Marion G. Romney
Encyclopedia
Marion George Romney was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
, to parents who had come from the United States. His grandparents on both sides had left the U.S. to avoid prosecution under laws prohibiting the Mormon practice of plural marriage
. Romney was the son of George S. Romney
and a cousin of Michigan
governor George W. Romney
, who was born in nearby Colonia Dublan and is the father of 2008 Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney
. His mother was Teressa Artemesia Redd daughter of Lemuel Hardison Redd and Sariah Louisa Chamberlain. His parents were married in Colonia Juarez in 1894. Marion Romney was the oldest of their ten children. Romney's younger sister, Lurlene Romney Cheney, was baptized in the Roman Catholic church and later became Sister Mary Catherine of the Carmelite order, a cloistered nun, at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Holladay, Utah
. (Salt Lake Tribune, 9-19-09, p. C2)
Romney studied at Juarez Academy until his family left Mexico in 1912, as violence from the ongoing Mexican revolution spread to their region. He spent the remainder of his youth in California and Idaho. In 1917 the Romney's moved to Rexburg, Idaho
where George S. Romney
took the position of principal of Ricks Academy
. Romney completed his high school study at Ricks as valedictorian of his class in 1918.
From 1920 to 1923 Romney was an LDS Church missionary
in Australia
. After his return from his mission, he worked in construction in Salt Lake City for his uncle Gaskel Romney (the father of George W. Romney
).
(BYU) for a year. While there he renewed his acquaintance with Ida Jensen, a former teacher at Ricks who was working on a master's degree at
BYU.
Marion Romney and Ida Jensen were married on September 12, 1924 in the Salt Lake Temple
. The marriage was performed by Joseph Fielding Smith
.
After Romney began studying at the University of Utah
. He received a bachelor's degree in political science and history in 1926. Romney then studied law at the University of Utah, but did not complete course work there. He passed the Utah bar exam in 1929.
Romney and his wife Ida had three children, only one of whom, George J. Romney, lived past the age of one year. George J. did live to adulthood, served a mission, and in April 1983 read Marion Romney's general conference talk for him. The Romneys also had an adopted child, Richard Jensen Romney.
, Romney was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Salt Lake City. He had previously worked for the post office.
He also was elected to the Utah state legislature in 1934 as a Democrat
. While running for the state legislature he accepted a call as a bishop from his stake president, Bryant S. Hinckley
. Due to his election to the state legislature his ordination as a bishop was delayed until after the end of the legislature's term, in April 1935. While in the legislature Romney had been a key figure in writing Utah's Liquor Control Law. After the end of that session of the legislature Romney resigned from the legislature.
In 1936 Utah Governor Henry H. Blood
appointed Romney to fill the vacancy in the legislature he had caused by resigning.
of the LDS Church began when he became one of five persons called to fill the new position of an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
in 1941 (the position was abolished in 1976). In 1951, he was advanced to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1960 Romney was among those who developed the Home Teaching
program.
In 1961 Romney was appointed the area supervisor for the church over Mexico. Although he had lived his first fifteen years in Mexico, it was in the mainly American Mormon Colonies, so he knew very little Spanish
. Romney did try to learn more Spanish, an endeavor in which he was assisted by Eduardo Balderas
. Romney supervised the church's growth in Mexico for the next eleven years. He oversaw a plan that allowed for the church to build many chapels in Mexico and it was during this time that the first stakes in Mexico made up primarily of Spanish speakers were organized.
Romney became Second Counselor in the First Presidency
when Harold B. Lee
, with whom he had worked on the Church Welfare program, became Church President in 1972.
Lee's death the following year brought Spencer W. Kimball
to the church presidency, who retained Romney and First Counselor Nathan Eldon Tanner
in their positions. As Kimball, Tanner, and Romney all became octogenarians and developed health problems, it was decided to add Gordon B. Hinckley
as an additional counselor in 1981. Upon Tanner's death in 1982 Romney was named First Counselor and Hinckley Second Counselor, but Romney was fairly inactive in this position. When Kimball died in 1985 press reports indicated Romney had not been seen in public for many months.
