After 50 Years of Service, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Church of The Latter-day Saints Dies At 86

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More Good Foundation is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Elder Richard G. Scott spent his life in the Lord’s cause and was happy to do it.

On Tuesday, September 22, Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Latter-day Saints Church died at the age of 86 due to causes associated with old age. Elder Scott served as an apostle of the church since 1988.

Richard Gordon Scott was born on November 7, 1928. He finished a Mechanical Engineering degree at George Washington University. His early career was associated with the nuclear power industry. From 1953 to 1965 he was part of the engineering team responsible with the development of nuclear power plants for both land and the Navy’s usage. During those times he also has consultancy agreements with various nuclear power companies. In 2008, he received an honorary Christian Service degree from the Brigham Young University.

On July 16, 1953, Scott married Jeanene Watkins, the daughter of former U.S. Senator Arthur V. Watkins. The couple was blessed with seven children although two of them died during childhood. His wife Jeanene contracted cancer later in life and eventually died in 1995.

Scott’s full time service to the church started in 1965 when he was sent as a missionary to Uruguay. He served as the head of the Argentina North Mission in Cordoba, Argentina for four years. In 1977, Scott became part of the First Quorum of the Seventy and in 1983 and became its president. On October 1, 1988, he eventually became part of the church’s higher management group; the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Aside from taking part in the church’s global administration, the apostles or elders also serve as special witnesses of Jesus Christ.

Elder Richard G. Scott spent his life in the Lord’s cause and was happy to do it.[/tweetthis]

Elder D. Todd Christofferson is one of the Quorum members who are impressed with Scott’s previous works and accomplishments. According to him “Elder Scott was able, very successful, to keep his eye on eternity. His messages were filled with hope. And he was unapologetic about repentance and the Atonement because he knew that that’s where hope came from or what one could hope for as a consequence of true, full repentance and the effect of the Atonement, the grace of Jesus Christ, in one’s life.”

Christofferson also said that Scott’s influence is very much evident in places where he worked before particularly in Latin America. The elder who once became a missionary under Scott said that in every Latin American place he had visited, there’s always a person helped, touched or influenced by Scott in one form or another.

Christofferson finally remarked that Scott will be “remembered as a tireless worker, a tireless servant, and a friend of the Lord who wore out his life in the Lord’s cause and was happy to do it.” He continued saying that “I think he’ll always be remembered as someone who conveyed hope.”

The Latter-day Saints church hasn’t announced details of the funeral yet. Additionally, there are no discussions as to his possible replacement in the Quorum.

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