richards was the longest-lived Apostle until David B. Haight. Both his father George F. Richards and grandfather Franklin D. Richards had served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Franklin D. was also the nephew of Willard Richards, another Apostle and notable leader in LDS church history.

Grave marker of LeGrand Richards.

[edit] Publications

Marvelous Work and a Wonder: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, first published in 1950, multiple editions. ISBN 0-87747-161-4.
Israel! Do You Know?, 1955.

[edit] References

D. Michael Quinn. They Served: The Richards Legacy in the Church. Ensign. Retrieved on 09 12, 2005.
Tate, Lucile C. LeGrand Richards: Beloved Apostle. Bookcraft Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1982. ISBN 0-88494-457-3.