Spencer John Palmer (October 4, 1927 – November 27, 2000)[1] was a chronicler of the development of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Asia as well as a major player in these developments. He was a historian of Korea as well, but did not live long enough to ever be able to create a true history of the LDS Church in Korea. He also was a scholar on comparative religion and wrote many books on these and related topics.
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Palmer was born in Eden, Arizona on October 4th, 1927. He was raised in Thatcher, Arizona. He studied at Eastern Arizona College before transferring to Brigham Young University (BYU) where he received his bachelor's degree. Between his studies at these two institutions Palmer served as a missionary for the LDS Church in the California Mission. He then studied at the University of California, Berkeley where he received a master's degree in East Asiatic Studies and a Ph.D. in Oriental History. In 1956 Palmer married Shirley Ann Hadley in the Salt Lake Temple.
Palmer served in the United States military as a chaplain in both Japan and Korea. He was the president of the Korean Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1965-1968. During this time he often traveled and worked closely with Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then the member of the quorum of the twelve responsible to oversee the operation of the Church in Asia. As mission president Palmer also purchased the site where the Church later built the Seoul Temple. Palmer also served as a Regional Representative of the Twelve in Southeast Asia, a bishop and a counselor in a stake presidency in the Church. Palmer latter served as president of the Seoul Korea Temple from 1988 to 1990.
Palmer was for many years a professor at BYU. He also served as director of the world religions division at BYU's Religious Studies Center and director of BYU's Center for International and Area Studies. This was the predecessor to the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies which Palmer also worked as a time as an assistant director of.
In 1991 Palmer donated his collection of over 5,000 books on Asian and religious topics to BYU's Harold B. Lee Library, a collection that included about 1,500 rare books in Korean.[2] In 1993 Palmer worked for six months as a professor teaching comparative religion in China to students from Ethnic Minority Groups in China at the request of the government of China.[3]
The Palmers were the parents of four children; John, Dwight, Jennette, and James. John Leroy Palmer, which was also the name of Palmer's father, died as an infant, but the other three outlived Spencer.