GENERAL AUTHORITIES -- Miscellaneous Quizzes

 

QUESTION: Can you name two brethren who reached age 90 while serving actively as General Authorities but were not apostles?

ANSWER: Bishop Edward Hunter served as the Presiding Bishop of the Church from April 7, 1851 until his death on October 16, 1883.  He was 90 years and 4 months of age at the time of his death.  Elder Alma Sonne served as an Assistant to the Twelve and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy until his death on November 27, 1977.  He was 93 years and 9 months of age at the time of his death.

 

QUESTION: Eight brethren served as Patriarch to the Church in this dispensation.  One brother served as Acting Patriarch to the Church.  How many of these nine brethren can you name?

ANSWER: The eight Patriarchs to the Church were Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, William B. Smith, John Smith, John Smith, Hyrum Gibbs Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Eldred G. Smith.  Hyrum Gibbs Smith passed away in 1932, and no Church Patriarch was sustained until 1937, when George Franklin Richards was sustained as 'Acting Patriarch to the Church'.  Elder Richards served in this capacity until 1942 when Joseph Fielding Smith was sustained as Patriarch to the Church (this is not the Joseph Fielding Smith who served as President of the Church).  No Patriarch to the Church has been sustained since October 6, 1979.  

 

QUESTION:  Who gave the first patriarchal blessing in this dispensation?

ANSWER:  The Prophet Joseph gave the first patriarchal blessings in this dispensation.  Quoting from Essentials in Church History, page 168: “While the elders were assembled in the printing office on this occasion [December 18, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio], the Prophet [Joseph Smith] gave the first patriarchal blessings in this dispensation.  It was his privilege to do this, for he held the keys of all the authority in the church, and was spoken of as the first patriarch in the Church because of this fact…”  Those who received blessings at this time were Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith Sr., Lucy Mack Smith, Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, and William Smith.  Oliver Cowdery, who held the keys of the priesthood with Joseph, also pronounced some patriarchal blessings.  [Note: this quiz question was suggested by Chad Stowell.]

 

QUESTION: Only one of the 38 brethren that served as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve eventually went on to serve as the President of the Church.  Can you name this brother?

ANSWER: President Gordon B. Hinckley, the fifteenth President of the Church, served as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve from April 6, 1958 to September 30, 1961.  None of the other Presidents of the Church served as an Assistant to the Quorum of Twelve.

 

QUESTION: The position of "Assistant to the Twelve" existed from April 1941 to October 1976.  How many brethren served in this position during those 35 years? Who was the first brother called to this position?  Who was the last?  How many of our 15 current apostles served as Assistants to the Twelve?

ANSWER: In total, 38 brethren served as Assistants to the Twelve.  The first brother called to this position was Elder Marion G. Romney, on April 6, 1941.  The last brother to receive a call to this position was Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, on April 4, 1975.  Of our 15 current apostles, 3 served as Assistants to the Twelve (Boyd K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, and Robert D. Hales).

 

QUESTION: How many of the 38 brethren that served as Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve eventually were called to serve as apostles in the Quorum of the Twelve?

ANSWER: Thirteen of the 38 brethren that served as Assistants to the Twelve (34%) were called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve.  They were Elders Marion G. Romney, George Q. Morris, Hugh B. Brown, Gordon B. Hinckley, N. Eldon Tanner, Boyd K. Packer, Marvin J. Ashton, David B. Haight, James E. Faust, L. Tom Perry, Neal A. Maxwell, Robert D. Hales, and Joseph B. Wirthlin.  Alvin R. Dyer, who also served as an Assistant to the Twelve, was ordained to the apostleship and served in the First Presidency but was not a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.

 

QUESTION: Only one General Authority served as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve during the entire 35 and one-half years that the position of Assistant to the Twelve was utilized in the Church (April 1941 to October 1976).  Can you name this faithful brother?

ANSWER: Elder Alma Sonne served as an Assistant to the Twelve from April 6, 1941 to October 1, 1976, at which time the position of Assistant to the Twelve was discontinued.  Elder Sonne was then sustained as a member of the newly-organized First Quorum of Seventy.

 

QUESTION: The last great battle of World War II was fought on the Japanese island of Okinawa.  Six future general authorities fought with the American forces in this battle.  Can you name these six brethren?

ANSWER: The six future general authorities who fought in the battle on Okinawa were Elder Neal A. Maxwell (apostle), Elder Paul H. Dunn (1st Quorum of Seventy), Elder A. Theodore Tuttle (1st Quorum of Seventy), Elder H. Burke Peterson (Presiding Bishopric and 1st Quorum of Seventy), Elder Durrel A. Woolsey (2nd Quorum of Seventy), and Francis M. Gibbons (1st and 2nd Quorums of Seventy).   Elders Maxwell and Dunn were in the 77th Division of the Army, Elder Peterson was in the Corps of Engineers, and Elders Woolsey and Gibbons were in the amphibious forces.

 

QUESTION:  Who was the last general authority to wear permanent facial hair?

ANSWER:  The last general authority to wear permanent facial hair was Elder Joseph Anderson.  Elder Anderson served as an Assistant to the Twelve and in the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1970 to 1978.  During some of those years he wore a well-trimmed mustache.

 

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