Richard Ernest Cook (September 7, 1930 – May 1, 2024) was an American who served 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) from 1997 to 2001. He was also the chief financial officer for the

Perpetual Education Fund The Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) is a program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), first announced by church president Gordon B. Hinckley on March 31, 2001. The mission of the PEF, as stated in that address, is to pro ...

. He was married to

Mary N. Cook Mary Nielsen Cook (born June 8, 1951) was a counselor in the general presidency of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2007 to 2013. She served as second counselor to Susan W. Tanner, ...

, who had served in general presidency the LDS Church's Young Women organization. Cook was the LDS Church's first

mission president Mission president is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a Mission (LDS Church), mission and the M ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Biography

Cook was born in

Pleasant Grove, Utah Pleasant Grove, originally named Battle Creek, is a city in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, Utah, United States, known as "Utah's City of Trees". It is part of the Provo, Utah, Provo–Orem, Utah, Orem Provo-Orem metropolitan area, Metropoli ...

, on September 7, 1930. He received 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 ...

from

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 ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. Cook spent most of his career as a financial executive with

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. He married Clea Searle in 1950 and they had four children. She died in 1984. He then married Mary Nielsen in 1988. Cook served in the LDS Church as a counselor in the presidency of the

Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded on most sides by Bloomfi ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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 ...

. In the mid-1990s, Cook and his wife, Mary, went to

to serve as LDS Church

missionaries A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

. He later served as the first mission president in Mongolia. He was a member of the church's

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 ...

from 1997 to 2001. During much of this time he served in the presidency of the church's

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

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 ...

. From 2001 to 2012, Cook served as the chief financial officer of the

. On October 13, 2023, Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger presented Cook with the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

. Cook died 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 ...

on May 1, 2024, at the age of 93.Elder Richard E. Cook, emeritus General Authority Seventy, dies at age 93
/ref>

References

Sources

“Elder Richard E. Cook Of the Seventy,”
''

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 1997, p. 103 *''Deseret News 2008 Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007) pp. 103, 422–423

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Richard E. 1930 births 2024 deaths American Mormon missionaries Brigham Young University alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Mongolia People from Pleasant Grove, Utah 20th-century Mormon missionaries American expatriates in Mongolia American general authorities (LDS Church) American chief financial officers Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Michigan