J. Reuben Clark
Encyclopedia
Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr. (September 1, 1871 – October 6, 1961) was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Born in Grantsville
, Utah Territory
, Clark was a prominent attorney
in the Department of State, and Under Secretary of State
for US president
Calvin Coolidge
. In 1930 Clark was appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico
.
He received his BS from the University of Utah
where he was valedictorian
and student-body president. He received his law degree from Columbia University
where he also became a member of Phi Delta Phi
, a prominent international legal fraternity in which Clark remained active throughout his life. He later became an associate professor at George Washington University
. Both the J. Reuben Clark Law Society
and the J. Reuben Clark Law School
at Brigham Young University
were named in his honor.
. Grantsville is located thirty-three miles southwest of Salt Lake City in Tooele Valley, and at the time, it was a four-hour trip by buggy and train from Grantsville to Salt Lake. Large tracts of desert land provided winter grazing for cattle in the winter. South Mountain to the south, and the Stansbury Range to the west provided timber, water, berries, and summer grazing. The Latter-day Saints who settled the area were industrious, and community-oriented. Although hard work was mandatory for survival, the year was often punctuated by community events, parties, dances, celebrations, plays, lectures, and outdoor recreation. As a break from farm work, Clark participated in mounting dramatic productions from his youth, and acted in some. He manifested a propensity for public speaking, comedy, and humor at a young age. Clark also participated in the childhood diversions available on the frontier — sledding in the winter and swimming in the summer.
Clark's grandfather had been a minister in the Dunker Faith
(Church of the Brethren). Clark's father, Joshua R. Clark, had worked his way west through Utah
as a trapper and freighter and felt drawn to the LDS Church after attending his first Sunday service, being baptized a month afterward. Education and culture were important in the Mormon communities
in Utah Territory
and later the State of Utah. Clark's father Joshua, although accustomed to hard physical labor, was also reputed to be a knowledgeable, culturally-oriented man. He was hired soon after his baptism to teach school in Grantsville. Shortly after moving there from Salt Lake, he married Mary Louisa Wooley, who was born on the plains as her parents made their way west with Mormon Pioneers. Joshua was the sort of man who, while doing business in Salt Lake, would sleep in a hay loft in order to afford to see a Shakespearean play, and would make great sacrifices to afford to buy a good book. The small library in the Clark home was made up of history books, classics, and an encyclopedia, the Bible, plus the other religious works of the LDS Church. Although young Clark's education was spotty in his youth, due to the demands of farm life and meager family resources, he was able to take music lessons and to play with various bands. He played the piccolo and then the flute.
Clark's father became the clerk and then the superintendent of the Grantsville educational co-op, was elected the Tooele County Superintendent of Schools in 1878, became president of the Tooele County Education Association, and by 1879 was assessor and tax collector, with his two eldest sons helped with the accounting and record-keeping. When his father later taught at a local private school, Clark was able to be formally educated for the first time. He was ten years old, and in the past had been schooled by his mother. Clark was not at school every term. Sometimes, financial difficulties and farm work kept him at home. His father once related that Clark would “rather miss his meals than to miss a day from school.” After completing the eighth grade, the highest grade offered at the Grantsville school, Clark repeated it two more times.
. Clark lived at the home of an aunt to save money, and he earned extremely high grades. The principal of the school was James E. Talmage
, the foremost scholar and scientist in the LDS Church. Talmage hired Clark to be the assistant curator (and later, curator) for the Deseret Museum
. It was a paid position and helped immensely to support Clark during his higher education. The curator position was also considered a mission, and relieved Clark of being called to serve a formal full-time mission
for the LDS Church. When Talmage was released as principal and called to create a new college for the LDS Church, he brought Clark with him as his chemistry lab assistant and clerk, while Clark would still curate at the museum. This again, helped Clark with his financial support and enabled him to finish six years of advanced schooling in four. Two of those years had been meant to finish his unmet high school requirements. It was Talmage who called Clark “the greatest mind ever to leave Utah,” and who encouraged him to attend an eastern university.
In 1894, Clark entered the University of Utah
. Clark lived frugally and was even able to partially support his father, who had been called to serve in the Northern States Mission of the Church, first as a missionary, then as president of the mission.
James E. Talmage became the President of the University of Utah and also the first recipient of the recently endowed Deseret Professorship of Geology. Clark graduated in 1898 as valedictorian of his graduating class, still serving as clerk to Talmage and on the faculty of the university. He had met Luacine (“Lute”) Annetta Savage of Salt Lake City in 1894, but could not afford to marry her. She taught kindergarten, then worked at her father’s store, while dating Clark for four years. They married on September 14, 1898, in the Salt Lake Temple
. James E. Talmage performed the sealing. The couple had a modest reception by Lute’s choice, owing to Clark's small means, although she came from a prosperous family. A few days later, Clark left for Heber, Utah
, to find a place for them to live and start his first career position as a teacher and principal of the new Heber City High School.
