ElRay LaVar Christiansen (July 13, 1897 – December 2, 1975) was a general authority 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) from 1951 until his death. Christiansen was born in

Mayfield, Utah Mayfield is a town in southwestern Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 556 at the 2020 census. History Mayfield was settled in 1871. Some of the area's founding families included the Andersons, Petersons, Petersens, Bartho ...

, to Parley and Dorthea C. Christiansen. He studied at

Utah State Agricultural College Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal land-grant institution, Utah State serv ...

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 ...

, and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. Christiansen worked as a high school teacher and principal in various schools. He also worked for the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

. Christiansen married Lewella Ann Rees in 1922. They were the parents of three children. Shortly after their marriage, the couple served as LDS Church missionaries in the church's Central 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 * ...

. From 1937 to 1941, he was the

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the church's

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

–

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mission. From 1943 to 1951 he was the

of the

Logan Utah Temple The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was completed in 1884 and is the fourth temple built by the church. Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second templ ...

. He was also 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 ...

and a

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 ...

in the church. Christiansen was made an

Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1941 to 1976. As the title suggest ...

in 1951. From 1954 to 1961 he was the president of the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), 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 Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

and in 1964 he became the coordinator of all the church's

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. Christiansen was a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and played with the

Utah Symphony Orchestra The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

. He died 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 ...

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 ...

References

*David Mitchell
“Elder ElRay L. Christiansen Dies,”
''

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

'', January 1976, p. 92 *''2005 Deseret News Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 2004) p. 74

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Elray L. 1897 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries 20th-century American educators American Mormon missionaries in the United States Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Brigham Young University alumni Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Sanpete County, Utah Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) University of Utah alumni Utah State University alumni American general authorities (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah Musicians from Utah 20th-century American cellists