Harold David Burton (born April 25, 1938) was the thirteenth Presiding Bishop of

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) from 1995 to 2012 and has been the chairman of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

(U of U) board of trustees since 2016.Jacobsen, Morgan
"H. David Burton appointed chairman of University of Utah board of trustees"
'' Deseret News'', Utah, 1 July 2016. Retrieved on 17 February 2020. Born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, to

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

parents, Burton graduated from South High School in 1956 and then served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church in southern Australia in the late 1950s."Grand Marshal H. David Burton: Serving the world over"
'' Provo Daily Herald'', Utah, 1 July 2013. Retrieved on 17 February 2020. He graduated from the U of U with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics and completed an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Early in his career, Burton worked for the Utah Tax Commission and for Kennecott Copper.

LDS Church service

Burton was hired by the LDS Church as the assistant budget officer in 1977. Burton later accepted a position as the executive secretary to the church's presiding bishopric. In October 1992, Burton was called by Robert D. Hales as first counselor in the presiding bishopric. In 1994, he was again called as first counselor to the new presiding bishop, Merrill J. Bateman. On December 27, 1995, when Bateman became the president of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

, Burton became the church's Presiding Bishop--a post roughly equivalent to chief operating officer. Burton called Richard C. Edgley as his first counselor and Keith B. McMullin as his second counselor. Burton was a prominent voice from the LDS Church on the issue of Utah immigration legislation in 2011. Burton oversaw the LDS Church's $1.5 billion mixed-use development project called

City Creek Center The City Creek Center (CCC) is a mixed-use development with an upscale open-air shopping center, office and residential buildings, fountain, and simulated creek near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is an underta ...

in downtown

. Burton and his counselors were released on 31 March 2012 and designated as emeritus general authorities.

Civic service

In 2014, Burton was elected chairman of the board of the

Utah Transit Authority The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Park City, Provo, Sal ...

. He has been on the U of U's board of trustees since 2013 and was selected as chairman in 2016. While chair, the U of U joined the prestigious

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

prompting Burton to remark, "We already knew that the U was one of the jewels of Utah and of the Intermountain West, this invitation shows that we are one of the jewels of the entire nation".Last, First
"University of Utah joins prestigious Association of American Universities"
''

KUTV KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate K ...

'', Utah, 7 November 2019. Retrieved on 17 February 2020.

Personal life

Burton married Barbara Matheson in September 1960, and they are the parents of five children.

References

External links

H. David Burton Official profileUniversity of Utah Board of Trustees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, H. David 1938 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Australia American general authorities (LDS Church) Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Michigan Latter Day Saints from Utah Living people Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) Ross School of Business alumni University of Utah alumni

LDS Church service

Civic service

Personal life

See also

References

External links