The next year, Clark signed on as a teacher at Latter-day Saints' University, but resigned in February to teach at Salt Lake Business College. Joseph Nelson headed the college and became an important benefactor to Clark. In the fall of 1900, Clark went to Cedar City, Utah
, to become the principal of the Branch Normal School
. The following year, Clark was an instructor in Commercial Law, Principal of the Shorthand Department, and Secretary of the Faculty at Salt Lake Business College. In 1903 Nelson was named cashier of the Utah National Bank, and Clark assumed most of his duties at the college. That year, Nelson offered to pay for law school for Clark, and Clark applied to Columbia University
. He was accepted, and he received his entire education in law at Columbia.
. (He was the oldest on the board, the only one married, and the only Mormon in the law school.) In 1905 (at the end of his second year of law school) he was admitted to the New York bar. He was granted a Bachelor of Laws
degree in 1906. Clark had worked with James Brown Scott
on the 772-page book Cases on Quasi Contracts (1905) during his schooling. Brown recommended him as Assistant Solicitor of the Department of State, and Clark received the appointment on September 5, 1906.
. During their tenure in Washington, the Clark family (consisting of Clark, his wife and four children) was in the wake of the controversy over the Reed Smoot hearings in the US Senate.
In his position as Assistant Solicitor and then as Solicitor in the State Department, Clark was often confronted with critical issues of international consequence. For example, when the Mexican Revolution
erupted in 1911, he was called upon to make crucial decisions and recommend courses of action to the secretary of state and Howard Taft. Of particular concern to Clark was the plight of the Latter-day Saints who lived in Mexican colonies
, who were often caught in the middle of the conflict and whose presence in Mexico was resented by the revolutionaries.
After resigning from the State Department in 1913 following the election of Woodrow Wilson
, Clark turned his attention to the practice of law. His family returned to Utah, and he opened law offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Salt Lake, and specialized in international and corporate law. One of his first major clients was the Japanese government, who enlisted his services to combat anti-Japanese discrimination in California. Officials in the Japanese government extended an offer for him to become their permanent counsel in Tokyo and reside in the Imperial Palace. Clark declined the offer, partly on the advice of Joseph F. Smith
.
When the United States entered World War I
, Clark was commissioned as a major in the Judge Advocate General Officer Reserve Corps (Army) and later asked to become Special Counsel to Judge Advocate General. Also during World War I, Clark worked in the Attorney General's office. He also participated in creating the regulations for the Selective Service.
In 1926, Clark was called back into government service as tensions with Mexico flared. His past experience in Mexican affairs as Solicitor and his experience in diplomacy were called upon as the President appointed him to the Mexican and American Mixed Claims Commission. The Commission, established by treaty in 1924 to settle monetary disputes between the two countries, was thought to be the best means of avoiding war with Mexico
. Other positions of national prominence followed, such as appointments to Special Counsel for the United States before the American-British Claim Arbitration, and Agent for the United States on the US-Mexico General and Special Claims commissions. Later, Clark took a position as personal legal adviser to US Ambassador to Mexico Dwight Morrow
, who had been impressed with Clark's work in the State Department.
In 1928, as Under Secretary of State
to Secretary of State Frank Kellogg in the Calvin Coolidge
Administration, Clark wrote the "Clark Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine
", which repudiated the idea that the United States
could arbitrarily use military force in Latin America
. The Memorandum was a 238-page treatise exploring every nuance of America’s philosophy of Western Hemispherical guardianship. The “Clark Memorandum,” which was published as an official State Department document and partially reprinted in textbooks for years.
When Dwight Morrow resigned as ambassador to serve in the US Senate, Clark was recommended as his replacement. Herbert Hoover
appointed Clark as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Mexico
on October 3, 1930. The Mexican ambassadorship was a key post in US foreign relations and earned him instant prestige. Clark served as US ambassador to Mexico from 1930–1933.
While Clark was serving in the First Presidency
of the LDS Church, he was summoned to the White House by Franklin D. Roosevelt
who asked him to be a delegate to the Pan-American Conference
at Montevideo, Uruguay. Again, in 1933, Roosevelt tapped Clark, this time to serve on the newly formed Foreign Bondholders’ Protective Council.
to Heber J. Grant
. President Grant held the position in the First Presidency vacant for over a year until Clark was able to resign from his ambassadorship and resolve necessary government matters.
Clark was sustained as second counselor to Heber J. Grant on April 6, 1933. He replaced Charles W. Nibley
, who had died in December 1931. This call was unusual, not only for the delay between Nibley's death and Clark's call, but also because counselors were generally selected from within the general authorities
of the Church. (Clark had also never been a stake president or bishop in the church.) He immediately set out to relieve Grant of some of the unessential administrative duties he placed upon himself that became a source of fatigue.
