James Ostermann Mason (June 19, 1930 – October 9, 2019) was an American medical doctor and public health administrator. He was the

United States Assistant Secretary for Health The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a Officer of the United States, senior U.S. government official within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position is a statutory office () and the holder of the offic ...

(ASH) from 1989 to 1993 and the Acting Surgeon General of the United States from 1989 to 1990. As the ASH he was also a former four-star admiral in the

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, is the federal uniformed service of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and one of the ...

. He was also a director of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

and 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).

Early life and education

Born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, Mason earned

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

degrees from 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 ...

. Mason received an MPH from Harvard in 1963. He also earned a DrPH in public health from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He completed this later degree at Harvard in 1967. Mason did residencies at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Medical career

Mason was the first managing director of the LDS Church's Unified Welfare Services, directing the church's hospital system beginning in 1970 when the church moved general authorities to a position of developing policy and handing over the managing of professional departments to hired professionals. In this position he gave a talk in LDS general conference announcing the health missionary plan in 1971. He continued as head of the church's hospitals until 1975 when the church spun them off as

Intermountain Healthcare Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit healthcare system and is the largest healthcare provider in the Intermountain West of the United States. Intermountain Healthcare provides ambulatory and acute health services, along with other medica ...

to allow it to focus health resources more to assist members around the world. From 1978 to 1979, Mason served as chair of the division of community medicine in the University of Utah's college of medicine. Mason served as the executive director of the Utah Department of Health from 1979 until 1983, when he was named director of the

(CDC) in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia; Mason held the directorship of the CDC until 1989. In 1993, he was presented with the

Gorgas Medal The Gorgas Medal was originally established as an annual award in 1915 by the Medical Reserve Corps Association of New York in honor of Surgeon General William C. Gorgas, U.S. Army. The award was based on a writing competition open to members of ...

from the

Association of Military Surgeons of the United States Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(AMSUS). In 1989, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed Mason as Assistant Secretary for Health, which made him head of the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

, and Acting Surgeon General. He later served as the American delegate to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

LDS Church service

In 1994, Mason was appointed as a general authority by the LDS Church, serving in 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 ...

until 2000. From 2000 to 2003, Mason was

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

Bountiful Utah Temple The Bountiful Utah Temple is the 47th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Bountiful Temple is the eighth temple constructed in the state of Utah. History The history of the temple site began back in 1897, w ...

. As a young man, Mason served an LDS Church mission to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Before his appointment as a general authority, Mason served in the 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 regional representative. In 1974, while serving as Church Commissioner for Health Services, Mason wrote a pamphlet for the church titled, "Attitudes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Toward Certain Medical Problems", which expresses the church's views on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, birth control, and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

Family life

Mason married Marie Smith in 1952 in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

and they were the parents of seven children. Mason died on October 9, 2019.

Notes

References

"Elder James O. Mason 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 ...

'', May 1994

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, James O. American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Denmark Physicians from Utah Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Harvard School of Public Health alumni 2019 deaths Politicians from Salt Lake City Surgeons General of the United States University of Utah School of Medicine alumni LGBT and Mormonism Regional representatives of the Twelve State cabinet secretaries of Utah 20th-century Mormon missionaries 1930 births United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps admirals Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Reagan administration personnel George H. W. Bush administration personnel Recipients of the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal Members of the National Academy of Medicine