John K. Carmack

For other persons of the same name, see John Carmack.

John Kay Carmack (born May 10, 1931) was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1984 and 2001. He was the nineteenth official Church Historian and Recorder from 1989 to 2001 and is currently an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and the managing director of the church's Perpetual Education Fund.

Carmack was born in Winslow, Arizona. After attending Brigham Young University for two years, Carmack served as an LDS Church missionary in the Western Central States Mission of the church. Upon returning home, he completed his arts degree at BYU and went on to obtain a law degree at the University of California at Los Angeles. Carmack joined a law firm in Los Angeles, eventually becoming the firm's president. Carmack also served briefly in the United States military in Korea.^[1]

In the church, Carmack served in a variety of callings, including president of the Los Angeles California Stake of the church and later as a Regional Representative of the Twelve Apostles. In 1981, Carmack was appointed to preside over the Idaho Boise Mission of the church.

In 1984, Carmack became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1989, he succeeded Dean L. Larson as Church Historian and Recorder. As a general authority, Carmack performed the groundbreaking for four LDS Church temples: the Hong Kong China Temple, the Louisville Kentucky Temple, the Nashville Tennessee Temple, and The Hague Netherlands Temple.

In 2001, Carmack was given emeritus status and released from his duties as a Seventy as the Church Historian. Marlin K. Jensen succeeded Carmack as Church Historian. Upon Carmack's release, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley immediately asked Carmack to become the managing director of the church's new Perpetual Education Fund.

Carmack is married to Shirley Fay Allen and they are the parents of five children.

[edit] Publications

John K. Carmack (2004). A Bright Ray of Hope: The Perpetual Education Fund (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 159038234X
—— (1993). Tolerance: Principles, Practices, Obstacles, Limits (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) ISBN 0884948900
——, "Unmeasured Factors of Success" in Galen L. Fletcher & Jane H. Wise (eds.) (2002). Life in the Law: Answering God's Interrogatories (Provo, Utah: BYU Press) ISBN 0842525122

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Official church historians of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Whitmer (1831–1835) • Cowdery (1835–1837) • Corrill (1838) • Higbee (1838–1840) • Thompson (1840–1841) • Sloan (1841–1842) • W. Richards (1842–1854) • G.A. Smith (1854–1871) • Carrington (1871–1874) • Pratt (1874–1881) • Woodruff (1881–1889) • F.D. Richards (1889–1899) • Lund (1900–1921) • J.F. Smith (1921–1970) • Hunter (1970–1972) • Arrington (1972–1982) • Durham (1982–1985) • Larsen (1985–1989) • Carmack (1989–2001) • Jensen (2001– )