| Hartman Rector, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| First Council of the Seventy | |
| April 6, 1968 – October 1, 1976 | |
| Called by | David O. McKay |
| End reason | Position abolished |
| First Quorum of the Seventy | |
| October 3, 1975 – October 1, 1994 | |
| Called by | Spencer W. Kimball |
| End reason | Granted general authority emeritus status |
| Emeritus General Authority | |
| October 1, 1994 – incumbent | |
| Called by | Howard W. Hunter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 20, 1924 Moberly, Missouri, United States |
Hartman Rector, Jr. (born August 20, 1924) was one of the first converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to become a general authority of the church during the second half of the 20th century. Rector served as a member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1968 to 1976 and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1976 to 1994.
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Rector was born in Moberly, Randolph County, Missouri.[1] Rector was raised in a somewhat religious family, who attended church only in summer. His maternal grandmother was a firm believer that the end of the world was near.[2]
Rector studied at Murray State Teachers College and at the University of Southern California.[3]
Rector joined the United States Navy in 1943. He was released from active duty in 1947 and then married Constance Kirk Daniel. In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Rector returned to being a naval aviator. Rector moved his wife and two young children to San Diego, California and then went off to special training in Hawaii. While he was away, his wife met Mormon missionaries and began taking lessons with them. Rector studied with the missionaries after returning from Hawaii and came to accept the LDS Church. He then was sent on a ship to Japan, on which he was able to study Mormonism with some members of the LDS Church. Upon reaching Japan, Rector met with a counselor in the mission presidency and was able to get permission to be baptized. He was baptized February 24, 1952 in Japan.[2] Rector spent a total of 26 years as a navy pilot.[4]
In 1968, Rector was called as a member of the LDS Church's seven-man First Council of the Seventy.[1] From February to March 1969, Rector served as the interim president of the Italian Mission of the church.[5] Beginning in 1971, Rector was the first president of the Alabama–Florida (later the Florida Tallahassee) Mission of the church.[6] He became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976.[1] In the late 1970s, Rector served as president of the church's San Diego Mission.[7]
In 1994, Rector was made an emeritus general authority of the LDS Church and released from full-time ecclesiastical duties.
In 2009, allegations were made that Rector was an investor in a Ponzi scheme, and that his participation as an investor was used to attract additional Latter-day Saint investors. According to Utah County land records, Rector's home in Provo was previously owned by a company affiliated with Brad Kitchen, and later owned by a company affiliated with Rick Koerber. Kitchen is currently serving a 51-month prison sentence for securities fraud, and similar charges were brought against Koerber in 2009.[8]
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