LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886 – January 11, 1983) was a prominent

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 ...

and leader in

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 served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, and was then called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by church president David O. McKay. Richards served in the Quorum of the Twelve until his death in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, at the age of 96.

Early life

Richards was born in Farmington,

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 ...

, to George F. Richards and Alice Almira Robinson. His father also served in the Quorum of the Twelve. As a young boy, Richards had several accidents that could have taken his life, including as a small child, when he was struck in the head by an axe as he approached from behind while his father was chopping wood. A few years later, Richards was thrown from a wagon by an agitated horse and both the wagon wheels rolled over his head. As a child, Richards attended the 1893 dedication 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 ...

. His church service began when he served a proselytizing mission to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

from 1905 to 1908. After returning from his mission, Richards lived in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

for a short time before moving to Salt Lake City where he held various jobs, including doing audits in the office of the Presiding Bishopric. In 1909, he married Ina Jane Ashton (who normally went by Jane) in the Salt Lake Temple. They were the parents of eight children.

Church service

In 1909, Richards served for a short time as a branch president over the Portland Branch in Oregon. Richards returned to the Netherlands as the presiding elder over the mission, accompanied by his wife, Ina Jane Ashton, from 1914 to 1916. Richards was ordained a

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

and

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 ...

on June 29, 1919, by Charles W. Penrose, and presided over a Salt Lake City ward from 1920 to 1925. In 1926, he filled a short-term mission, primarily serving in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. In the early 1930s, church president Heber J. Grant sent Richards to southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with the plan to call him as stake president. However, the existing stake president called Richards as a bishop and convinced Grant to hold off on calling Richards as the stake president so local members would not feel that an outsider was being imposed on them as a leader. From 1931 to 1933, Richards presided over the church's Hollywood Stake. In 1933 and 1934, Richards again lived in Salt Lake City, where he served on the stake high council of the Liberty Stake under stake president Bryant S. Hinckley. Richards served as president of the Southern States Mission from 1934 to 1937; he was called to this position to replace Charles A. Callis, who had been called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Richards served as the church's presiding bishop during and after 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 ...

and began to adopt building programs to deal with the increased post-war growth in membership of the church.

Writings

Outside of his apostleship, Richards is probably best known for his widely distributed book, ''

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder ''A Marvelous Work and a Wonder'' is a 1950 book by LeGrand Richards on the history and doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The book was intended as a missionary tool and is traditionally cited as the best-se ...

'', which was first published in 1950. The commonly referenced work contains a comprehensive teaching outline designed to assist missionaries in their study and presentation of

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

. Based on a document titled, "The Message of Mormonism", which Richards developed in 1937 for missionaries during his tenure as president of the Southern States Mission, the book contains explanations and interpretations of many doctrinal positions of the LDS Church. In 1955, Richards published ''Israel! Do You Know?'', an effort to demonstrate the links between

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

traditions and beliefs and Mormonism; this document was produced in conjunction with an LDS Church program aimed at proselyting Jews living in Southern California.

Israel

Richards also played a role in Mormon connections with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He was head of the Orson Hyde Foundation, which coordinated the donations that were used to purchase the land in Jerusalem that became the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden.

Tributes

In a memorial address read by his personal secretary after Richards died, church president Spencer W. Kimball paid tribute to Richards as

one of the greatest missionaries of our time. He reminded me of a modern-day Apostle Paul. I can think of no one who has borne his testimony to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with deeper conviction or with greater fervor. With it all, LeGrand Richards was a perennial optimist and his words were a rare combination of wit and humor, comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. He rarely, if ever, delivered a message from a written text. He just spoke from his heart, drawing upon a lifetime of experience, study, and inspiration.

Place in history

Richards was the longest-lived LDS apostle until David B. Haight; both his father, George F. Richards, and grandfather, Franklin D. Richards, served as

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles President of the Quorum of the Twelve (also President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and President of the Twelve) is a leadership position that exists in some of the churches of the Latter Day Sa ...

. Franklin D. Richards was also the nephew of Willard Richards, an earlier church apostle. LeGrand Richards is the grandfather of Tad R. Callister, a 21st-century leader in the LDS Church.

Publications

* ''

.'' Salt Lake City, Utah, first published in 1950, multiple editions. . * ''Israel! Do You Know?'', 1954. * ''Just To Illustrate'', 1961. Salt Lake City, Bookcraft ASIN: B0007F8N8Y * ''LeGrand Richards Speaks'', 1972. Salt Lake City, Deseret Book

Notes

References

*Flake, Lawrence R
"LeGrand Richards"
in ''Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation'' (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), pp. 489–91. *. *Tate, Lucile C
"LeGrand Richards: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"
'' Tambuli'', February 1983. * Tate, Lucile C. ''LeGrand Richards: Beloved Apostle.'' Bookcraft Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1982. .

External resources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, LeGrand 1886 births 1983 deaths American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in the United States Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in the Netherlands People from Farmington, Utah Richards–Young family 20th-century Mormon missionaries Apostles (LDS Church) Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery American general authorities (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Oregon