Elder James E. Faust
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency
After the
Saturday morning session when Elder James E. Faust was sustained a member of
the Quorum of the Twelve, he was surrounded by Brethren who shook his hand and
expressed their joy.
Responding with genuine warmth,
Elder Faust still had one pre-eminent thought as he moved toward the area
reserved for the wives of General Authorities: "Where's my wife?" His
wife, Ruth Wright, was receiving her own share of embraces and well-wishing.
When they finally reached each other, they simply clung together for a moment
of mute companionship that said more than words.
"My wife," says Elder Faust, "is perfect. She's been supporting, sustaining,
constantly helpful. I'm quick to acknowledge that she's part of me--the best
part. I can't love anyone in the world as I love her."
Sister Faust's support has been
evident in his many Church callings, which have accompanied a very busy
twenty-three year period as a lawyer and participant in numerous civic
projects. Those Church callings have included assignments as a bishop, stake
high councilor, stake president, Regional Representative, Assistant to the
Quorum of the Twelve, and a member of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the
Seventy.
Before his new calling he was
president of the Church's International Mission, zone advisor for
Asked to identify his most memorable
Church calling he responds, "I'm grateful for all of the church
experiences I've had and I've needed all of the training I have had. But I
remember when President Harold B. Lee, then an apostle, came to my stake once
to set our senior high councilor apart in a bishopric. He said, "I don't
know what's up and what's down in the Church. I think I did my best work as an
M-Men advisor.' I agree. I couldn't single out any one office as being most
important--except father."
When he says "father," he
is including "our daughters-in-love and our sons-in-love" as well as
their five children. Their children and their spouses are Jim and Sherry Faust,
Janna and Doug Coombs, Marcus and Susan Faust, Lisa and Scott Smith, and Robert
Faust.
Elder Faust was born in Delta,
Elder Faust lettered in both track
and football in high school and ran the quarter-mile and the mile relays on his
college team at the
As an active member of his profession,
he was president of the Utah Bar Association in 1962-63, an advisor to the
American Bar Journal, a member of the United States Supreme Court Judicial
Nominating Committee for Utah, a member of the Utah State Legislature
(1949-51), a member of President Kennedy's Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
and Racial Unrest, and is currently serving as a member of Utah's
Constitutional Revision Commission and director of the state Friendshipping
Force.
None of these experiences prepared
him for the "sweet agony" of his call to the apostleship. "It
can't be fully explained; it can't be understood; it can't be fully
comprehended. It's different from any other experience I've had in the world.
There was much agonizing and suffering, much sleeplessness and introspection. I
felt so inadequate and so unimportant.
"And yet withal, there comes a
sweet assurance and a comfort. And, oh, the comfort in the love and the
kindness of the Brethren. You can't imagine anyone being more solicitous and
kind and gracious than they were, especially President Kimball and President
Tanner and President Romney. And there was great comfort in the ordination
under the hands of President Kimball, his counselors, and the Twelve."
He added, "I feel so grateful
for the upraised hands of the congregation. They were sustaining me more than
they knew. Their trust amazes me."
Elder Faust reaffirmed the testimony
he had borne of the Savior before that congregation. "The Doctrine and
Covenants describes the spiritual gift of knowing, 'by the Holy Ghost...that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was
crucified for the sins of the world' (42:15). I don't claim to have understood
fully all of the principles of the gospel--there's much I still don't
understand. It's been easy for me to believe. I don't claim anything for
myself; it is a gift. But I feel, with a deep sense of blessing, that I can say
with the brother of Jared that I know, 'nothing doubting.' "
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