Stephen L RichardsRichards's full middle name was "L". Hence, his name is usually written without a period after the "L". See

Gregory Prince Gregory Antone Prince (born 1948) is an American pathology researcher, businessman, author, social critic, and historian of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Prince was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating as val ...

and Wm. Robert Wright, ''

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism ''David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism'' is the first book to draw upon the David O. McKay Papers at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, in addition to some two hundred interviews conducted by the authors, Gregory Princ ...

'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 2005, ) p. 413, n. 6. (June 18, 1879 – May 19, 1959) was a prominent leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church and the First Counselor in the First Presidency.

Early life

Richards was born in Mendon, Utah Territory. He was the oldest of ten children born to Stephen Longstroth Richards and Emma Louise Stayner. He was raised in

Cache Valley Cache Valley is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley i ...

. Richards was the grandson of Willard Richards, an early apostle of the church and colleague of Joseph Smith. Richards married Irene Smith Merrill (a maternal granddaughter of

George A. Smith George Albert Smith (June 26, 1817 – September 1, 1875) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

) in 1900. The couple had nine children. One of their sons was Lynn S. Richards, a Utah politician and leader in the church.

Education and profession

Richards did undergraduate studies at the University of Utah. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1904. Richards began his law school career at the University of Michigan, later transferring to Chicago.

Ernest L. Wilkinson Ernest Leroy Wilkinson (May 4, 1899 – April 6, 1978) was an American academic administrator, lawyer, and prominent figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from ...

, ed., ''Brigham Young University: The First 100 Years''. (Provo, Utah: BYU Press, 1975) vol. 2, pp. 3, 7. After graduating from the University of Chicago, Richards practiced law in Salt Lake City and was a professor of law at the University of Utah. Richards had been considering running for governor of Utah in the 1918 election, but he decided not to do this after being selected as an apostle in 1917.

Church leadership

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the nephew of Joseph Smith, the founde ...

called Richards to be an apostle at the age of 37. As an apostle, Richards became a member of the superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union under David O. McKay in 1918. In April 1919, McKay was appointed Church Commissioner of Education and chose Richards as his first counselor. Richards would remain a counselor in the Deseret Sunday School Union Superintendency until 1934 when apostles were released from these positions, which freed up the apostles to focus on other aspects of church governance. When McKay became

LDS Church president The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Pres ...

, he selected Richards as his first counselor. Richards served in that position from April 9, 1951, until his death. Richards followed his grandfather, Willard Richards, by serving in the Quorum of the Twelve and in the First Presidency. The '' Christus'' statue that is at the visitors center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City was purchased by Richards as a gift to McKay. Richards was a mentor to Gordon B. Hinckley as the head of the Radio, Publicity and Missionary Literature Committee when Hinckley served as its executive secretary.

Sheri L. Dew Sheri Linn Dew (born November 21, 1953) is an American author, publisher, the executive vice president of Deseret Management Corporation, and chief executive officer of the Deseret Book Company, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dew has als ...

, ''Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book., 1996) p. 86.

Death

Richards died in Salt Lake City at the age of 79, shortly before his 80th birthday.

References

External links