Richard G. Scott’s official Church portrait. Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was left with only nine apostles when Elder Richard G. Scott passed away at about 1:45 pm on Tuesday, September 22. He was 86 years old, and he had served as an apostle of the LDS church for 27 years.
Richard Gordon Scott was born in Pocatello, Idaho to Kenneth Leroy and Mary Eliza Whittle Scott on November 7, 1928. He was the second in a family of five boys. Growing up, he was a gifted swimmer and musician. He pursued a degree in mechanical engineering at George Washington University.
Elder Scott served a mission in Argentina, and later became a member of the First Quorum and Presidency of the Seventy, then was called as an apostle in 1988. Scott loved missionary and temple work in the church, and was even able to watch his own father become a member of the church. He was adept with technology, and because of this, he was able to help the LDS church move forward in family history work. He loved the outdoors, music, and watercolor painting.
Most of all, Scott loved his wife Jeanene, who passed away in 1995, and his seven children, two of which have also passed away. “[Scott] was very soft spoken and family oriented,” says Jon Larson, bishop of the first ward of the Ephraim Young Single Adults First Stake. “Family meant the world to him.”
This October, the LDS church will be calling three new apostles to replace the ones who have passed away since the last conference in April. “[Conference] is going to be weird because Scott always provided strong words of comfort and always had a smile on his face. Without him, or Packer or Perry (the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who have passed since April), it’s going to be different,” says John Thompson, who returned from his LDS mission in December. “However, I would like to thank the Scott family for the time they were willing to share Elder Scott with us.”
Emily Suckow
Emily Suckow is a twenty year-old sophomore at Snow College. She grew up in South Jordan and graduated from Bingham High School in 2014. Being well-to do in the oboe, flute, and English horn, she was drawn to Snow for their four-year music major program, but has since switched her major and is pursuing a degree in Public Relations at this time. Emily spent her sophomore year at Snow College as Webmaster and Vice President of the Snowdrift, Snow College's student newspaper. When she was 13, Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, but is currently cancer-free and loving life.