William Rawsel Bradford (October 25, 1933 - January 24, 2019) was an American
general authority of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1975 until his death.
Bradford was born in
Springville, Utah, to Rawsel W. Bradford and Mary Waddoups. During the 1940s Bradford went to Hawaii as his parents served as
missionaries
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 ...
in the
Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center. He graduated from Springville High School and then began studies at
Brigham Young University. From 1953 to 1955, Bradford was a missionary for the LDS Church in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He then married Mary Ann Bird, a native of
Mapleton, Utah
Mapleton is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,365 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled in 1850, and for a time was known as Un ...
, in the
Salt Lake Temple.
Bradford then served in the United States military. After this he moved to
McAllen, Texas, and began a fruit-growing operation called International Fruit Growers and Shippers, Inc. The company's operations extended into Mexico and Central America. Bradford was heavily involved in LDS Church outreach to Mexican Americans in the McAllen area. In the McAllen area, he served as
branch president, a counselor in the district presidency, and as district mission president.
Bradford later served as a
mission president in
Santiago, Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
. Craig C. Christensen, who would also later become a general authority, was among the missionaries who served under his direction. In 1975, he became a general authority as a member of the
First Quorum of the Seventy
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
. He was a member of this quorum until 2003, when he was designated as an
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
general authority.
Bradford and his wife are the parents of six children. Their daughter Marcia married Brent H. Nielson, who later became a general authority.
Faith and focus forged testimony, character
''Archives'', ''The Church News
The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid-sized Supplement (publishing), supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesu ...
'', 2 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2020. From 2006 to 2009, Bradford served as president of the Houston Texas Temple.
Bradford died on January 24, 2019.
References
"Elder William R. Bradford of the First Quorum of the Seventy"
'' Ensign'', November 1975
"New temple presidents"
'' Church News'' July 1, 2006
External links
Grandpa Bill's GA Pages: William R. Bradford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, William R.
1933 births
2019 deaths
American general authorities (LDS Church)
People from Springville, Utah
Brigham Young University alumni
Mission presidents (LDS Church)
Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church)
Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church)
American Mormon missionaries in Japan
American Mormon missionaries in Chile
20th-century Mormon missionaries
People from McAllen, Texas
Latter Day Saints from Texas
Latter Day Saints from Hawaii
Latter Day Saints from Utah