Lynn S. Richards (February 3, 1901 – May 26, 2001) was a

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

lawyer, politician, and a leader in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Richards was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

to Irene Merrill and

Stephen L Richards Stephen L RichardsRichards's full middle name was "L". Hence, his name is usually written without a period after the "L". See Gregory Prince and Wm. Robert Wright, '' David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Unive ...

. He attended

LDS High School LDS High School (previously known as Salt Lake Stake Academy or Latter-day Saints' High School, and sometimes spelled Latter-day Saints High School) was a secondary school in Salt Lake City, Utah operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

and as a young man was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in the Eastern States

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

of the LDS Church. Richards graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1925 and afterwards received a law degree from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

. He practiced law in

for 72 years (1929 to 2001). Richards was elected to the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature (US), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members, each representing one senate district. Each senate ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in 1942. He was a member of the Utah Board of Education for 15 years, including two years as its chairman. In the LDS Church, Richards was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in Salt Lake's University

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and the Federal Heights Ward. In 1952, he was selected to be the Second Assistant to George R. Hill in the general superintendency of the

Deseret Sunday School Union Sunday School (formerly the Deseret Sunday School Union) is an organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 11 and older, are encouraged to participate i ...

. In 1966,

David Lawrence McKay David Lawrence McKay (September 30, 1901 – October 27, 1993) was the eighth general superintendent of the Sunday School of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1966 to 1971. McKay was a member of the general superinten ...

succeeded Hill as general superintendent, and McKay selected Richards as his First Assistant. Richards served as First Assistant in the Sunday School until the superintendency was released in 1971. Richards married Lucille Covey in 1924; they were the parents of six children. Richards lived to age 100 and died in Salt Lake City.

References

*Kevin Cantera, "Community Leader Richards Celebrates His 100th Year", ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'', February 4, 2001, p 2.
"Obituary: Lynn S. Richards"
''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

'', May 29, 2001. *Vicki Speek
"Lynn Richards Honored with Hinckley Visit on 100th Birthday"
mormonstoday.com, February 13, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Lynn S. 1901 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) American men centenarians Politicians from Salt Lake City Richards–Young family Stanford Law School alumni Utah lawyers Democratic Party Utah state senators 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature