David Lawrence McKay
Born: 30 September 1901
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1949
Called as First Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1952
Called as General Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1966
Released: 1971
Died: 27 October 1993
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1949
Called as First Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1952
Called as General Superintendent of the Sunday School: 1966
Released: 1971
Died: 27 October 1993
Image source: Instructor, March 1950
Image source: Instructor, October 1970
|
Image source: Church Website, fair use
|
Biographical Articles
Instructor, March 1950, David Lawrence McKay
Instructor, February 1967, New General Superintendency
Instructor, October 1970, Inspiration from the Lives of Eight Men - David Lawrence McKay
Church Website, Church History, David Lawrence McKay
Instructor, February 1967, New General Superintendency
Instructor, October 1970, Inspiration from the Lives of Eight Men - David Lawrence McKay
Church Website, Church History, David Lawrence McKay
Hill, George R. "David Lawrence McKay." Instructor. March 1950. pg. 67-68.
DAVID LAWRENCE McKAY
George R. Hill
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."—I Nephi 3:7.
The readers of The Instructor will be happy to learn that our efficient, forthright, modest second assistant general superintendent, David Lawrence McKay, has made this quotation from Nephi the watchword of his life.
In the fall of 1920 while Lawrence was still in his late teens, he was called on a mission to Switzerland with Serge F. Ballif as mission president. Together they went to Chicago and to the Swiss consul's office, there to get visas to permit them to enter Switzerland. Let Lawrence tell the story:
"When the consul found we were going to Switzerland for missionary work, he crossed out the stamp he had already placed on my visa and refused us entry.
I said, 'What does this mean. President Baliff? Do we go back to Salt Lake?'
He turned to me and said, 'Lawrence, have you read what Nephi said, that the Lord never requires his servants to do something unless he opens up the way for them to accomplish it? We are going to Switzerland.'
"I have never forgotten that lesson.
"We crossed the ocean and went to the American consul in Paris for his advice. He said, 'Do you mean that you have come these thousands of miles to get into Switzerland, without a permit? I didn't know anyone would do a thing like that.' He told us he could do nothing for us, but suggested we go to the Swiss consul in Paris. We did so, and received our visas without question.
"I was the only American missionary in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for over a year. President Ballif assigned me to work in Lausanne, and visited me frequently. After two and one-half years in Switzerland, I was transferred to the British Mission and named associate editor of The Millennial Star. Writing for that magazine and editing it was one of the most interesting and helpful periods of my life."
Lawrence is the oldest of seven children of President David Oman and Ray Riggs McKay. He was born September 30, 1901. His childhood home was in Ogden, Utah, with Summers spent at the family summer home in Huntsville. There his father had a very intriguing farm with plenty of horses and saddles and wagons and hay and a large barn in which to romp and also to sweat at hay-hauling time, Springcreek in which to swim and fish, and the large family lot for swings and croquet and baseball and other games with brothers and sisters and cousins. Winters, a cow was taken to Ogden, as much to furnish definite regular chores for Lawrence as to furnish food for the family. His habit of trustworthiness was acquired early.
Of this period in his life Lawrence says: "One factor which influenced my early life was the unanimity of all Father's and Mother's decisions. I can never remember any disagreement at any time between them. If there was any disagreement, it took place out of the presence of their children, I remember that at one time I was surprised at what might have been an indication of a slight deviation from this unanimity. I had asked Father for some money for some purpose and he had refused me. Mother asked me what success I had had and I told her that Father had turned me down. To me that was final. Mother said, 'Let me speak to him about that. I think he may change his mind.' What is important in this statement in not the statement itself. It is that I should have been so much surprised that she would make it. I was so much accustomed to having any statement made by Father or Mother fully supported by the other. Incidentally, Father did change his mind."
Vivid is his memory of being secretary and later president of his deacon's quorum; of his meeting every Tuesday night with quorum and auxiliary officers in local board meetings under the direction of his bishop; of the thrill it gave him to stand up as secretary of his quorum in union meeting and report, "one hundred per cent present." He comments, "Many of our deacon's quorum meetings were held without an adult supervisor, and we conducted the meeting ourselves. This, I believe, was my first teacher training course—teaching in action."
When a student of Weber Academy, he was asked to be a Sunday School teacher in Huntsville in the summer. "I had taught two Sundays when I received a visit from a stake board member. I must have looked startled when he walked in because he said, in front of the class, 'Now don't be afraid,' and sat down. That made me so angry that I went ahead and got through the lesson without mishap. He stayed during most of the lesson and then walked out without comment. I decided then and there that I did not like stake board members, and hoped that I would never be called to be one. Shortly after that I found myself serving as a stake board member of Ogden Stake and I enjoyed and appreciated my associations therein."
Lawrence has a passion for learning, a keen desire to teach, and a profound admiration for the law. Following his release from his mission he went to Paris where, for a year, he studied psychology at the Sorbonne. In 1924 he entered the University of Utah. After receiving his A.B. degree he went to Washington, D. C, where he took his LL.B. at George Washington University. He spent seven years in Washington teaching French and Business Law at the Technical High School. Then he went to Harvard where he was awarded the degree of master of laws, the LL.M. degree.
