Joseph B. Wirthlin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (born June 11, 1917 in Salt Lake City, Utah) was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 4, 1986, and ordained an apostle on October 9, 1986, following the death of church President Spencer W. Kimball.

He is a half first cousin of Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, as their mothers were daughters of Breneman Barr Bitner by different wives. They grew up in the same congregation. He played football as a running back for the University of Utah. His call to the Quorum of the Twelve came very shortly after his call to serve in the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

As a young man, Elder Wirthlin seved as a missionary to a mission in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at the outbreak of World War II. Before his call as a General Authority, he was a prominent business leader in Salt Lake City. He was also president of a trade association in Utah.

Elder Wirthlin serves as a member of the Church Board of Education that governs the Church Educational System. He married Elisa Young Rogers on May 26, 1941, in the Salt Lake Temple. She died in August 2006 of causes incident to age.