Ezra Taft Benson
, who had been President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
, became the next church President and named Hinckley his First Counselor. Romney, as the next longest serving Apostle after Benson, succeeded as of right to the position of President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, "because President Romney’s health [kept] him from taking an active part in Church administration," Howard W. Hunter
, who ranked next in seniority, was made Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, Apr. 1986). Romney was never formally set apart
to his new position.
Romney died at his home in Salt Lake City from causes incident to age. He was 90 and had been an LDS Church general authority
for 47 years. Funeral services were held on May 23, 1988 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle
under the direction of Ezra Taft Benson
. Romney was buried at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake City, Utah
, beside his wife who preceded him in death in 1979.
On Romney's death, the Deseret News Church Almanac remembered him as a "renowned Church Welfare pioneer and Book of Mormon scholar".
First 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...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life
Romney was born in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoMexico
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...
, to parents who had come from the United States. His grandparents on both sides had left the U.S. to avoid prosecution under laws prohibiting the Mormon practice of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
. Romney was the son of George S. Romney
George S. Romney
George Samuel Romney was the president of Bannock Stake Academy, now Brigham Young University–Idaho, at the end of the First World War. He was a key figure in helping it to survive the postwar depression. Before its latest rename it was known as Ricks College.Romney was a member of The Church of...
and a cousin of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
governor George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
, who was born in nearby Colonia Dublan and is the father of 2008 Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
. His mother was Teressa Artemesia Redd daughter of Lemuel Hardison Redd and Sariah Louisa Chamberlain. His parents were married in Colonia Juarez in 1894. Marion Romney was the oldest of their ten children. Romney's younger sister, Lurlene Romney Cheney, was baptized in the Roman Catholic church and later became Sister Mary Catherine of the Carmelite order, a cloistered nun, at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Holladay, Utah
Holladay, Utah
Holladay is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 26,472 at the 2010 census, a significant increase from 14,561 in 2000. The city was incorporated on November 29, 1999 as Holladay-Cottonwood, and the...
. (Salt Lake Tribune, 9-19-09, p. C2)
Romney studied at Juarez Academy until his family left Mexico in 1912, as violence from the ongoing Mexican revolution spread to their region. He spent the remainder of his youth in California and Idaho. In 1917 the Romney's moved to Rexburg, Idaho
Rexburg, Idaho
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 17,257 people, 4,274 households, and 2,393 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,534.4 people per square mile . There were 4,533 housing units at an average density of 928.4 per square mile...
where George S. Romney
George S. Romney
George Samuel Romney was the president of Bannock Stake Academy, now Brigham Young University–Idaho, at the end of the First World War. He was a key figure in helping it to survive the postwar depression. Before its latest rename it was known as Ricks College.Romney was a member of The Church of...
took the position of principal of Ricks Academy
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Brigham Young University–Idaho is a private university located in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the university is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and transitioned from a junior college to a four-year institution in 2001, known for the greater part of its...
. Romney completed his high school study at Ricks as valedictorian of his class in 1918.
From 1920 to 1923 Romney was an LDS Church missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. After his return from his mission, he worked in construction in Salt Lake City for his uncle Gaskel Romney (the father of George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
).
Education and family
Romney studied at Brigham Young UniversityBrigham 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...
(BYU) for a year. While there he renewed his acquaintance with Ida Jensen, a former teacher at Ricks who was working on a master's degree at
BYU.
Marion Romney and Ida Jensen were married on September 12, 1924 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,...
. The marriage was performed by Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church...
.
After Romney began studying at 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...
. He received a bachelor's degree in political science and history in 1926. Romney then studied law at the University of Utah, but did not complete course work there. He passed the Utah bar exam in 1929.
Romney and his wife Ida had three children, only one of whom, George J. Romney, lived past the age of one year. George J. did live to adulthood, served a mission, and in April 1983 read Marion Romney's general conference talk for him. The Romneys also had an adopted child, Richard Jensen Romney.
Church service and politics
Before his call to be a general authorityGeneral 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...
, Romney was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Salt Lake City. He had previously worked for the post office.
