Kent Farnsworth Richards (born February 25, 1946) has been 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) since 2009. Richards received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

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 ...

in 1969, and a

doctor of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, 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 profes ...

degree from the same school in 1972. He began work as a surgeon for Intermountain Health Care's (IHC) Bryner Clinic in 1977 and later served for four years as a Senior Vice President of IHC. Richards was also a clinical professor of surgery at the

, chairman of the department of surgery at LDS Hospital, and a member of the board and executive committee of the IHC board of trustees.

LDS Church service

Richards has served in the LDS Church as a full-time

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, 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.Tho ...

in the Southern Mexican Mission, elders

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

president,

scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

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 ca ...

high councilor 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 ...

, and stake president. In 1998, he suspended his medical practice and he and his wife moved their family to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas, to accept a three-year assignment 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 ful ...

of the San Antonio Mission. In 2009, he retired from his medical practice when he 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 ...

. His assignments as a general authority included serving in the presidencies of the church's South America South, Chile and Europe

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 open su ...

. He served as an assistant executive director of the church's Temple Department before being appointed in 2014 to succeed

William R. Walker William Russell Walker (born 25 May 1944) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2002. Walker was born to J. Harris and Beth Russell Walker in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and raised in ...

as the department's executive director. While serving as Executive Director he was involved numerous temple dedications including the Phoenix Arizona Temple. He served in this assignment until August 2016, when he was succeeded by Larry Y. Wilson. In October 2016, he was released from active service and designated an emeritus general authority.

Personal life

Richards married Marsha Gurr in 1968 and they are the parents of eight children.Jamshid Askar
"Clear priorities set the stage for spiritual growth"
'' Church News'', 2009-07-04. He is a descendant of early LDS Church leaders Willard Richards,

George F. Richards George Franklin Richards (February 23, 1861 – August 8, 1950) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from April 9, 1906, until his death. He also served as Acting ...

and Franklin D. Richards.

Books

*''A Family of Faith: An Intimate View of Church History From Three Generations of Apostles'', Deseret Book Company, (1609073940), 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Kent F. 1946 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries Living people Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Mexico Religious leaders from Salt Lake City American Mormon missionaries in the United States American surgeons Richards–Young family American general authorities (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah

LDS Church service

Personal life

Books

See also

References