Robert Dean Hales (August 24, 1932 – October 1, 2017) was an American businessman and 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from 1994 until his death. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Hales was accepted by the church as a

prophet, seer, and revelator Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

. At the time of his death he was the fifth most senior apostle in the church.

Biography

Hales was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and raised in both

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and

Great Neck Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincor ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was the youngest of three children born to John Rulon Hales, an artist who worked in advertising primarily, and his wife, Vera Marie Holbrook. The Hales family was heavily involved in the LDS Church. The family attended the Queens

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, which met in a rented space. As a youth Hales would help clean it from the party that had occurred the night before. Flake, Lawrence R
"Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation"
''BYU Religious Studies Center'', Retrieved on 14 March 2020. Hales played baseball while he was a student at Great Neck High School and then later at 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 ...

(U of U). He also played in some semi-professional leagues, but hurt his arm from pitching that was too intense while playing in Arizona. Prior to this injury, he had been considered to have a strong chance of playing in the major leagues. After the injury forced him out of baseball, Hales joined the Air Force

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

unit at the U of U. While he was a student at the U of U, Hales worked for

KSL-TV KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of the Church of Jesus Chr ...

and KDYL. After obtaining a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at the U of U, he was a fighter pilot for four years in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Hales later earned an

MBA degree A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

(HBS) in 1960. Hales married Mary Crandall, whom he met in New York the summer before his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

year of college, 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 temple ...

on June 10, 1953."Prophets and Apostles: What Are Prophets?—Robert D. Hales"
churchofjesuschrist.org, retrieved July 26, 2015. During the summer they were married, Hales was working at the United Nations building. Crandall, who was a student 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 ...

, had moved from California to New York shortly before she met Hales. They had two sons. During his professional business career, Hales served in executive positions with four major national companies. His first job out of HBS was with the

Gillette Company Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

. To ensure a broad perspective of the business, Hales convinced management to let him work some on the factory floor and also in stocking razors in drug stores. This gave him a broad perspective that allowed him to quickly rise to senior management. After joining the Gillette Company, he became president of

Papermate Paper Mate is a registered division of Sanford L.P., a Newell Brands company that produces writing instruments. Paper Mate's offices are located in Oak Brook, Illinois, along with those of Newell Rubbermaid's other office products divisions. It ...

, a division of Gillette. He later joined

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Max Factor, Sr., Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billio ...

as a vice president. Hales was appointed executive vice president for marketing of the

Hughes Television Network HTN Communications, better known as Hughes Television Network (HTN) and formerly Sports Network, was an American television network created by Richard Eugene Bailey. The company is now in the business of providing video and audio services to spor ...

and its division, Hughes Sports Network in 1973. Just prior to his call to be a general authority, Hales was president of

Chesebrough-Pond's Pond's is an American brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by Unilever. History Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. M ...

. One of his strengths as a businessman was being able to synthesize both financial data and a strong sense of where the market was going from interacting with it as much as possible. His presentations of new products and marketing approaches were presented in ways that to some seemed like painting ideas. In 1987, Hales was appointed to the

Utah State Board of Regents The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is the public university system of the state of Utah. It includes each of the state's sixteen public institutions of higher education, including its eight technical colleges. History On March 21, 1969, ...

. Hales was close with the musical family,

The 5 Browns The 5 Browns are a classical piano ensemble consisting of five siblings—two brothers and three sisters. Their repertoire ranges from beloved concert hall staples, such as Igor Stravinsky's ''The Rite of Spring'', Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue' ...

, and performed the marriages for the oldest two children. In 2010,

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 ...

published a book written by Hales entitled ''Return''.

LDS Church service

While Hales was a graduate student at HBS he served in the LDS Church as an elders quorum president. He also served as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

teacher while he lived in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...

. Hales served three times in the church 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 ...

(in

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protectio ...

;

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

; and

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

). He served as a

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, the ...

, both in Weston and in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia ...

. The assignment as branch president in Weston was while he was a student at HBS, where one of the counselors in the district presidency was

Henry B. Eyring Henry Bennion Eyring (born May 31, 1933) is an American educational administrator, author, and religious leader. Eyring has been the Second Counselor to Russell M. Nelson in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...

. Hales served in the branch presidency in

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

and in Germany. He also served on the

stake high council In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter Day Saint movement denominations. Most often, the term refers to a stake high council in a local stake, but other h ...

, both while living in London, England and in Massachusetts. He also became a counselor in the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

of the Boston Massachusetts

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 ...

when it was first organized in 1960. He later served as a regional representative, with assignments in both

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

General Authority

In 1975, Hales was called as a general authority and became an

Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976. As the title of t ...

. In 1976, the role of Assistant to the Twelve was discontinued and he, along with others serving at the time, became members 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 the last living person who had served as an Assistant to the Twelve. During his first decade as a general authority, Hales was given assignments related to the physical and financial operations of the LDS Church. He oversaw a reduction in the number of the church's welfare farms and also divestment from the Utah and Idaho Sugar Company. In the late 1970s, while serving as a general authority, Hales also served 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 England London

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 ...

. After his service in London, Hales was appointed the church's Area Supervisor in Europe. In this capacity, he worked with

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

on supervising the church in East Germany and worked towards the building of a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

there. He also served for a time as a counselor in the

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

General Presidency. Hales served in the First Quorum of the Seventy until 1985 when he became the church's eleventh presiding bishop. He served as the presiding bishop until 1994, during which time he emphasized the importance of the principles of the church's welfare program. Hales was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on April 2, 1994. 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 April 7, 1994, filling a vacancy created by the death of

Marvin J. Ashton Marvin Jeremy Ashton (May 6, 1915 – February 25, 1994) was a Utah politician and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1971 until his death in 1994. Ashton was born t ...

. In 2002, Hales served as chair of the church's Olympic Coordinating Council. As a native of New York City, Hales was often the church's "point man" on dealing with issues in the city. He was involved in some of the early planning that led to the building of the

Manhattan New York Temple The Manhattan New York Temple is the 119th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is the second "high rise" LDS temple to be constructed, after the Hong Kong China Temple, and the third LDS temple co ...

Health issues and death

Over the years, Hales had several health issues impacting his church service. This included missing the church's April 2011 General Conference. In September 2017, he was again hospitalized and a church spokesman noted that, in view of the recommendations of attending physicians, Hales would not participate in the upcoming General Conference. Hales died on October 1, 2017, shortly after the conclusion of the conference's Sunday morning session. His death was announced by Henry B. Eyring at the beginning of the afternoon session. Funeral services for Hales were 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 ...

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 ...

, on October 6, 2017. A private burial service followed at the Bountiful City Cemetery in

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is Davis city. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,552, a three percent increase over the 2000 figure of 41,301. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was Davis County's l ...

Bibliography

*''Return: Four Phases of Our Mortal Journey Home'' (Deseret Book, June 1, 2010, ) *''The British Contribution to the Restored Gospel'' (

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

, 1987, 27 (1): 12–24)

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Robert D. Hales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, Robert D. 1932 births 2017 deaths American general authorities (LDS Church) Apostles (LDS Church) Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Harvard Business School alumni Hughes Television Network Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Military personnel from New York City United States Air Force officers Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Queens, New York Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) University of Utah alumni 20th-century Mormon missionaries Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from Louisiana Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) Latter Day Saints from Illinois American expatriates in Spain American expatriates in Germany Latter Day Saints from Florida American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom Latter Day Saints from Minnesota