Junius ElMarion Driggs, (June 28, 1907 – July 8, 1994) was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and co-founder of now-defunct

Western Savings and Loan Western Savings and Loan was an American financial institution founded by the Driggs family. The Driggs family came to Arizona in 1921 after trading everything they owned—a bank, drugstore, hotel, and wheat farm in Driggs, Idaho—for ...

. He was also 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 ful ...

of the

Mesa Arizona Temple The Mesa Arizona Temple (formerly the Arizona Temple; nicknamed the ''Lamanite Temple'') is the seventh operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of s ...

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from 1975 to 1980.

Early life

Junius was born in

Driggs, Idaho Driggs is a city in the western United States in eastern Idaho, and is the county seat of Teton County. Part of the Jackson, WY-ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, it is located in Teton Valley, the headwaters of the Teton River. The populati ...

, in 1907 to Don Carlos Driggs who founded the town, and May Jerusha Robison.

Career

Driggs was President of Western Financial until his retirement in 1976. He was replaced by his nephew John Driggs During his tenure as Chairman, Driggs made a name for himself in the business community of Arizona and was eventually named to the elite group known as the Phoenix 40 along with

Eugene C. Pulliam Eugene Collins Pulliam (May 3, 1889 – June 23, 1975) was an American newspaper publisher and businessman who was the founder and president of Central Newspapers Inc., a media holding company. During his sixty-three years as a newspaper publish ...

Karl Eller Karl Eller (June 20, 1928 – March 10, 2019) was an American businessman and entrepreneur. Early life Eller grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He played football collegiately at the University of Arizona where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delt ...

, and others.

Church service

Temple presidency

Junius was called in 1975 by LDS Church church president

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day S ...

to serve as the 9th

temple president Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual ...

of the

. While president, his primary responsibilities included greeting

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 ...

patrons and interviewing recommended temple workers as well as recommending temple workers. He often attend regional

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conferences and local

sacrament meeting Sacrament meeting is the weekly worship service held on Sunday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sacrament meetings are held in individual wards or branches in the chapel of the meetinghouse. The bishop or branch pr ...

s, where he urged church members to carry out genealogical work and to attend and assist in the performance of temple ordinances. He was assisted by two counselors as well as his wife and the wives of the two counselors, referred to as the

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

and the assistants to the matron respectively. In larger temples, like the Mesa temple, presidents usually serve for three years, but Driggs served for five years until 1980. Driggs had served as a

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 h ...

prior to his calling as temple president in addition to his having been a regional representative of the Twelve.

Books

* ''Looking Over My Life'' (1988) , – official autobiography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driggsm, Junius 20th-century American businesspeople 1907 births 1994 deaths Sons of the American Revolution American chief executives of financial services companies American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Junius ElMarion Latter Day Saints from Idaho People from Driggs, Idaho Regional representatives of the Twelve Religious leaders from Idaho Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church)