Alvin R. Dyer
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Alvin Rulon Dyer (January 1, 1903 – March 6, 1977) was an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and served as a member of the church's First Presidency from 1968 to 1970. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dyer was ordained as apostle on October 5, 1967, (but was not added as a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 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 ...
) and subsequently was
set apart Setting apart is a ritual or priesthood action in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where a person is formally blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church. Once a person has accepted the responsibility ...
as a counselor in the First Presidency to church president
David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...
. After McKay's death in 1970, Dyer was returned to a position as an Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, and later to 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 ...
when it was reconstituted in 1976. Dyer is the only person in the LDS Church's history to serve in the First Quorum of
Seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...
after having been ordained to the office of Apostle.


Life

Raised in Utah, Dyer was an accomplished baseball player as a youth, but put baseball aside to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Eastern States Mission from 1922 to 1924. In 1926, he married May Elizabeth Jackson in the Salt Lake Temple. After his mission, Dyer had the opportunity to play professional baseball, but declined the offer because he would have to play on Sundays. Instead, he studied mechanical drafting and technical engineering in order to become a sheet metal journeyman. He later managed the
heating and air conditioning Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
department of Utah Builders Supply. Eventually, he formed the Dyer Distributing Company which he owned until 1954, when he dissolved all his business interests upon being called to full-time service as a mission president for the church. In addition to his service as a general authority, Dyer served in many capacities within the church, including bishop and
stake 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 ha ...
. He served as president of the church's Central States Mission beginning in 1954, and of the European Mission from 1960 to 1962. While leading the European Mission, Dyer was an enthusiastic supporter of
Henry D. Moyle Henry Dinwoodey Moyle (April 22, 1889 – September 18, 1963) 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). Early life Moyle was born in Salt L ...
's Baseball Baptism Program that accelerated the rate of baptisms among young people. He told the missionaries, "you can teach ... everything that a person needs to know to be baptized in this Church in less than three minutes. Aside from his business and church activities, Dyer was active in both the Missouri Historical Society and the Jackson County Historical Society. He authored a book on LDS Church history in Missouri, ''The Refiner's Fire, Historical Highlights of Missouri'' (Deseret Book, 1960). In 1961, Dyer taught that the reason most negroes were prohibited from being ordained to priesthood offices was because they were descended from
Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
and thus were a "cursed lineage". 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 ...
announced the end of these restrictions in 1978. In August 1967, McKay decided to appoint Dyer as one of his counselors. McKay made the decision without consulting his other counselors,
Hugh B. Brown Hugh Brown Brown (October 24, 1883 – December 2, 1975) was an American attorney, educator, author and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency. ...
and
N. Eldon Tanner Nathan Eldon Tanner (May 9, 1898 – November 27, 1982) was a politician from Alberta, Canada, and a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1952 a ...
. The appointment caused some tension between Brown and Tanner and the newly called Dyer over what Dyer's role would be and whether his calling was as a counselor "to" the First Presidency or "in" the First Presidency. In 1972, Dyer suffered a stroke that limited his activity. He died at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1977.


See also

* Joseph T. Bentley


Notes


External links


Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Alvin R. Dyer
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Alvin R. 1903 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States Apostles (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Counselors in the First Presidency (LDS Church) Counselors in the General Presidency of the Young Men (organization) Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Europe People from Salt Lake City American general authorities (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah