Robert D. Hales

Robert D. Hales
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 2, 1994 (1994-04-02) – October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)
LDS Church Apostle
April 7, 1994 (1994-04-07) – October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)
Reason Death of Marvin J. Ashton
Reorganization
at end of term		 Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares were ordained following deaths of Hales and Thomas S. Monson
Presiding Bishop
April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06) – April 2, 1994 (1994-04-02)
End reason Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
First Quorum of the Seventy
October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01) – April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)
End reason Called as Presiding Bishop
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 4, 1975 (1975-04-04) – October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01)
End reason Position abolished
Military career
1954-1958
Service/branch United States Air Force
Rank Captain
Personal details
Born Robert Dean Hales
(1932-08-24)August 24, 1932
New York City, United States
Died October 1, 2017(2017-10-01) (aged 85)
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Resting place Bountiful City Cemetery
Alma mater
Spouse(s) Mary Crandall
Children 2
Signature  
Signature of Robert D. Hales

Robert Dean Hales (August 24, 1932 – October 1, 2017) was an American businessman and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 until his death. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Hales was accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. At the time of his passing he was the fifth most senior apostle in the church.[1]

Biography

Hales was born in New York City and raised in both Queens and Great Neck, New York. He was the youngest of three children born to John Rulon Hales, an artist who worked in advertising primarily, and his wife, Vera Marie Holbrook. The Hales family was heavily involved in the LDS Church. Their ward met in rented space, and as a youth Hales would help clean it from the party that had occurred the night before.[2] The family attended the LDS Church's Queens Ward.

Hales played baseball while he was a student at Great Neck High School and then later at the University of Utah. He also played in some semi-professional leagues, but hurt his arm from pitching that was too intense while playing in Arizona.[3]

Hales received degrees from the University of Utah and the Harvard Business School (HBS). He was also a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for four years.[4]

Hales married Mary Crandall, whom he met in New York the summer before his sophomore year of college, in the Salt Lake Temple on June 10, 1953.[5] During the summer they were married, Hales was working at the United Nations building. Crandall, who was a student at Brigham Young University, had moved from California to New York shortly before she met Hales. They had two sons.

While he was a student at the University of Utah, Hales worked for KSL-TV. He also worked at KDYL.

During his professional business career, Hales served in executive positions with four major national companies. After joining the Gillette Company, he became president of Papermate, a division of Gillette. He later joined Max Factor as a vice president, and later headed the Hughes Television Network. Just prior to his call to be a general authority, Hales was president of Chesebrough-Pond's.

In 1987, Hales was appointed to the Utah State Board of Regents.

In 2010, Deseret Book published a book written by Hales entitled Return.

LDS Church service

While Hales was a graduate student at HBS he served in the LDS Church as an elders quorum president. He also served as a seminary teacher while he lived in Downey, California. Hales served three times in the church as a bishop (in Weston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Frankfurt, Germany). He served as a branch president, both in Weston and in Albany, Georgia. He served in the branch presidency in Seville, Spain and while living in Germany. He also served on the stake high council, both while living in London, England and in Massachusetts. He was also a counselor in a stake presidency in Massachusetts. He later served as a regional representative, with assignments in both Louisiana and Minnesota.[6]

General Authority

In 1975, Hales was called as a general authority and became an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1976, the role of Assistant to the Twelve was discontinued and he, along with others serving at the time, became members of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was the last living person who had served as an Assistant to the Twelve.

In the late 1970s, while serving as a general authority, Hales also served as president of the church's England London {{Mission (LDS Church)|Mission]]. After his service in London, Hales was appointed the church's Area Supervisor in Europe. In this capacity he worked with Thomas S. Monson on supervising the church in East Germany and worked towards the building of a church temple there. He also served for a time as a counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.[7]

Hales served in the First Quorum of the Seventy until 1985 when he became the church's eleventh presiding bishop. He served as the presiding bishop until 1994, during which time he emphasized the importance of the principles of the church's welfare program.

Hales was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on April 2, 1994. He was ordained an apostle on April 7, 1994, filling a vacancy created by the death of Marvin J. Ashton.

In 2002, Hales served as chair of the church's Olympic Coordianting Council.[8]

As a native of New York City, Hales was often the church's "point man" on dealing with issues in the city. He was involved in some of the early planning that led to the building of the Manhattan New York Temple.

Health issues and death

Over the years, Hales had several health issues impacting his church service. This included missing the church's April 2011 General Conference. In September 2017, he was again hospitalized and a church spokesman noted that, in view of the recommendations of attending physicians, Hales would not participate in the upcoming General Conference.[9] Hales died on October 1, 2017, shortly after the conclusion of the conference's Sunday morning session.[10][11] Henry B. Eyring announced his passing at the beginning of that afternoon's session. Funeral services for Hales were held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, on October 6, 2017. A private burial service followed at Bountiful City Cemetery.[12][13]

Works

  • Hales, Robert D. (2010), Return: four phases of our mortal journey home, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, ISBN 978-1-57008-769-1, OCLC 562780912
  • —— (Winter 1987), "The British Contribution to the Restored Gospel", BYU Studies, 27 (1): 12–24

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Apostolic seniority is generally understood to include all 15 ordained apostles (including the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). Seniority is determined by date of ordination, not by age or other factors. If two apostles are ordained on the same day, the older of the two is typically ordained first. See Succession to the presidency and Heath, Steven H. (Summer 1987). "Notes on Apostolic Succession" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 20 (2): 44–56. .
  2. ↑ Lawrence R. Flake Apostles and Prophets of the Last Dispensation
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ article on Hales
  5. ↑ "Prophets and Apostles: What Are Prophets?—Robert D. Hales", lds.org, retrieved July 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ LDS.org bio of Hales
  7. ↑ LDS newsroom article on Hales
  8. ↑ Deseret News article on Hales
  9. ↑ This article verifies the particular details relating to Hales' current condition.
  10. ↑ "Elder Robert D. Hales Dies at Age 85: Elder Hales was called to the holy apostleship in 1994", Newsroom, LDS Church, 2017-10-01
  11. ↑ "Elder Robert D. Hales passes away". Deseret News.
  12. ↑ "Elder Robert D. Hales Funeral Arrangements Announced - Church News and Events". www.lds.org. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  13. ↑ "Funeral Services Held for Elder Robert D. Hales". www.mormonnewsroom.org. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2017-11-04.

References

  • "Elder Robert D. Hales", Official Biographies for leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church
  • "Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve", Ensign: 105–06, May 1994
  • "Elder Robert Dean Hales: Assistant to the Council of the Twelve", Ensign, May 1975
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by
Richard G. Scott		 Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 7, 1994 – October 1, 2017		 Succeeded by
Jeffrey R. Holland
Preceded by
Victor L. Brown		 Presiding Bishop
1985–1994		 Succeeded by
Merrill J. Bateman
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