Robert L. Backman
Robert L. Backman | |
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Emeritus General Authority | |
October 3, 1992 | |
Called by | Ezra Taft Benson |
Presidency of the Seventy | |
October 6, 1985 | – August 15, 1992|
Called by | Spencer W. Kimball |
End reason | Honorably released |
General President of the Young Men | |
1979 – October 6, 1985 | |
First Quorum of the Seventy | |
April 1, 1978 | – October 3, 1992|
Called by | Spencer W. Kimball |
End reason | Granted general authority emeritus status |
General President of the Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women |
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November 1972 – 1974 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert LeGrand Backman March 22, 1922 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Robert LeGrand Backman (born March 22, 1922) was a Utah lawyer and politician and has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1978. Since the death of Eldred G. Smith in April 2013, Backman has been the oldest living general authority of the LDS Church, although he has not been active in this role since 1992.[citation needed]
Backman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, but spent much his youth in South Africa, where his father, LeGrand Backman, was president of the LDS Church's South African Mission. After returning to Utah for his last year of high school, Backman later served as a missionary in the church's Northern States Mission.
Backman served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines during the Second World War. Following the war, he enrolled at the law school at the University of Utah. He was a member of the Utah House of Representatives for two terms.
Before his call as a general authority, Backman served as the president of the church's Northwestern States Mission, as a temple sealer, and as a regional representative. In 1972, he was briefly the second assistant to W. Jay Eldredge, the general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA). When the YMMIA was renamed the Aaronic Priesthood–MIA in 1972, Backman was called as its general president. He served in this calling until 1974, when the Aaronic Priesthood–MIA was placed under the direct supervision of the church's presiding bishopric. In 1978, Backman became a member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1979, he succeeded Neil D. Schaerrer as the general president of the Young Men organization. Backman is the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms as the general president of the Young Men.
In 1985, Backman was released from the Young Men and became a member of the seven-man Presidency of the Seventy, with Vaughn J. Featherstone succeeding him as president of the Young Men. Backman served in the Presidency of the Seventy until August 1992; in October of that year, he was designated an emeritus general authority.
In 1986, Backman was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America for his efforts in incorporating Scouting into the LDS Church's Young Men organization.
From 2005 to 2008, Backman was president of the church's Jordan River Utah Temple.
Backman was married to Virginia Pickett, who died in 1999. They are the parents of seven children.
See also
- George I. Cannon : a fellow counselor of Eldredge's at the time of Backman's service
References
- Marvin K. Gardner, "Elder Robert LeGrand Backman of the First Quorum of the Seventy," Ensign, May 1978, p. 106
- "Elder Jack H Goaslind, Elder Robert L. Backman of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy", Ensign, November 1985, p. 100
External links
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
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Preceded by | General President of the Young Men 1979–October 6, 1985 |
Succeeded by Vaughn J Featherstone |
Preceded by
as Superintendent of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association |
General President of the Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women November 1972–1974 |
Vacant
Organization under jurisdiction of
the Presiding Bishopric Title next held by
Neil D. Schaerreras General President of the Young Men |
- Latter Day Saint biography Infobox with missing parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014
- 1922 births
- American Mormon missionaries in the United States
- American military personnel of World War II
- General Presidents of the Young Men (organization)
- Living people
- Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church)
- Members of the Utah House of Representatives
- Mission presidents (LDS Church)
- People from Salt Lake City, Utah
- Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church)
- Regional representatives of the Twelve
- Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church)
- University of Utah alumni
- Utah lawyers
- 20th-century Mormon missionaries
- Counselors in the General Presidency of the Young Men (organization)
- American general authorities (LDS Church)
- American expatriates in South Africa