Howard W. Hunter

Howard W. Hunter
Full name	Howard William Hunter
Born	November 14, 1907(1907-11-14)
Place of birth	Boise, Idaho
Died	March 3, 1995 (aged 87)
Place of death	Salt Lake City, Utah
LDS Church President
Ordained	June 5, 1994 (aged 86)
Predecessor	Ezra Taft Benson
Successor	Gordon B. Hinckley
LDS Church Apostle
Called by	David O. McKay
Ordained	October 15, 1959 (aged 51)
Reason for ordination	Death of Stephen L Richards and addition of Henry D. Moyle to First Presidency
End of term	March 3, 1995 (aged 87)
Reason for end of term	Death
Reorganization at end of term	Henry B. Eyring ordained

Howard William Hunter (November 14, 1907 – March 3, 1995) was the fourteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1994 and 1995. His nine month presidential tenure is the shortest in the history of the Church. Hunter was the first president of the LDS Church born in the 20th century.

Biography

Hunter was born in Boise, Idaho. He was sustained as an apostle at the age of 51, and served a little over 35 years as a general authority for the church.

After the death of Hunter's first wife, Clara May Jeffs in 1983, he married Inis Stanton in 1990 while president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Hunter's father was not a Latter-day Saint (he joined the church later in his life) and would not let him get baptized until he was twelve years old. He was the second person to become an Eagle Scout in the state of Idaho. Hunter had a love for music and played the piano, violin, drums, saxophone, clarinet, and trumpet. He formed a band called Hunter's Croonaders, which played on cruise ships.

Some of his major contributions include the creation of the church's 2000th stake and his negotiations to acquire land in Jerusalem to build the BYU Jerusalem Center, which he later dedicated. Other significant activities he was involved in include the drafting of the Proclamation on the Family. He was the first president of the Pasadena, California stake of the Church, where he had also served as a bishop. In 1985, Hunter was named Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, in recognition of the infirmity of Marion G. Romney, who had succeeded as President of the Twelve by seniority; Hunter became full president of the Quorum of the Twelve on Romney's death in 1988.

Hunter encouraged and emphasized Christlike living and temple attendance, and dedicated two temples during his administration, the Orlando Florida Temple and later the Bountiful Utah Temple shortly before he died.^[1]

Health problems and death

When Hunter was four years old, he was stricken with polio, which afflicted his back so that he was never able to bend forward and touch the ground again.

While president of the Quorum of the Twelve, he had major health problems for the remainder of his life, including a heart attack, broken ribs from a fall at general conference, heart bypass surgery, bleeding ulcers, and a kidney failure that revived. Hunter was admitted to LDS Hospital on January 9, 1995 for exhaustion and was released on January 16. While hospitalized, it was discovered that Hunter was suffering from prostate cancer that had spread to the bones.

Hunter died in his downtown Salt Lake City, Utah residence after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 87. With the church leader at the time of his death were his wife, Inis; his nurse, who had been attending him; and his personal secretary, Lowell Hardy. Funeral services were held on March 8, 1995 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle under the direction of Gordon B. Hinckley. Hunter was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. On October 14, 2007 at her home in Laguna Hills, California, his wife Inis Stanton Hunter died of causes incident to age.

Grave marker of Howard W. Hunter.

Cody Judy

While preparing to speak at a CES fireside being held at Brigham Young University's Marriott Center on February 7, 1993, Hunter was confronted by Cody Judy, who rushed onto the rostrum and threatened Hunter and the audience of 15,000–17,000. Judy carried a briefcase that he claimed contained a bomb and held what appeared to be a detonator-like device. Judy demanded that Hunter read a three-page document that supposedly detailed God's plan for Judy to lead the church, which Hunter refused to do. The audience spontaneously sang "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet", during which students from the audience and then security personnel overtook Judy. After Judy was taken away, Hunter delivered his prepared remarks, a talk entitled "An Anchor to the Souls of Men."^[2][3]

Works

• Hunter, Howard W. (1997). Clyde J. Williams. ed. The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, Fourteenth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bookcraft. 
• —— (1994). That We Might Have Joy. Deseret Book Company. 

Education

Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles

Notes

External links

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