Grant had been active in business throughout his life and encouraged his new second counselor to continue to take advantage of business and governmental opportunities whenever possible. The interests of the LDS Church would be best served, he believed, by Clark continuing to be involved in leadership endeavors outside the Church. A week after joining the First Presidency, Clark was asked to fill a position on the board of directors of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States headquartered in New York. Soon afterward, he was summoned to the White House by Franklin D. Roosevelt
who asked him to be a delegate to the Pan-American Conference at Montevideo, Uruguay. Grant gave his approval to both of these proposals, and Clark felt duty-bound to again serve his country when it needed him.
Following October general conference in 1933, Roosevelt again tapped Clark, this time to serve on the newly formed Foreign Bondholders’ Protective Council. As the Great Depression
ravaged the world’s economies, a billion dollars in US citizen-owned foreign bonds had fallen into default. Clark was asked to lead the Council’s effort in recovering money on the defaulted bonds, first as General Counsel and then as Council President.
In 1933, Clark began urging his brethren to change the welfare policy of the LDS Church, which directed members to seek assistance from the government before the Church, and adopt many of the innovative techniques instituted by Harold B. Lee
of the Salt Lake Pioneer Stake to aid the Saints, such as employment coordination, operation of a farm and cannery, and the organization of jobs for stake members to refurbish and sell a Utah company’s unsold, defective products.
died. In October 1934, Clark was ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for purposes of seniority. Immediately thereafter, he was set apart as Grant's First Counselor, with David O. McKay
as the Second Counselor.
In 1935, Grant presented a new “Church Security” program, renamed the “Welfare Plan” in 1938, which encouraged industry and personal responsibility and enabled the members to turn to the Church instead of relying on the “demoralizing system” of government dependence. The Welfare Plan would centralize the Church’s efforts and grow to include a “Beautification Program,” Church farms, Deseret Industries
, and a Bishop’s Central Storehouse
. To a special meeting of stake presidents on October 2, 1936, Clark would capture the goal of Church welfare: “The real long term objective of the Welfare Plan is the building of character in the members of the Church, givers and receivers, rescuing all that is finest deep down inside of them, and bring to flower and fruitage the latent richness of the spirit which after all is the mission and purpose and reason for being of this Church.” Clark’s counsel remains the guiding principle of LDS Church welfare.
In 1940, Clark initiated a project to transmit sessions of LDS general conference
to additional assembly halls via closed circuit radio. In February 1940, Grant would suffer a stroke that left the left side of his body paralyzed and would eventually lead to his virtual incapacitation. Soon afterward, McKay fell seriously ill, and by necessity, Clark took hold of the reigns of LDS Church administration, although he always kept his president and fellow counselor apprised and consulted with them prior to making any major decision.
After Grant's death, Clark and McKay were also First and Second Counselors, respectively, to George Albert Smith
. However, when Smith died and David O. McKay became President of the Church, he surprised some by choosing Clark as his Second Counselor, with Stephen L. Richards as First Counselor, citing Richards' longer tenure as an apostle as his only reason for doing so. It was after this that Clark famously remarked that, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines." Clark was returned to the position of First Counselor after Richards' death in 1959 and continued to serve in that capacity until his own death on October 6, 1961.
.
's 2002 biography, Clark's attitude toward the equality of African Americans was nuanced. Clark was opposed to interracial marriage
of white and black people, and he advocated the separation of blood in hospitals to ensure that white people were not given the blood of black people. (African Americans were denied LDS priesthood
until 1978
, and some Latter-day Saints believed that such a mixing of blood would invalidate the white recipient's priesthood status or his future potential priesthood status.) However, in his later life, Clark advocated some degree of civil (if not spiritual) equality for African Americans.
According to Quinn, Clark's attitude toward Jews
was more consistent. In his 1898 valedictory, Clark spoke of "the foul sewage of Europe," a phrase that Quinn interprets as referring to Jews. "There is nothing in their history which indicates that the Jewish race have either free-agency or liberty," Clark argued in reply to a 1941 book on Hitler. "‘Law and order’ are not facts for the Jews." Clark also criticized prominent Jewish political commentator Walter Lippman on the basis of his religion, claiming that "I long ago ceased reading his stuff, because he veers like a weather-vane, but I am sure always true when the wind blows from Jew-ward." Clark retained his antisemitism until his death.
Clark was adamantly against the use of the atomic bombs in Japan during World War II. He was quoted thus:
Clark developed a regard and affection for the Mexican people he served while Ambassador to Mexico. The Mexican people and leaders returned this respect and love. Said Clark in his farewell address as ambassador:
Grantsville, Utah
Grantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,015 at the 2000 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in...
, Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, Clark was a prominent attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in the Department of State, and Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State
The Under Secretary of State, from 1919 to 1972, was the second-ranking official at the United States Department of State , serving as the Secretary's principal deputy, chief assistant, and Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's absence...
for US president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
. In 1930 Clark was appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico
United States Ambassador to Mexico
The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett became the first U.S. envoy to Mexico in 1825. The rank...
.
He received his BS from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
where he was valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
and student-body president. He received his law degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where he also became a member of Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi, ΦΔΦ, is the world's second largest legal fraternity. Phi Delta Phi is the second oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States and third oldest in North America...
, a prominent international legal fraternity in which Clark remained active throughout his life. He later became an associate professor at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Both the J. Reuben Clark Law Society
J. Reuben Clark Law Society
The J. Reuben Clark Law Society is an organization of lawyers and law school students consisting of over 65 professional and 125 student chapters throughout the world. It is named in honor of J. Reuben Clark the former Ambassador to Mexico and Under Secretary of State. Although alumni and...
and the J. Reuben Clark Law School
J. Reuben Clark Law School
The J. Reuben Clark Law School is a professional graduate school located in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority—and its charter dean was former...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
were named in his honor.
Childhood and youth
Clark was the first of ten children of Joshua R. and Mary Louisa Wooley Clark. He was born and raised in Grantsville, UtahGrantsville, Utah
Grantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,015 at the 2000 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in...
. Grantsville is located thirty-three miles southwest of Salt Lake City in Tooele Valley, and at the time, it was a four-hour trip by buggy and train from Grantsville to Salt Lake. Large tracts of desert land provided winter grazing for cattle in the winter. South Mountain to the south, and the Stansbury Range to the west provided timber, water, berries, and summer grazing. The Latter-day Saints who settled the area were industrious, and community-oriented. Although hard work was mandatory for survival, the year was often punctuated by community events, parties, dances, celebrations, plays, lectures, and outdoor recreation. As a break from farm work, Clark participated in mounting dramatic productions from his youth, and acted in some. He manifested a propensity for public speaking, comedy, and humor at a young age. Clark also participated in the childhood diversions available on the frontier — sledding in the winter and swimming in the summer.
Clark's grandfather had been a minister in the Dunker Faith
Church of God (New Dunkers)
The Church of God is a now extinct body that divided from the Schwarzenau Brethren in 1848....
(Church of the Brethren). Clark's father, Joshua R. Clark, had worked his way west through Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
as a trapper and freighter and felt drawn to the LDS Church after attending his first Sunday service, being baptized a month afterward. Education and culture were important in the Mormon communities
Mormon Corridor
The Mormon Corridor is a term for the areas of Western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who are commonly known as Mormons....
in Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and later the State of Utah. Clark's father Joshua, although accustomed to hard physical labor, was also reputed to be a knowledgeable, culturally-oriented man. He was hired soon after his baptism to teach school in Grantsville. Shortly after moving there from Salt Lake, he married Mary Louisa Wooley, who was born on the plains as her parents made their way west with Mormon Pioneers. Joshua was the sort of man who, while doing business in Salt Lake, would sleep in a hay loft in order to afford to see a Shakespearean play, and would make great sacrifices to afford to buy a good book. The small library in the Clark home was made up of history books, classics, and an encyclopedia, the Bible, plus the other religious works of the LDS Church. Although young Clark's education was spotty in his youth, due to the demands of farm life and meager family resources, he was able to take music lessons and to play with various bands. He played the piccolo and then the flute.
Clark's father became the clerk and then the superintendent of the Grantsville educational co-op, was elected the Tooele County Superintendent of Schools in 1878, became president of the Tooele County Education Association, and by 1879 was assessor and tax collector, with his two eldest sons helped with the accounting and record-keeping. When his father later taught at a local private school, Clark was able to be formally educated for the first time. He was ten years old, and in the past had been schooled by his mother. Clark was not at school every term. Sometimes, financial difficulties and farm work kept him at home. His father once related that Clark would “rather miss his meals than to miss a day from school.” After completing the eighth grade, the highest grade offered at the Grantsville school, Clark repeated it two more times.
College education and early career
In 1890 at age 19, and with his father’s consent, Clark was taken to Salt Lake City to enter Latter-day Saints' UniversityLDS Business College
LDS Business College is a two-year college in Salt Lake City, Utah, focused on training students in business and industry. The college is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and operates under the Church Educational System and is associated with the Brigham Young University...
. Clark lived at the home of an aunt to save money, and he earned extremely high grades. The principal of the school was James E. Talmage
James E. Talmage
James Edward Talmage born in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933....
