LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886 – January 11, 1983) was a prominent

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 ...

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

(LDS Church). He served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, and was then called as a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

by church president David O. McKay. Richards served in the Quorum of the Twelve until his death in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, at the age of 96.

Early life

Richards was born in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, to George F. Richards and Alice Almira Robinson. His father also served in the Quorum of the Twelve. As a young boy, Richards had several accidents that could have taken his life, including as a small child, when he was struck in the head by an axe as he approached from behind while his father was chopping wood. A few years later, Richards was thrown from a wagon by an agitated horse and both the wagon wheels rolled over his head. As a child, Richards attended the 1893 dedication of the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

. Richards's church service began when he served a proselytizing mission to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1905 to 1908. After returning from his mission, Richards held various jobs in Salt Lake City, including doing audits in the office of the Presiding Bishopric. In 1909, he married Ina Jane Ashton (who normally went by Jane) in the Salt Lake Temple. They would become the parents of eight children.

Church service

Richards returned to the Netherlands as the presiding elder over the

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, accompanied by his wife, Ina Jane Ashton, from 1914 to 1916. Richards was ordained a high priest and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on June 29, 1919, by

Charles W. Penrose Charles William Penrose (4 February 1832 – 16 May 1925) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1904 to 1911. Penrose was also a member of the First Presidency, se ...

, and presided over a Salt Lake City

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 ...

from 1920 to 1925. In 1926, he filled a short-term mission, primarily serving in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. In the early 1930s, church president

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

sent Richards to southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with the plan to call him as

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

. However, the existing stake president called Richards as a bishop and convinced Grant to hold off on calling Richards as the stake president so local members would not feel that an outsider was being imposed on them as a leader. From 1931 to 1933, Richards presided over the church's Hollywood Stake. In 1933 and 1934, Richards again lived in Salt Lake City, where he served on the stake high council of the Liberty Stake under stake president Bryant S. Hinckley. Richards served as president of the Southern States Mission from 1934 to 1937; he was called to this position to replace Charles A. Callis, who had been called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Richards served as the church's Presiding Bishop during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and began to adopt building programs to deal with the increased post-war growth in membership of the church.

Writings

Outside of his apostleship, Richards is probably best known for his widely distributed book, '' A Marvelous Work and a Wonder'', which was first published in 1950. The commonly referenced work contains a comprehensive teaching outline designed to assist missionaries in their study and presentation of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

. Based on a document titled, "The Message of Mormonism", which Richards developed in 1937 for missionaries during his tenure as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Southern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, the book contains explanations and interpretations of many doctrinal positions of the LDS Church. In 1955, Richards published ''Israel! Do You Know?'', an effort to demonstrate the links between

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

traditions and beliefs and Mormonism; this document was produced in conjunction with an LDS Church program aimed at proselyting Jews living in Southern California.

Israel

Richards also played a role in Mormon connections with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He was head of the Orson Hyde Foundation, which coordinated the donations that were used to purchase the land in Jerusalem that became the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden.

Tributes

In a memorial address read by his personal secretary after Richards's death, 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.

Place in history

Richards was the longest-lived LDS

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

until David B. Haight; both his father, George F. Richards, and grandfather, Franklin D. Richards, served as

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles President of the Quorum of the Twelve (also President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and President of the Twelve) is a leadership position that exists in some of the churches of the Latter Day Sai ...

. Franklin D. Richards was also the nephew of

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...

, an earlier

of the church. LeGrand Richards is the grandfather of Tad R. Callister, a 21st-century leader in the LDS Church.

Publications

* '' A Marvelous Work and a Wonder.'' Salt Lake City, Utah, first published in 1950, multiple editions. . * ''Israel! Do You Know?'', 1954. * ''Just To Illustrate'', 1961. Salt Lake City, Bookcraft ASIN: B0007F8N8Y * ''LeGrand Richards Speaks'', 1972. Salt Lake City, Deseret Book

Notes

References

*Flake, Lawrence R
"LeGrand Richards"
in ''Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation'' (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), pp. 489–91. *. *Tate, Lucile C
"LeGrand Richards: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"
'' Tambuli'', February 1983. * Tate, Lucile C. ''LeGrand Richards: Beloved Apostle.'' Bookcraft Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1982. .

External resources

*
Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, LeGrand 1886 births 1983 deaths American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United States Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in the Netherlands People from Farmington, Utah Richards–Young family 20th-century Mormon missionaries Apostles (LDS Church) Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery American general authorities (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California