Wendell Jeremy Ashton (October 13, 1912 – August 31, 1995) was an American journalist and author. He was a publisher of the '' Deseret News'' and director of the Public Communications Department 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 was the elder brother of church

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 ...

Marvin J. Ashton.

Biography

Early life

Ashton was a graduate of

LDS High School LDS High School (previously known as Salt Lake Stake Academy or Latter-day Saints' High School, and sometimes spelled Latter-day Saints High School) was a secondary school in Salt Lake City, Utah operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da ...

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 ...

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 ...

. He then attended 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 ...

where he earned a degree in business.

Career

Ashton served an LDS mission in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. He was a mission companion of future church president

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

. During his mission service, Ashton was editor of the '' Millennial Star'', the church newspaper in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Prior to his mission, Ashton worked as a reporter for the ''

Salt Lake Telegram This is a list of defunct newspapers of the United States. Only notable names among the thousands of such newspapers are listed, primarily major metropolitan dailies which published for ten years or more. The list is sorted by distribution and st ...

'' for three years. Returning to the newspaper business in Utah, Ashton was the managing editor of the '' Deseret News'' from 1947 to 1948. He then joined Gilham Advertising, Inc. in 1950 and remained there until becoming the LDS Church's director of Public Affairs in 1972. In this capacity, Ashton dealt with the issue of the

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

" Mormon Will". Ashton was the publisher of the ''Deseret News'' from 1978 to 1985. In the LDS Church, Ashton served as a member of the Sunday School General Board starting in the 1930s. He later 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 ...

of the East Mill Creek Stake (where Hinckley had also been stake president). He was one of the original regional representatives called in 1967. Ashton also served as General Secretary of the Sunday School. As a result of this position he served as associate editor of ''

The Instructor ''Paedagogus'' ( el, Παιδαγωγός, "Pedagogue") is the second in the great trilogy of Clement of Alexandria. Having laid a foundation in the knowledge of divine truth in the first book, he goes on in the ''Paedagogus'' to develop a Chr ...

'', the magazine of the Sunday School until the LDS Church magazines were reconfigured in 1971. From 1985 to 1988 Ashton served as

of the church's

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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 ...

. At the time of his death, Ashton was a sealer 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 ...

. Ashton and his first wife, Marian Reynolds, had six children. After she died, he married Belva Barlow in 1964. Wendell and Belva had one daughter. Belva had previously worked as a secretary to Henry Eyring, when he was director of graduate studies at the

. She served as a member of the church's

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

general board for 16 years during their marriage, and oversaw the building of the Monument to Women Memorial Garden in Nauvoo, Illinois. Ashton was the National President of the

Sons of Utah Pioneers The National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers (SUP) is an organization dedicated to preserving the legacy and studying the history of the Mormon Pioneers of Utah and the West. The organization is open to "All good men of every age and circumstan ...

in 1947 and was the main organizer of the 1947 commemoration of the Nauvoo to Salt Lake City journey of the pioneers 100 years before. Ashton served as head of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and was a key backer of the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

. He was also involved in the relocation of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

to Utah from their previous home in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Ashton also wrote several books, one along with

Ab Jenkins David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins (January 25, 1883 – August 9, 1956) was the 24th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah between 1940 to 1944. He was a professional race car driver. Jenkins' interest in motorsports began with racing motorcycles on dirt track ...

. He also wrote a biography of Aurelia Spencer Rogers. His ''Voice in the West Biography of a Pioneer Newspaper'' (New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1950) has been cited in such places as the Utah History Encyclopedia as an excellent source on the early history of the ''Deseret News''. There is currently a Wendell J. Ashton endowed professorship in communications 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-d ...

.Kenneth D. Plowman's vita, mentioning that he held this professorship on two occasions
/ref>

Notes

References

bio from the England London Mission site
*''Deseret News'', Sep. 2, 1995
Oct. 29, 1995 ''Deseret News'' tribute article for Ashton"Church, civic leader remembered as a man of boundless dreams"
''

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 ...

'', September 9, 1995] {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Wendell J. 1912 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint writers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in England Deseret News people Editors of Latter Day Saint publications Mission presidents (LDS Church) Businesspeople from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American businesspeople Latter Day Saints from Utah