[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S3601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            HOWARD W. HUNTER

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and 
contributions of a singular individual. Howard W. Hunter, president of 
the world's nearly 9 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-Day Saints, better known as the Mormons, completed his earthly 
sojourn last Friday, March 3, 1995.
  Although his tenure as head of the church was relatively brief, he 
has left an indelible impression for good, forged through many years of 
service to his church and to humankind in a variety of capacities.
  Those of us who have heard him speak, both in large assembly and in 
personal setting, were inspired, moved, and edified by his counsel. His 
physical frailty, as he battled cancer, stood in direct contrast to the 
force of his spirit, conviction, and care for those he loved and 
served.
  President Hunter brought his own special gifts to his last calling. 
He bore his witness to the redeeming power of the atonement and the 
gospel of Christ that he loved with an invitation that included all of 
God's children. Like his exemplar, Jesus Christ, he included the 
faithful and the fallen in his spiritual embrace.
  Despite an impressive personal resume, President Hunter downplayed 
his own accomplishments and reached out to others to encourage and to 
aid. In many respects, his life can be described as a fulfillment of 
the Savior's observation:

       And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant 
     of all.
       For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but 
     to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.--Mark 
     10:44, 45.

  Howard William Hunter was born November 14, 1907, in Boise, ID. As a 
young man, he excelled scholastically and developed a lifelong love for 
music and scouting. He enjoyed a successful career as a corporate 
lawyer in California. He was called to be a member of the council of 
the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
in October 1959. The following three decades saw him travel worldwide 
in his fulltime church service.
  At the age of 86, President Hunter succeeded President Ezra Taft 
Benson, who died May 30, 1994. He became the 14th president of the 
church.
  President Hunter was married to Clara May Jeffs. She died October 9, 
1983. He later married Inis Bernice Egan on April 20, 1990.
  He was the father of 3 sons, eighteen grandchildren, and 16 great-
grandchildren.
  His legacy lives on not only in his posterity, but in his example and 
strong witness of his beliefs to the world.




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