, the foremost scholar and scientist in the LDS Church. Talmage hired Clark to be the assistant curator (and later, curator) for the Deseret Museum
Deseret Museum
The Deseret Museum was an institution dedicated to spreading knowledge in Salt Lake City, Utah.It was originally opened as the "Salt Lake City Museum and Menagerie" by John Willard Young....
. It was a paid position and helped immensely to support Clark during his higher education. The curator position was also considered a mission, and relieved Clark of being called to serve a formal full-time mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
for the LDS Church. When Talmage was released as principal and called to create a new college for the LDS Church, he brought Clark with him as his chemistry lab assistant and clerk, while Clark would still curate at the museum. This again, helped Clark with his financial support and enabled him to finish six years of advanced schooling in four. Two of those years had been meant to finish his unmet high school requirements. It was Talmage who called Clark “the greatest mind ever to leave Utah,” and who encouraged him to attend an eastern university.
In 1894, Clark entered the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. Clark lived frugally and was even able to partially support his father, who had been called to serve in the Northern States Mission of the Church, first as a missionary, then as president of the mission.
James E. Talmage became the President of the University of Utah and also the first recipient of the recently endowed Deseret Professorship of Geology. Clark graduated in 1898 as valedictorian of his graduating class, still serving as clerk to Talmage and on the faculty of the university. He had met Luacine (“Lute”) Annetta Savage of Salt Lake City in 1894, but could not afford to marry her. She taught kindergarten, then worked at her father’s store, while dating Clark for four years. They married on September 14, 1898, in the Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...
. James E. Talmage performed the sealing. The couple had a modest reception by Lute’s choice, owing to Clark's small means, although she came from a prosperous family. A few days later, Clark left for Heber, Utah
Heber, Utah
Heber City is a city in Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 7,297 at the 2000 census. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. It is...
, to find a place for them to live and start his first career position as a teacher and principal of the new Heber City High School.
The next year, Clark signed on as a teacher at Latter-day Saints' University, but resigned in February to teach at Salt Lake Business College. Joseph Nelson headed the college and became an important benefactor to Clark. In the fall of 1900, Clark went to Cedar City, Utah
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...
, to become the principal of the Branch Normal School
Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University, or SUU, is located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah, by the citizens of Cedar City.During its history, the school has been known as:...
. The following year, Clark was an instructor in Commercial Law, Principal of the Shorthand Department, and Secretary of the Faculty at Salt Lake Business College. In 1903 Nelson was named cashier of the Utah National Bank, and Clark assumed most of his duties at the college. That year, Nelson offered to pay for law school for Clark, and Clark applied to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He was accepted, and he received his entire education in law at Columbia.
Columbia
In the beginning of Clark's second year of law school at Columbia he was elected to the editorial board of the Columbia Law ReviewColumbia Law Review
The Columbia Law Review is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. In addition to articles, the journal regularly publishes scholarly essays and student notes. It was founded in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who served as the review's first...
. (He was the oldest on the board, the only one married, and the only Mormon in the law school.) In 1905 (at the end of his second year of law school) he was admitted to the New York bar. He was granted a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree in 1906. Clark had worked with James Brown Scott
James Brown Scott
James Brown Scott, J.U.D. was an American authority on international law.-Biography:Scott was born at Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. He was educated at Harvard University . As Parker fellow of Harvard he traveled in Europe and studied in Berlin, Heidelberg , and Paris...
on the 772-page book Cases on Quasi Contracts (1905) during his schooling. Brown recommended him as Assistant Solicitor of the Department of State, and Clark received the appointment on September 5, 1906.
Government service and law career
Clark began his government service in 1906, when he was appointed Assistant Solicitor to the State DepartmentUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. During their tenure in Washington, the Clark family (consisting of Clark, his wife and four children) was in the wake of the controversy over the Reed Smoot hearings in the US Senate.
In his position as Assistant Solicitor and then as Solicitor in the State Department, Clark was often confronted with critical issues of international consequence. For example, when the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
erupted in 1911, he was called upon to make crucial decisions and recommend courses of action to the secretary of state and Howard Taft. Of particular concern to Clark was the plight of the Latter-day Saints who lived in Mexican colonies
Mormon Colonies in Mexico
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
, who were often caught in the middle of the conflict and whose presence in Mexico was resented by the revolutionaries.
After resigning from the State Department in 1913 following the election of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, Clark turned his attention to the practice of law. His family returned to Utah, and he opened law offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Salt Lake, and specialized in international and corporate law. One of his first major clients was the Japanese government, who enlisted his services to combat anti-Japanese discrimination in California. Officials in the Japanese government extended an offer for him to become their permanent counsel in Tokyo and reside in the Imperial Palace. Clark declined the offer, partly on the advice of Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. was the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
.
When the United States entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Clark was commissioned as a major in the Judge Advocate General Officer Reserve Corps (Army) and later asked to become Special Counsel to Judge Advocate General. Also during World War I, Clark worked in the Attorney General's office. He also participated in creating the regulations for the Selective Service.
