John Max Madsen (born April 24, 1939) has been 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) since 1992. Madsen's father, Louis L. Madsen, was an employee of the

US Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, at the time of his birth. When he was six his family moved to

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

where his father was a professor at and later president of

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, 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 ...

. Madsen was later raised in

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

. He served as an LDS Church

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

in the North Central State

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 1959 to 1961. He earned a

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

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

, majoring in zoology and minoring in chemistry. Madsen had planned to go to dental school but instead became a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

teacher and spent much of his career with the

Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...

(CES). In 1968, Madsen was sent to England as the first seminary teacher to work there. For a time, Madsen served as a CES coordinator in England. He also served as an

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

instructor and later as a religion professor at

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 ...

(BYU). Madsen earned both

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and Ed.D. degrees from BYU. Madsen was later an LDS Church employee, serving in the

Melchizedek Priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Righ ...

Department and other administrative roles. He was among the contributors to the 1992

Encyclopedia of Mormonism The ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'' is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, see also "Mormon"). The encyclopedia's five volumes have been digitized and ar ...

. Prior to his call as a general authority, Madsen served in the LDS Church as a regional representative and 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 England Southwest Mission (1970 to 1973). He also served as a member of the Young Men General Board and as a stake mission president. In 1992, Madsen became a member of the

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of J ...

, and in 1997 he was transferred to the

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 ...

. As a general authority, Madsen's assignments included serving as president of the church's

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

North

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 ...

, and in the presidency of the North America West, North America Northwest, Philippines, and Australia/New Zealand areas. He also served in the general presidency of the church's Young Men organization, after previously being as a member of the organization's general board. Madsen 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 at the church's October 2009 general conference.

Notes

References

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External links

John M. Madsen: Latter-day Saint official profileJohn M. Madsen: BYU Religious Studies Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, John M. 1939 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States American expatriates in the United Kingdom American general authorities (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Church Educational System instructors Counselors in the General Presidency of the Young Men (organization) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C. Living people Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Pullman, Washington People from Washington, D.C. Regional representatives of the Twelve Washington State University alumni