Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died Tuesday at 1:45 MDT from causes incident to age, while surrounded by his family at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 86.
Elder Scott was sustained as an apostle on October 1, 1988. He was called as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 2, 1977, and served as a member of the presidency of that quorum from October 1983 until he was called as an apostle in 1988.
“Elder Scott was able, very successfully, to keep his eye on eternity,” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as a young missionary under Elder Richard G. Scott. “His messages were filled with hope. And he was unapologetic about repentance and the Atonement because he knew that that's where hope came from or what one could hope for as a consequence of true, full repentance and the effect of the Atonement, the grace of Jesus Christ, in one's life.”
As with the apostles in New Testament times, Latter-day Saint apostles are called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Elder Scott was one of 15 men who help oversee the growth and development of the global Church, which numbers more than 15 million members.
Elder Scott taught, “There are few things in life that bring as much joy as the joy that comes from assisting another improve his or her life.”
“I don't go anywhere, especially in Latin America, where he served for so long and in so many places — I don't go anywhere there that I don't see his footprints, where I don't meet somebody who hasn't been influenced by him in some way,” Elder Christofferson said.
Richard Gordon Scott was born November 7, 1928, in Pocatello, Idaho, to Kenneth Leroy and Mary Whittle Scott. He served a full-time mission to Uruguay and presided over the Argentina North Mission in Córdoba, Argentina, from 1965 to 1969.
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