Joseph Anderson (November 20, 1889 – March 13, 1992) was the secretary to the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

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 1922 to 1970 and was a general authority of the church from 1970 until his death. Anderson was born 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 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 st ...

in 1889, the same year that

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

became

President of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the president of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

. Anderson graduated from the Weber Stake Academy (now

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

) in 1905. A few years later he served as a missionary in

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

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Anderson became secretary to the First Presidency of the church in 1922. On 6 April 1970, church president

Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tenth President of the Church (LDS Church), president ...

released Anderson from his secretarial duties and called him to serve as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When that calling was abolished in 1976, Anderson was ordained a Seventy and became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1978, Anderson became 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 and was relieved of his day-to-day duties as a Seventy. Anderson died in Salt Lake City at the age of 102 and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Anderson is one of four church general authorities to reach the age of 100. The others are former Presiding Patriarch,

Eldred G. Smith Eldred Gee Smith (January 9, 1907 – April 4, 2013) was the patriarch to the church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1947 to 1979. From 1979 to his death he was the patriarch emeritus of the church. He was th ...

, who in 2009 surpassed Anderson as the longest-lived general authority in LDS Church history, the third is church president Russell M. Nelson, and the fourth is emeritus general authority Robert L. Backman. Anderson married Norma Ettie Peterson in 1915. The couple had three children.

Notes

Selected BYU Speeches

Joseph Anderson gave devotional addresses at Brigham Young University, including:
"Footprints in the Sands of Time"
– May 4, 1975
"What Is Man?"
– June 14, 1977

References

"Elder Joseph Anderson Eulogized"
''

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 ...

'', May 1992, p. 105.

External links

* * 1889 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Germany American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American men centenarians American general authorities (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Religious leaders from Salt Lake City Weber State University alumni {{LDS-bio-stub

See also

Notes

Selected BYU Speeches

References

External links