John Richard Clarke (April 4, 1927 – June 29, 2022) 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 1976 until his death. He has been a member of the church's presiding bishopric and 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 ...

. Clarke was born in

Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statist ...

, to John R. and Nora Redford Clarke. Clarke graduated from

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 ...

(BYU) in 1952. He worked in the insurance industry in his professional career.

LDS Church service

As a young man he served as an LDS Church

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Prior to his call as a general authority, he served 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 regional representative in Idaho. He also returned to South Africa as the

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 church's South Africa Cape Town

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 ...

. In 1976, Clarke became the second counselor to presiding bishop

Victor L. Brown Victor Lee Brown (31 July 1914 – 26 March 1996) was the tenth Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1972 to 1985. He was an LDS Church general authority from 1961 until his death. Brown was born ...

. He served in this capacity until Brown was released in 1985. Clarke was retained as a general authority and became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy in 1988. He served in that capacity until 1997 when he was released and given general authority emeritus status. In 2012 Clarke addressed the BYU student body at the weekly devotional. From 1998 to 2001, Clarke was

of the LDS Church's

Laie Hawaii Temple Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill, half a mile from the Pacific Ocean, in the town of ...

. Satterfield, Rick
"Presidents of the Laie Hawaii Temple"
''Church of Jesus Christ Temples''. Retrieved on 22 February 2020.

Personal life

Clarke married Barbara Jean Reed and are the parents of eight children.

References

External links

Elder J. Richard Clarke of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, J. Richard 1927 births 2022 deaths American Mormon missionaries in South Africa Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) Regional representatives of the Twelve 20th-century Mormon missionaries People from Rexburg, Idaho Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) American general authorities (LDS Church) Religious leaders from Idaho Latter Day Saints from Idaho