In 1926, Clark was called back into government service as tensions with Mexico flared. His past experience in Mexican affairs as Solicitor and his experience in diplomacy were called upon as the President appointed him to the Mexican and American Mixed Claims Commission. The Commission, established by treaty in 1924 to settle monetary disputes between the two countries, was thought to be the best means of avoiding war with Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Other positions of national prominence followed, such as appointments to Special Counsel for the United States before the American-British Claim Arbitration, and Agent for the United States on the US-Mexico General and Special Claims commissions. Later, Clark took a position as personal legal adviser to US Ambassador to Mexico Dwight Morrow
Dwight Morrow
Dwight Whitney Morrow was an American businessman, politician, and diplomat.-Life:Born in Huntington, West Virginia, he moved with his parents, James E. and Clara Morrow to Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1875. His father James, was principal of Marshall College, which is now Marshall University...
, who had been impressed with Clark's work in the State Department.
In 1928, as Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State
The Under Secretary of State, from 1919 to 1972, was the second-ranking official at the United States Department of State , serving as the Secretary's principal deputy, chief assistant, and Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's absence...
to Secretary of State Frank Kellogg in the Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
Administration, Clark wrote the "Clark Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine
Clark Memorandum
The Clark Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine or Clark Memorandum, written on December 17, 1928 by Calvin Coolidge’s undersecretary of state J. Reuben Clark, concerned the United States' use of military force to intervene in Latin American nations...
", which repudiated the idea that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
could arbitrarily use military force in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The Memorandum was a 238-page treatise exploring every nuance of America’s philosophy of Western Hemispherical guardianship. The “Clark Memorandum,” which was published as an official State Department document and partially reprinted in textbooks for years.
When Dwight Morrow resigned as ambassador to serve in the US Senate, Clark was recommended as his replacement. Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
appointed Clark as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Mexico
United States Ambassador to Mexico
The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett became the first U.S. envoy to Mexico in 1825. The rank...
on October 3, 1930. The Mexican ambassadorship was a key post in US foreign relations and earned him instant prestige. Clark served as US ambassador to Mexico from 1930–1933.
While Clark was serving in the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
of the LDS Church, he was summoned to the White House by Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
who asked him to be a delegate to the Pan-American Conference
Pan-American Conference
The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for cooperation on trade and other issues. They were first introduced by James G. Blaine of Maine in order to establish closer ties...
at Montevideo, Uruguay. Again, in 1933, Roosevelt tapped Clark, this time to serve on the newly formed Foreign Bondholders’ Protective Council.
Church service
In June of 1925, Clark was appointed to the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association Board of the LDS Church. In April 1933, Clark was called to serve in the LDS Church as the Second Counselor in the First PresidencyFirst Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
to Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant
Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...
. President Grant held the position in the First Presidency vacant for over a year until Clark was able to resign from his ambassadorship and resolve necessary government matters.
Clark was sustained as second counselor to Heber J. Grant on April 6, 1933. He replaced Charles W. Nibley
Charles W. Nibley
Charles Wilson Nibley was the fifth presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1907 and 1925 and a member of the church's First Presidency from 1925 until his death....
, who had died in December 1931. This call was unusual, not only for the delay between Nibley's death and Clark's call, but also because counselors were generally selected from within the general authorities
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
of the Church. (Clark had also never been a stake president or bishop in the church.) He immediately set out to relieve Grant of some of the unessential administrative duties he placed upon himself that became a source of fatigue.
Grant had been active in business throughout his life and encouraged his new second counselor to continue to take advantage of business and governmental opportunities whenever possible. The interests of the LDS Church would be best served, he believed, by Clark continuing to be involved in leadership endeavors outside the Church. A week after joining the First Presidency, Clark was asked to fill a position on the board of directors of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States headquartered in New York. Soon afterward, he was summoned to the White House by Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
who asked him to be a delegate to the Pan-American Conference at Montevideo, Uruguay. Grant gave his approval to both of these proposals, and Clark felt duty-bound to again serve his country when it needed him.
Following October general conference in 1933, Roosevelt again tapped Clark, this time to serve on the newly formed Foreign Bondholders’ Protective Council. As the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
ravaged the world’s economies, a billion dollars in US citizen-owned foreign bonds had fallen into default. Clark was asked to lead the Council’s effort in recovering money on the defaulted bonds, first as General Counsel and then as Council President.
In 1933, Clark began urging his brethren to change the welfare policy of the LDS Church, which directed members to seek assistance from the government before the Church, and adopt many of the innovative techniques instituted by Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee
Harold Bingham Lee was eleventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from July 1972 until his death.- Early life :...
of the Salt Lake Pioneer Stake to aid the Saints, such as employment coordination, operation of a farm and cannery, and the organization of jobs for stake members to refurbish and sell a Utah company’s unsold, defective products.
