Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (June 11, 1917 – December 1, 2008) was an American businessman, religious leader and member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business 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). He was sustained to the Twelve on October 4, 1986, and ordained an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

on October 9, 1986, by

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

. He became an apostle following the death of church president Spencer W. Kimball. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Wirthlin was accepted by the church membership as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

Biography

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 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 ...

, Wirthlin was the son of Madeline Bitner and Joseph L. Wirthlin, who was also a general authority of the LDS Church, serving as Presiding Bishop from 1952 to 1961. Wirthlin was a half-first cousin of Gordon B. Hinckley, who became president of the LDS Church; the two cousins attended the same

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

as children. As a young man, Wirthlin earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. As a standout high school

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, Wirthlin was offered a football scholarship at the University of Utah, but deferred it and served as a

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 ...

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 ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, 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 ...

from 1936 to 1939, returning to Utah just before the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

. Wirthlin played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for 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 ...

following his mission. Wirthlin's career was spent as a prominent business leader in Salt Lake City. He was also president of a trade association in Utah. Wirthlin served in the LDS Church as

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 ...

of the Bonneville

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 ...

in Salt Lake City from 1955 to 1964. The day he was released as bishop he was called to serve in the

stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

high council and was set apart by

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 ...

. On December 6, 1964, Wirthlin was set apart by

LeGrand Richards LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886 – January 11, 1983) was a prominent missionary and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, an ...

as second counselor to Russell M. Nelson 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 Salt Lake Bonneville Stake; Wirthlin served in that capacity until Nelson's release in 1971. Wirthlin became a general authority of the church in 1975, when he was called to serve as an Assistant to the Twelve. He was the last individual called to this position before it was discontinued in 1976. In 1984, when the LDS Church first organized areas with area presidencies, Wirthlin was the first president of the Europe Area. The area was headquartered in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and covered all of Europe and Africa. Wirthlin's call to the Quorum of the Twelve came shortly after his call to serve in the church's

Presidency of the Seventy 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 by a ...

. Wirthlin married Elisa Young Rogers on May 26, 1941, in 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 ...

; they had eight children. She died in August 2006 of causes incident to age. On December 1, 2008, Wirthlin "had gone to bed at his Salt Lake City home, and died peacefully at about 11:30 pm of causes incident to age." At the time of his death, Wirthlin was the oldest apostle among the ranks of the church. He was buried at

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located north of 4th Avenue and east of N Street ...

. Shortly after his death, the

announced that the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship, an endowed scholarship benefiting the Utah football program, would be named in his honor. On January 2, 2009, when the Utes won the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, all of the Utah players wore a commemorative sticker on their helmets with the initials JBW in his honor.

Notes

References

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External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Joseph B. WirthlinAP obituary
in the ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wirthlin, Joseph B. 1917 births 2008 deaths American general authorities (LDS Church) Apostles (LDS Church) Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Austria American Mormon missionaries in Germany American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland Businesspeople from Salt Lake City Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Utah Utes football players University of Utah alumni 20th-century Mormon missionaries Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Latter Day Saints from Utah