David Bruce Haight (September 2, 1906 – July 31, 2004) was an American religious leader and an elected official. Haight was the second oldest 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 ...

in the history 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). He also served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

from 1959 to 1963.

Early life and education

Haight was born in

Oakley, Idaho Oakley is a city in Cassia County, Idaho, United States. The population was 763 at the 2010 census, up from 668 in 2000.

, on September 2, 1906, the son of Hector Caleb Haight and Clara Josephine Tuttle. Hector was the son of Horton D. Haight, who had been involved in many trips in the Mormon trek and served as the first

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 ...

of the LDS Church stake that included Oakley. David's maternal grandfather, Norton Ray Tuttle, was the first

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 c ...

Tooele, Utah Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Arm ...

. Haight received a degree from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

where he was initiated into the Gamma Epsilon chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and he served as a commander in the Navy during World War II.

Career

Haight was an executive in the retail business. Haight served as mayor of Palo Alto, California from 1959 to 1963, and was the owner of the Palo Alto Hardware store.

LDS Church service

When he was called as

of the LDS Church's

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

he resigned as mayor of Palo Alto, over the objections of the city council. In addition to his service as mission president, he served in the church as

of the Palo Alto Stake and a regional representative. He was called as a general authority, as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in April 1970. He also served as a special assistant to the president of

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-d ...

. The vacancy in the church's Quorum of the Twelve, from the death of Hugh B. Brown in December 1975, was filled by Haight. He was ordained an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

on January 8, 1976. Haight died the morning of July 31, 2004, of causes incident to age, having attended the funeral of his Quorum of the Twelve colleague, Neal A. Maxwell, four days earlier.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf (born 6 November 1940) is a German aviator, airline executive and religious leader. He is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

and David A. Bednar were called to fill the vacancies created by the deaths of Maxwell and Haight. Haight's funeral service was held in the

Salt Lake Tabernacle The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

and he was interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Holladay, Utah Holladay is a city in central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area and abuts the Wasatch National Forest. The population was 31,965 at the 2020 census, a significant increas ...

. At 97 years old, he was the oldest apostle in church history until surpassed by Russell M. Nelson.

Personal life

Haight was married to Ruby M. Olson (1910–2004). He was the father-in-law of businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., through Haight's daughter, Karen, and grandfather of the former

governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Russia, Jon Huntsman Jr. Image:DBHgrave.jpg,

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder David B. Haight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haight, David B. 1906 births 2004 deaths American Mormon missionaries in Scotland American general authorities (LDS Church) Apostles (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Brigham Young University staff Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Idaho Mayors of Palo Alto, California Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Oakley, Idaho Regional representatives of the Twelve Religious leaders from Idaho Utah State University alumni