David Eugene Sorensen (June 29, 1933 – August 26, 2014) was a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) from 1992 until his death. He served in the First and Second Quorums of the

Seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...

and as a member of the

Presidency of the Seventy A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

. He was the executive director of the church's Temple Department during the temple building boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Sorensen was born in Aurora, Utah. He grew up working on the family ranch. As a young man he served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the Central Atlantic States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

(centered on Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, Washington DC and probably some adjacent parts of Virginia were then in the Eastern States Mission headquartered in New York City) from 1954-1956."Elder David E. Sorensen Of the Seventy,"
''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'', September 1992, p. 78. After his mission, he served for two years in the United States military. He married Verla Anderson in 1958 and they had seven children. He studied at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

, the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

but went to work full time to overcome debt associated with the family ranch before receiving a degree. Sorensen spent his career as a business owner, operating a healthcare services company while living in California.. He previously served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

, and as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Halifax

. He also served as vice chair of the Nevada Community Bank in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sorensen was called as a general authority and member of the

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jes ...

in June 1992. He was transferred to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1995. Sorensen's assignments as a general authority included service as Executive Director of the church's

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Department. He oversaw development of the new standardized temples announced by

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

in October 1997 and the associated construction program that saw the number of temples more than double from 1998 to 2000. Sorensen also served as president of the church's North America West and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

North

areas Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...

as well as serving as a counselor in other area presidencies. From 1998 to 2005, Sorensen was a member of the seven-man

. After being designated as an emeritus general authority in 2005, Sorensen served as

of the church's

San Diego California Temple __NOTOC__ The San Diego California Temple is the 47th constructed and 45th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located near the La Jolla community of San Diego, it was built with two main spires, but unique to this ...

from 2005 to 2008. Sorensen died at his home in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Peggy Fletcher Stack Peggy Fletcher Stack is an American journalist, editor, and author. Stack has been the lead religion writer for '' The Salt Lake Tribune'' since 1991. She and five other journalists at the ''Salt Lake Tribune'' won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Loca ...

"Temple-building Mormon leader dies at 81"
'' The Salt Lake Tribune'', 2014-08-29.

Notes

References

*''2008 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007) p. 89 *''2005 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2004) p. 29

External links

Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: David E. Sorensen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, David E. 1933 births American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in the United States Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Canada People from Sevier County, Utah Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) 20th-century Mormon missionaries 2014 deaths Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni University of Utah alumni Utah State University alumni