He also was elected to the Utah state legislature in 1934 as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. While running for the state legislature he accepted a call as a bishop from his stake president, Bryant S. Hinckley
Bryant S. Hinckley
Bryant Stringham Hinckley was an American author, religious speaker, civic leader and educator. He served as a prominent mid-level leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th century. His books were primarily designed for a Latter-day Saint audience.Hinckley was...
. Due to his election to the state legislature his ordination as a bishop was delayed until after the end of the legislature's term, in April 1935. While in the legislature Romney had been a key figure in writing Utah's Liquor Control Law. After the end of that session of the legislature Romney resigned from the legislature.
In 1936 Utah Governor Henry H. Blood
Henry H. Blood
Henry Hooper Blood was a prominent businessman and the seventh Governor of the state of Utah.-Biography:Henry was born to William Hooper Blood, a farmer and city councilman, and Jane Wilkie Hooper. He went to local schools and attended Brigham Young Academy at Provo City, Utah, which later turned...
appointed Romney to fill the vacancy in the legislature he had caused by resigning.
General authority
Romney's 47 years as a general authorityGeneral 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 LDS Church began when he became one of five persons called to fill the new position of an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976...
in 1941 (the position was abolished in 1976). In 1951, he was advanced to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1960 Romney was among those who developed the Home Teaching
Home teaching
Home teaching is a responsibility of priesthood holders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Home teaching is a church program designed to allow families to be taught in their own homes, in addition to weekly church services...
program.
In 1961 Romney was appointed the area supervisor for the church over Mexico. Although he had lived his first fifteen years in Mexico, it was in the mainly American Mormon Colonies, so he knew very little Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Romney did try to learn more Spanish, an endeavor in which he was assisted by Eduardo Balderas
Eduardo Balderas
Eduardo Balderas was the leading translator of Latter-day Saint scripture and other materials into Spanish. He served as the chief Spanish translator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost 50 years...
. Romney supervised the church's growth in Mexico for the next eleven years. He oversaw a plan that allowed for the church to build many chapels in Mexico and it was during this time that the first stakes in Mexico made up primarily of Spanish speakers were organized.
Romney became Second Counselor in the First Presidency
First 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...
when 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 :...
, with whom he had worked on the Church Welfare program, became Church President in 1972.
Lee's death the following year brought Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...
to the church presidency, who retained Romney and First Counselor Nathan Eldon Tanner
Nathan Eldon Tanner
Nathan Eldon Tanner was a teacher, business leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and a municipal and provincial politician from the Canadian province of Alberta...
in their positions. As Kimball, Tanner, and Romney all became octogenarians and developed health problems, it was decided to add Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
as an additional counselor in 1981. Upon Tanner's death in 1982 Romney was named First Counselor and Hinckley Second Counselor, but Romney was fairly inactive in this position. When Kimball died in 1985 press reports indicated Romney had not been seen in public for many months.
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson was the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death and was United States Secretary of Agriculture for both terms of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.-Biography:Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of...
, who had been President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In general, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is the most senior Apostle in the church, aside from the President of the Church...
, became the next church President and named Hinckley his First Counselor. Romney, as the next longest serving Apostle after Benson, succeeded as of right to the position of President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, "because President Romney’s health [kept] him from taking an active part in Church administration," Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter
Howard William Hunter was the fourteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995. His nine month presidential tenure is the shortest in the history of the Church...
, who ranked next in seniority, was made Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
(Ensign, Apr. 1986). Romney was never formally set apart
Setting apart
Setting apart is an ordinance or ritual in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whereby a person is formally chosen and blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church....
to his new position.
Romney died at his home in Salt Lake City from causes incident to age. He was 90 and had been an LDS Church general authority
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...
for 47 years. Funeral services were held on May 23, 1988 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle
Salt Lake Tabernacle
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple.-History:...
under the direction of Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson was the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death and was United States Secretary of Agriculture for both terms of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.-Biography:Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of...
. Romney was buried at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, beside his wife who preceded him in death in 1979.
On Romney's death, the Deseret News Church Almanac remembered him as a "renowned Church Welfare pioneer and Book of Mormon scholar".
Sources
- Howard, F. Burton, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988.