Tad Richards Callister (born December 17, 1945) was the 21st

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

General President 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 Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from 2014 to 2019. He served previously in the church as a general authority from 2008 to 2014, including as a member of the

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 ...

from 2011 to 2014. Callister was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

to Effie Norine Richards and Reed Eddington Callister. His parents were both natives of Salt Lake City. Reed Callister served a mission in the United Kingdom for the LDS Church. Callister's mother, Norine, was a daughter of

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, and ...

, who was the Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church when Callister was born and would later serve as a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. At the time Callister's parents married in 1932, LeGrand Richards was their stake president in southern California During the mid-1960s, Callister served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which 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.Tho ...

for the LDS Church in the Eastern Atlantic States Mission, based in Washington, D.C. He holds a

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

in accounting from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU), a

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degree from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, and a

master of laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, specializing in tax law. Callister spent his career as a lawyer in southern California. Callister also served for a time as president of the

Verdugo Hills Council Verdugo Hills Council (VHC) is one of five Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County, California. Headquartered in Glendale. It was founded in 1920 as the Glendale Council, changing its name in 1922 to the Verdugo Hills Council (#058). ...

of the

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. Callister was the recipient of the 2019 "Patrons of the Arts" award presented by the Inspirational Arts Association based in

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

LDS Church service

He previously served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, stake president, regional representative, and area seventy. In 2001 Callister helped release a booklet on reaching out to non-members called "Doctrine of Inclusion" and stated, "We're imperfect people... utwe want it to be said that we're the best neighbors in the world." From 2005 to 2008 he served 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the church's

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East Mission. While still serving in Canada, he was called as a general authority and 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 Jes ...

in 2008. He later served first as a counselor and then as president of the Pacific

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

, residing in

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and overseeing the operations of the LDS Church in

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, and the islands of the Pacific. In 2011 he was appointed as a member of the church's seven-man

, replacing Claudio R. M. Costa. At the church's April 2014 General Conference, Callister was released as a general authority and from the Presidency of the Seventy; the resulting vacancy in the Presidency of the Seventy was filled by Lynn G. Robbins. Callister was simultaneously accepted by the membership as the general president of the church's Sunday School, succeeding Russell T. Osguthorpe. Callister selected

John S. Tanner John Sumners Tanner (born September 22, 1944) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since his retirement, Tanner has served as the Vice Ch ...

and Devin G. Durrant as his counselors. In 2015, he was quoted on the topics of morality and modesty in

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

. In May 2015, the church announced that Tanner had been appointed as the next president of

Brigham Young University-Hawaii Brigham may refer to: Places * Brigham, Cumbria, England * Brigham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England * Brigham City, Utah, USA * Brigham, Wisconsin, USA * Brigham, Quebec, Canada People * Brigham (surname), including a list of people with t ...

. As a result, in June 2015 Durrant was called as first counselor, with Brian K. Ashton succeeding Durrant as second counselor. While Callister was serving as Sunday School General President, the church shifted to use of the "Come, Follow Me" curriculum. Consistent with recent practice of the church's organizational presidencies serving for 5 years, Callister and his counselors were released in April 2019, with Mark L. Pace called as the new Sunday School General President. As with others previously released from the Second Quorum of the Seventy, the church refers to Callister as an emeritus general authority.

Personal life

Callister met his wife, Kathryn Louise Saporiti, while they were students at BYU. They were married in 1968 and are the parents of six children. Her mother was a lifelong member of the church and Kathryn's father, Angelo Louis Saporiti, joined the church while serving in the military in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

some time after he had married. Callister's older brother, Douglas L. Callister, was a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2000 to 2009.

Bibliography

* * ''Desert Book'' entry on "The Inevitable Apostasy and the Promised Restoration"
/ref> * Callister, Tad R. (2015), ''The Blueprint of Christ's Church,'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, * Callister, Tad R. (2019), ''A Case for the Book of Mormon,'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, * Callister, Tad R. (2021), ''America's Choice: A Nation Under God or Without God?,'' Meadville, PA: Fulton Books,

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Tad R. Callister
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callister, Tad R. 1945 births American general authorities (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni Living people Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) New York University School of Law alumni UCLA School of Law alumni Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Area seventies (LDS Church) Regional representatives of the Twelve American Mormon missionaries in the United States American Mormon missionaries in Canada Mission presidents (LDS Church) 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries California lawyers People from Glendale, California Richards–Young family General Presidents of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Religious leaders from California Latter Day Saints from California