Rulon Seymour Wells (July 7, 1854 – May 7, 1941) was a

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 ...

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

(LDS Church) from 1893 until his death.

Biography

Wells was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

, to LDS Church leader Daniel H. Wells (1814–1891) and Louisa Free (1824–1886). In 1875, Wells travelled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

and worked primarily in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He returned to the United States in 1877. On January 18, 1883 he married Josephine Eliza Beatie (1857–1923). In April 1893, Wells was chosen as a member of the seven-man

First Council 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 1896, he succeeded

Anthon H. Lund Anthon Henrik Lund (15 May 1844 – 2 March 1921) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a prominent Utah leader. Early life Lund was born i ...

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 ful ...

of the European

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 ...

of the church, headquartered in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In December 1898, Wells returned to Utah. In the United States election in 1900, Wells was elected to the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district conta ...

. He served as a member of the house for its 4th session, which lasted from January to March 1901. He did not stand for re-election in 1902. Following the death of

J. Golden Kimball Jonathan Golden Kimball (June 9, 1853 – September 2, 1938) was a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), serving as a member of the Seventy (LDS Church), First Council of the Seventy from 1892 until his death in ...

in 1938, Wells became the senior president of the Seventy, a position he held until his own death in 1941. Wells died in Salt Lake City from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

;State of Utah Death Certificate
/ref> he had been a general authority of the church for almost 50 years.

Notes

References

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

. ''

Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical dic ...

'' 1:212; 4:249

External links

Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Rulon S. Wells
* 1854 births 1941 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Germany American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom American general authorities (LDS Church) Deaths from cancer in Utah Deaths from colorectal cancer Latter Day Saints from Utah Linguistic Society of America presidents Members of the Utah House of Representatives Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Europe People of Utah Territory Politicians from Salt Lake City Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) {{Utah-politician-stub