Apostleship
In September 1934, Heber J. Grant's First Counselor Anthony W. IvinsAnthony W. Ivins
Anthony Woodward Ivins born in Toms River, New Jersey, was a high-ranking official of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life and family :...
died. In October 1934, Clark was ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for purposes of seniority. Immediately thereafter, he was set apart as Grant's First Counselor, with David O. McKay
David O. McKay
David Oman McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving from 1951 until his death. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was a general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church...
as the Second Counselor.
In 1935, Grant presented a new “Church Security” program, renamed the “Welfare Plan” in 1938, which encouraged industry and personal responsibility and enabled the members to turn to the Church instead of relying on the “demoralizing system” of government dependence. The Welfare Plan would centralize the Church’s efforts and grow to include a “Beautification Program,” Church farms, Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries is a non-profit organization and a division of the Welfare Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It includes a chain of retail thrift stores and work projects operated by the program. Deseret Industries thrift stores are similar to the well-known Goodwill...
, and a Bishop’s Central Storehouse
Bishop's storehouse
A bishop's storehouse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints usually refers to a commodity resource center that is used by bishops of the church to provide goods to needy individuals...
. To a special meeting of stake presidents on October 2, 1936, Clark would capture the goal of Church welfare: “The real long term objective of the Welfare Plan is the building of character in the members of the Church, givers and receivers, rescuing all that is finest deep down inside of them, and bring to flower and fruitage the latent richness of the spirit which after all is the mission and purpose and reason for being of this Church.” Clark’s counsel remains the guiding principle of LDS Church welfare.
In 1940, Clark initiated a project to transmit sessions of LDS general conference
General Conference (LDS Church)
General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders...
to additional assembly halls via closed circuit radio. In February 1940, Grant would suffer a stroke that left the left side of his body paralyzed and would eventually lead to his virtual incapacitation. Soon afterward, McKay fell seriously ill, and by necessity, Clark took hold of the reigns of LDS Church administration, although he always kept his president and fellow counselor apprised and consulted with them prior to making any major decision.
After Grant's death, Clark and McKay were also First and Second Counselors, respectively, to George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Sr. was the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
. However, when Smith died and David O. McKay became President of the Church, he surprised some by choosing Clark as his Second Counselor, with Stephen L. Richards as First Counselor, citing Richards' longer tenure as an apostle as his only reason for doing so. It was after this that Clark famously remarked that, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines." Clark was returned to the position of First Counselor after Richards' death in 1959 and continued to serve in that capacity until his own death on October 6, 1961.
Death
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., died 6 October 1961, at his residence, 80 D Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, at ninety years of age. Clark served in the First Presidency for twenty-eight years and six months, longer than any other man who has not been President of the Church. He was buried at Salt Lake City CemeterySalt Lake City Cemetery
thumb|The northern section of the cemetery at night, looking towards Salt Lake CityThe Salt Lake City Cemetery is in The Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 120,000 persons are buried in the cemetery. Many religious leaders and politicians, particularly many leaders of The...
.
Approach toward minorities
As noted in D. Michael QuinnD. Michael Quinn
Dennis Michael Quinn is a historian who has focused on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a professor at Brigham Young University from 1976 until his resignation in 1988. At the time, his work concerned church involvement with plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, in which...
's 2002 biography, Clark's attitude toward the equality of African Americans was nuanced. Clark was opposed to interracial marriage
Interracial marriage in the United States
Interracial marriage in the United States has been fully legal in all U.S. states since the 1967 Supreme Court decision that deemed anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional, with many states choosing to legalize interracial marriage at much earlier dates...
of white and black people, and he advocated the separation of blood in hospitals to ensure that white people were not given the blood of black people. (African Americans were denied LDS priesthood
Priesthood (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind...
until 1978
1978 Revelation on Priesthood
The 1978 Revelation on Priesthood was a revelation to the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which reversed a long-standing policy excluding men of black African descent from the priesthood.-Background:...
, and some Latter-day Saints believed that such a mixing of blood would invalidate the white recipient's priesthood status or his future potential priesthood status.) However, in his later life, Clark advocated some degree of civil (if not spiritual) equality for African Americans.
According to Quinn, Clark's attitude toward Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
was more consistent. In his 1898 valedictory, Clark spoke of "the foul sewage of Europe," a phrase that Quinn interprets as referring to Jews. "There is nothing in their history which indicates that the Jewish race have either free-agency or liberty," Clark argued in reply to a 1941 book on Hitler. "‘Law and order’ are not facts for the Jews." Clark also criticized prominent Jewish political commentator Walter Lippman on the basis of his religion, claiming that "I long ago ceased reading his stuff, because he veers like a weather-vane, but I am sure always true when the wind blows from Jew-ward." Clark retained his antisemitism until his death.
