Friedrich Enzio Busche (April 5, 1930 – May 28, 2020) was the first resident of Germany called as 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). Busche was born in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and his family left that area after the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Near the end of the war, Busche was drafted at age 14 into the German Army during the Nazi regime's desperate final push. After the war, Busche returned to Dortmund where he lived in a large part on the

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

that had poured out of a supply train American soldiers had attacked.Jan U. Pinborough
"Elder F. Enzio Busche: To the Ends of the Earth,"
''

Tambuli ''Liahona'' (formerly ''Tambuli'' in the English-language version) is an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is named after the word liahona from the Book of Mormon. The magazine began publicati ...

'', June 1985, p. 17. After the war, Busche completed high school and then studied at universities in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. He then took over a printing business from his father. Under his direction, the company grew to be one of the larger ones in Germany. It was also one of the few companies in Germany at that time that used a participatory style of leadership. Busche married Jutta Baum in 1955, and they were the parents of four children. Together, they joined the LDS Church in 1958.

LDS Church service

He served in many local positions within the LDS Church, including as a counselor in the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the Central German

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 * ...

. Busche served as regional representative to the German regions in 1973 and spoke at the continental Europe

Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

conference held that year in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Busche was called as a member of the church's

First Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints), Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesth ...

in October 1977. As a general authority, he served 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Germany Munich Mission from 1978 to 1980. From 1987 to 1989, he was

of the

Frankfurt Germany Temple The Frankfurt Germany Temple is the 43rd constructed and 41st operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in the city of Friedrichsdorf, Germany, it was built with the same general architecture as the ...

. In 2011, he was honored at the

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, annual Freedom Festival Awards Gala. In his 1993 general conference address, ''Truth Is the Issue'', he taught, "In the depth of such a prayer, we may finally be led to that lonesome place where we suddenly see ourselves naked in all soberness. Gone are all the little lies of self-defense. We see ourselves in our vanities and false hopes for carnal security. We are shocked to see our many deficiencies, our lack of gratitude for the smallest things. We are now at that sacred place that seemingly only a few have courage to enter, because this is that horrible place of unquenchable pain in fire and burning. This is that place where true repentance is born. This is that place where the conversion and the rebirth of the soul are happening." He served as a general authority until October 2000, when he was designated as an

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

general authority. Busche died on May 28, 2020, in

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,762, an eight percent increase over the 2010 figure of 42,552. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and ...

, at age 90.

Works

;Books *

Selected BYU Speeches

"Life Eternal"
(June 2, 1981)
"Christianity: The Hope of the Future"
(May 31, 1983)
"Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and Have No Confidence in the Flesh"
(May 28, 1985)

References

External links

Elder F. Enzio Buche: To the Ends of the Earth
''

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 ...

'', February 1985. *Gibbons, Francis M. and Daniel Bay Gibbons. ''A Gathering of Eagles: Conversions From The Four Quarters of the Earth''. San Jose: Writers Club Press. 2002. p. 235 ff. *''German Saints at War''. p. 5-10. Robert C. Freeman and Jon R. Felt. Springville:CFI, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Busche, F. Enzio 1930 births 2020 deaths Converts to Mormonism German general authorities (LDS Church) German Mormon missionaries Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Germany Businesspeople from Dortmund Regional representatives of the Twelve 20th-century Mormon missionaries Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) German Army personnel of World War II Child soldiers in World War II