William Russell Walker (born 25 May 1944) 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 2002. Walker was born to J. Harris and Beth Russell Walker in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and raised in

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

. As a young man, he was a

LDS Church 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 ...

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 ...

. After his mission, Walker was educated at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

. Walker worked at executive positions with firms in the securities and investment banking fields in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

; Cottonwood Heights, Utah; Concord, California;

Dunwoody, Georgia Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. As a northern suburb of Atlanta, Dunwoody is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It was incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008 but its area establishment dates back to t ...

; and Kenilworth, Illinois. He worked for

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

, and Barclay's Bank and was a member of the board of directors of the Beneficial Financial Group.

LDS Church service

In the LDS Church, Walker has served twice 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 ca ...

and 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 church's Japan

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

South Mission (1990–93). In April 2002, while serving as

of the Sandy Utah Cottonwood Creek

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

, Walker became a 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 ...

. In April 2008, Walker became 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 ...

. As a general authority, he served as president of the Asia North

Area 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 A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

and served as Executive Director of the church's Temple Department from 2007 to 2014. While serving as Executive Director of the Temple Department, in July 2012, Walker was interviewed by

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

as part of a ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' special series on heaven. Walker also announced the construction of the Payson Utah Temple while Executive Director. Walker was succeeded as Temple Department Executive Director by

Kent F. Richards Kent Farnsworth Richards (born February 25, 1946) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2009. Richards received a Bachelor of Science degree in medicine from the University of Utah in 1 ...

, a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy."First look inside newly renovated Ogden temple"
''

KSL.com Deseret Digital Media, Inc. (DDM) is a subsidiary company of Deseret Management Corporation, an American holding company owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. DDM owns newspapers and websites, as well as radio and television st ...

'', 29 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014. During the October 2014 General Conference, Walker was released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and designated 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.

Personal life

Walker married Vicki Van Wagenen 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, in 1968. They are the parents of five children.

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder William R. Walker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, William R. 1944 births Canadian general authorities (LDS Church) Canadian Mormon missionaries Brigham Young University alumni Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Japan People from Raymond, Alberta People from Cottonwood Heights, Utah 20th-century Mormon missionaries Living people Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian expatriates in Japan

LDS Church service

Personal life

See also

References

External links