Clark was adamantly against the use of the atomic bombs in Japan during World War II. He was quoted thus:
- Then as the crowning savagery of war, we as Americans wiped out hundreds of thousands of civilian population with the atom bomb in Japan, few in any of the ordinary civilians being any more responsible for the war than were we and perhaps no more aiding Japan in the war than we were aiding America. Military men are now saying that the atom bomb was a mistake. It was more than that: it was a world tragedy.
Clark developed a regard and affection for the Mexican people he served while Ambassador to Mexico. The Mexican people and leaders returned this respect and love. Said Clark in his farewell address as ambassador:
- To no one could come a greater honor than the assurance you give me of the sympathy and affection of the Mexican people. To possess a place in the hearts of a people is the most priceless heritage that can come to any man, however high may be his degree and however lowly may be his station.
Career timeline
- 1906-1910 Assistant Solicitor for the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
- 1907-1908 Assistant Professor of Law, George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, Washington, D.C. - 1910-1913 Solicitor for the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
- 1913 Appointed Counsel for the United States before Tribunal of Arbitration under Special Agreement of August 18, 1910, between the US and Great Britain — $5 million in claims.
- 1914 Counsel in charge of US Agency, American-British Claims Arbitration
- 1918 Author, Emergency Legislation and War Powers of the President
- 1919-1920 Active in the League of Nations controversy
- 1922 Utah Republican nominee for US Senate, also in 1928
- 1926 Agent of the United States, General Claims Commission, US and Mexico.
- 1927-1928 Legal Adviser to Ambassador Dwight W. Morrow, Mexico
- 1928 Author, Memorandum on the Monroe DoctrineClark MemorandumThe Clark Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine or Clark Memorandum, written on December 17, 1928 by Calvin Coolidge’s undersecretary of state J. Reuben Clark, concerned the United States' use of military force to intervene in Latin American nations...
- 1930-1933 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to MexicoUnited States Ambassador to MexicoThe United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett became the first U.S. envoy to Mexico in 1825. The rank...
- 1933 Sustained as Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church, 6 April, Heber J. Grant, President
- 1933 Named member, board of trustees of Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
- 1933 Delegate of the United States to the Seventh International Conference of American StatesMontevideo ConventionThe Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States was a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States. The Convention codified the declarative theory of statehood as accepted as part of customary international...
(Pan-American Conference), Montevideo, Uruguay - 1933 Elected Director, Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United StatesAXA Equitable Life Insurance CompanyAXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, formerly The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, also known as The Equitable, was founded by Henry Baldwin Hyde in 1859. In 1991, AXA, a French insurance company, acquired majority control of The Equitable...
, New York City - 1934 Sustained as Apostle and as First Counselor in the First Presidency, 6 October, Heber J. Grant, President
- 1934-1953 President, Director of KSL Radio Station; Vice-President and Director of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI)
- 1936 United States representative on Committee for the Study of International Loan Contracts (League of NationsLeague of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
) - 1944 Elected Director, Western Pacific RailroadWestern Pacific RailroadThe Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
, San Francisco, California - 1945 Sustained as First Counselor to President George Albert Smith, 21 May, LDS Church
- 1949 Elected Vice-President, First National Bank, 11 January
- 1949 Elected Vice-President, Utah Hotel Company, 23 February
- 1950 Elected member, board of trustees, the Roosevelt Memorial AssociationTheodore Roosevelt AssociationThe Theodore Roosevelt Association is a historical and cultural organization dedicated to honoring the life and work of Theodore Roosevelt , the 26th president of the United States....
, 27 October - 1951 Sustained as Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church, 9 April, David O. McKay, President
- 1952 Elected Vice-President, Zion's Savings Bank and Trust CompanyZions BankZions Bank is an American bank, and a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation. According to the company, it is the oldest financial institution in Utah. The bank has 103 full-service branches and 150 ATMs, and over 2,700 employees in both Utah and Idaho.- History :Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company...
, 8 January - 1952 Elected Vice-President, Utah-Idaho Sugar CompanyUtah-Idaho Sugar CompanyThe Utah-Idaho Sugar Company was a large sugar beet processing company owned and controlled by the LDS Church and its leaders, based in Utah. It was notable for providing a valuable cash crop to Utah and surrounding states, and also for being part of the Sugar Trust, leading to antitrust...
, 20 April - 1959 Designated First Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church, 12 June, David O. McKay, President
Quotes
- "There has not been another such group of men in all our history that even challenged the supremacy of this group. It is the union of independence and dependence of these branches -- legislative, executive and judicial -- and of the governmental functions possessed by each of them, that constitutes the marvelous genius of this unrivaled document. ... It was here that divine inspiration came. It was truly a miracle."