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"For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light..." |
Richard G. Scott
Encouraged by his bishop and home teachers, Richard Scott had attended church sporadically at times during his youth but he felt out of place, as on the sidelines looking in. He also lacked some confidence socially and athletically at school, although he excelled academically, and was a class president, as well as played theclarinet and bass drum in the marching band.[2] During the summers he worked various jobs to earn money for college. Working on an oyster boat off the coast of Long Island New York during one summer he found that, at times, the hardened fishermen mocked him for not drinking alcohol until a man went overboard and 17-year-old "“Scotty," as the only sober man on board, was told to put on his fins and mask and sent over to look for him.[3] Another summer, he cut down trees in Utah for the forest service and repaired railroad cars. Yet another summer, he started working as a dishwasher for a logging company in Utah and later moved on to assistant cook.[2] College, mission, and marriageScott graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. At the time, he was dating Jeanene Watkins, the daughter of a senator from Utah. When she categorically stated that she would only marry a returned missionary in an LDS Church temple, Scott's career plans changed and he applied for missionary service. He was assigned to serve in the Montevideo Uruguay Mission of the church. Jeanene graduated in sociology and left the day after graduation for a mission to the northwestern United States. After they both completed their missionary service, they married in the Manti Utah Temple. It was during his missionary service that Scott was able to fill "all the voids of loneliness” he had felt since his youth. The Scotts had seven children with five reaching adulthood. Their first son died after an operation to correct a congenital heart condition. Their second daughter lived only minutes and died just 6 weeks before the death of their first son.[4] Jeanene Watkins Scott died on May 15, 1995 after a short battle with cancer. CareerA few weeks after returning from Uruguay, Scott was interviewed by the then-Captain (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover for a job on a top-secret project involving nuclear energy. The interview seemed to go poorly since, when Scott mentioned his recent missionary service, the volatile Captain snapped, "and what do I care about your mission?" When asked what was the last book he read Scott had to answer truthfully "the Book of Mormon". When all seemed lost Scott stood to leave but Rickover told him to wait, saying that he had only been testing his confidence, and whether he would be true to what he believed, since this would be a difficult project. He was then offered the job in the immediate staff of Captain Rickover working on the design of the nuclear reactor for the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine of the U.S. Navy. He later completed, what was an equivalent to a doctorate in nuclear engineering at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, but due to the classified nature of the work, a formal university degree could not be awarded. He also worked on the development of the first commercial land-based nuclear power plant. He worked with Admiral Rickover until 1965 when he was called to preside the Argentina Cordoba Mission of the church, with his wife and family accompanying him. One of his missionaries was D. Todd Christofferson, who would later be called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with Scott. On his second return from Argentina, Scott joined other former Rickover staffers who had a consulting firm in nuclear engineering, working out of Washington, D.C.. He stayed there until his call to be a general authority of the church in 1977. Church serviceScott has had extensive experience in church service and in leadership roles. His ability to speak Spanish has aided him in many different callings. Apart from his 31 month mission to Uruguay, he served as a stake clerk and as a counselor in a stake presidency before he was called to preside over the Argentina North Mission in 1965, where he stayed until 1969. He then served as a regional representative of the Twelve in the Uruguay, Paraguay, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C areas. He was called as a general authority in April 1977 to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.[5] In 1983 he was called to the Presidency of the Seventy[6] and on October 1, 1988 he was called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after the death of the quorum president Marion G. Romney.[2] As a seventy, Scott served as managing director of the Genealogical Department and Executive Administrator of the church for Southern Mexico and Central America.[6] As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Scott is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the sixth most senior apostle in the Quorum and the seventh most senior apostle overall.[7] WritingsScott is a regular discussant at Church Educational System firesides and at general conferences of the church. In these settings he is known "for delivering compassionate talks ... looking directly into the camera, and pleading for repentance and improvements in the lives of members. He emphasizes the Savior's compassion and willingness to forgive past transgressions, and pleads for members to repent and move on with their lives."[8] In 2007, Scott wrote Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy, his first book written as an apostle. It carries on many themes from his talks such as repentance and finding happiness through the atonement of Jesus Christ.[9] Some of his more memorable speeches delivered in General Conference are:
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Wikipedia: Richard G. Scott |
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Richard G. Scott was born on November 7, 1928, in 