Marvin Jeremy Ashton (May 6, 1915 – February 25, 1994) 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 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 ...

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) from 1971 until his death in 1994. Ashton was born to Marvin O. Ashton and Rachel Grace Jeremy in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

."Death: Marvin J. Ashton"
'' Deseret News'', 27 February 1994. Retrieved on 17 March 2020. His father was a local LDS leader and later became a church general authority. Ashton worked in the lumber business as a youth. He graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. He worked as managing director of

LDS Social Services Family Services (formerly LDS Family Services) is a private nonprofit corporation owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It offers members of the church and others marital and family counseling, addiction and drug ...

. Ashton served as a member of the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...

from 1957 to 1961 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He was also president of

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

and involved in other business ventures including a lumber company.

LDS Church service

Ashton served a

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 ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

from 1937 to 1939 during which time he edited the '' Millennial Star''. His

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...

was Hugh B. Brown. From 1958 to 1969, Ashton was an assistant to the general superintendent of the church's

Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association The Young Men (often referred to as Young Men's) is a youth organization and official program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their growt ...

. He served as an assistant to superintendents Joseph T. Bentley and G. Carlos Smith. He was named managing director of the then-newly formed Church Social Services Department in September 1969.Avant, Gerry
"How Elder Marvin J. Ashton faced his ‘battle with time’"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'', 23 August 2019. Retrieved on 17 March 2020. A month later he was named an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ashton 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 December 2, 1971, after the death of Richard L. Evans. Among his assignments, he was president of the

Polynesian Cultural Center The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), wa ...

and a member of the board of trustees of

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a private university in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU-Hawaii was founded in 1955, and became a satellite campus of ...

. Ashton died on February 25, 1994, and at the time of his death was serving as chairman of the church's Leadership Training Committee and was also a member of both the Correlation Executive and the General Welfare Services committees."Marvin J. Ashton"
''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', 27 February 1994. Retrieved on 17 March 2020. The vacancy created in the Quorum of the Twelve was filled by Robert D. Hales.Flake, Lawrence R
"Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation"
''BYU Religious Studies Center'', Retrieved on 14 March 2020.

Personal life

Ashton married Norma Berntson in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

on August 22, 1940, and they were the parents of four children. They won the mixed doubles championship in the all-church tennis tournament in 1954. Ashton was involved with the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

most of his life and earned

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

as an adult in 1963. As an adult he was a recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

, the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

, and the

Silver Antelope Award The Silver Antelope Award is a distinguished service award presented by the Boy Scouts of America for outstanding service to young people. From 1942 to 2021 it recognized service within one of the geographical regions of the BSA. Beginning in 2022 ...

. Image:MJAgrave.jpg, Marvin J. Ashton's grave marker

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Marvin J. Ashton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Marvin J. 1915 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Mormon missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in England Apostles (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Counselors in the General Presidency of the Young Men (organization) People from Salt Lake City Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni Republican Party Utah state senators 20th-century American male writers Latter Day Saints from Utah American male non-fiction writers Editors of Latter Day Saint publications

LDS Church service

Personal life

Bibliography

See also

References

External links