[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   REMEMBERING ELDER ROBERT D. HALES

  Mr. LEE. Madam President, I rise today to honor the life of Elder 
Robert D. Hales, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  Elder Hales passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 1, at the age 
of 85. He leaves behind his faithful wife Mary and their two sons, 
Stephen and David.
  Robert Hales was born and raised in a faithful household in Long 
Island, NY. He was an all-American boy who played baseball through 
college at the University of Utah but eventually traded in his baseball 
uniform for a flight suit, serving in the U.S. Air Force as a jet 
fighter pilot. Elder Hales's service as a military aviator would inform 
the rest of his life and certainly his entire ministry. He took with 
him the unit motto displayed on the side of his aircraft: ``Return With 
Honor.''
  After his discharge from the military, Elder Hales entered the world 
of international business. In jobs around the world, he established a 
reputation as an enthusiastic leader who relished a challenge and dealt 
fairly with others. Because of these qualities, Elder Hales rose to 
become president of Paper Mate, a division of Gillette. Later, he 
assumed senior executive positions at Max Factor Company, the Hughes 
Television Network, and Chesebrough-Pond's Manufacturing Company. But 
Elder Hales never let work dominate his life, as so many executives do. 
Despite the enormous demands on his time, he stayed faithful to the 
more important commitments he made to his family and to his Lord.
  So it was that Robert Hales, a business executive of international 
renowned, made an unusual decision in the prime of his life: He left 
the corporate world to give his all to the church. When Jesus said 
``Come, follow me,'' Robert Hales left his nets straightaway and became 
a fisher of men.
  Elder Hales was called to become the presiding bishop of the church 
in 1985, overseeing the church's vast charitable network. As bishop, he 
used the skills of a business executive not for profit but to help the 
least of those among us.
  In 1994, Elder Hales was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve 
Apostles, a church position he held for 23 years until his passing just 
days ago. From this position as a watchman on the tower, he boldly 
proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he also spoke out on such 
pressing societal issues as religious freedom. He saw that the erosion 
of religious belief in the United States was quickly devolving into 
social and political intolerance for religious people and institutions. 
But this prediction did not lead Elder Hales to despair, no; instead, 
he redoubled his efforts to edify the next generation--the young men 
and women who were in the preparatory period of life, as he termed it.
  His addresses and sermons were full of moral exhortation and 
practical advice on living well. Don't walk, run to holiness, he urged 
his brothers and sisters in faith. Elder Hales knew that holiness is an 
activity, a pursuit to which we must consecrate our whole lives running 
the race and enduring to the end.
  Through his example and through his words, Elder Hales taught that 
virtue is not just a good intention but a good deed reinforced and 
compounded by past deeds.
  Elder Hales urged young men and women to embrace the joys of 
adulthood through marriage, child-rearing, and responsible citizenship. 
He knew that the way to true happiness lies in those sacrificial 
activities, not the selfish lifestyles that tempt so many today.
  During one memorable address to the General Conference of the church, 
Elder Hales recounted the advice he received as a boy when he had been 
tempted to make a poor decision: ``Robert,'' his father had said to 
him, ``straighten up and fly right!'' From the testimony of his life, 
it is clear that Elder Hales honored his father's advice in the Air 
Force, in the workforce, in the household, and in the church. Elder 
Robert D. Hales flew right. Now he has returned with honor to be 
embraced by his Heavenly Father.
  Thank you, Madam President.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.