He is a member of the American Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and Salt Lake County Bar associations. He is a member of the Phi Delta Phi, national law fraternity. He heads the law firm, McKay Burton, Nielsen and Richards, with offices in the Newhouse Building in Salt Lake City. For some time he has been a member of the Legal and Legislative committee of the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association.
He is a member of the following national committees: Decision and Legislation Committee of the Corporation Banking and Mercantile Law Section, and Reporter on Oil and Gas Conservation of the Industrial Law Section of the American Bar Association.
David Lawrence McKay has had an unusually rich Sunday School experience which has given him a detailed know-how of Sunday School procedure. He has been a Sunday School teacher at Huntsville, Washington (D.C.), Thirty-third, Seventeenth, Yale, and University wards. He has served as stake board member in Ogden, Salt Lake, and Bonneville stakes, as assistant stake superintendent of Salt Lake and Bonneville stakes and finally as superintendent of Bonneville Stake. In 1943 he became a member of the General Board of the Deseret Sunday School Union and has served on the Senior Committee, and as chairman of the Standards Committee and of the present Convention Committee, as well as on many special assignments. He was sustained as second assistant general superintendent at the October, 1949, General Conference.
It was while attending the University of Utah and serving on the Salt Lake Stake Sunday School Board that he met the charming and accomplished Mildred Calderwood, daughter of Dr. William Robert and the late Emily Dean Calderwood. They were assigned by the stake president to an experimental plan of ward teacher training on a stake basis. Each took a different ward class but they collaborated in preparing the lessons. Romance followed. They were married in 1928. She has been the inspiration of his life. They have four lovely daughters — Midene, a senior at the University of Utah, Edna Lyn, Catherine, and Joyce— and a beautiful home at 1348 Third Avenue.
DAVID LAWRENCE McKAY
George R. Hill
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."—I Nephi 3:7.
The readers of The Instructor will be happy to learn that our efficient, forthright, modest second assistant general superintendent, David Lawrence McKay, has made this quotation from Nephi the watchword of his life.
In the fall of 1920 while Lawrence was still in his late teens, he was called on a mission to Switzerland with Serge F. Ballif as mission president. Together they went to Chicago and to the Swiss consul's office, there to get visas to permit them to enter Switzerland. Let Lawrence tell the story:
"When the consul found we were going to Switzerland for missionary work, he crossed out the stamp he had already placed on my visa and refused us entry.
I said, 'What does this mean. President Baliff? Do we go back to Salt Lake?'
He turned to me and said, 'Lawrence, have you read what Nephi said, that the Lord never requires his servants to do something unless he opens up the way for them to accomplish it? We are going to Switzerland.'
"I have never forgotten that lesson.
"We crossed the ocean and went to the American consul in Paris for his advice. He said, 'Do you mean that you have come these thousands of miles to get into Switzerland, without a permit? I didn't know anyone would do a thing like that.' He told us he could do nothing for us, but suggested we go to the Swiss consul in Paris. We did so, and received our visas without question.
"I was the only American missionary in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for over a year. President Ballif assigned me to work in Lausanne, and visited me frequently. After two and one-half years in Switzerland, I was transferred to the British Mission and named associate editor of The Millennial Star. Writing for that magazine and editing it was one of the most interesting and helpful periods of my life."
Lawrence is the oldest of seven children of President David Oman and Ray Riggs McKay. He was born September 30, 1901. His childhood home was in Ogden, Utah, with Summers spent at the family summer home in Huntsville. There his father had a very intriguing farm with plenty of horses and saddles and wagons and hay and a large barn in which to romp and also to sweat at hay-hauling time, Springcreek in which to swim and fish, and the large family lot for swings and croquet and baseball and other games with brothers and sisters and cousins. Winters, a cow was taken to Ogden, as much to furnish definite regular chores for Lawrence as to furnish food for the family. His habit of trustworthiness was acquired early.
Of this period in his life Lawrence says: "One factor which influenced my early life was the unanimity of all Father's and Mother's decisions. I can never remember any disagreement at any time between them. If there was any disagreement, it took place out of the presence of their children, I remember that at one time I was surprised at what might have been an indication of a slight deviation from this unanimity. I had asked Father for some money for some purpose and he had refused me. Mother asked me what success I had had and I told her that Father had turned me down. To me that was final. Mother said, 'Let me speak to him about that. I think he may change his mind.' What is important in this statement in not the statement itself. It is that I should have been so much surprised that she would make it. I was so much accustomed to having any statement made by Father or Mother fully supported by the other. Incidentally, Father did change his mind."
Vivid is his memory of being secretary and later president of his deacon's quorum; of his meeting every Tuesday night with quorum and auxiliary officers in local board meetings under the direction of his bishop; of the thrill it gave him to stand up as secretary of his quorum in union meeting and report, "one hundred per cent present." He comments, "Many of our deacon's quorum meetings were held without an adult supervisor, and we conducted the meeting ourselves. This, I believe, was my first teacher training course—teaching in action."
When a student of Weber Academy, he was asked to be a Sunday School teacher in Huntsville in the summer. "I had taught two Sundays when I received a visit from a stake board member. I must have looked startled when he walked in because he said, in front of the class, 'Now don't be afraid,' and sat down. That made me so angry that I went ahead and got through the lesson without mishap. He stayed during most of the lesson and then walked out without comment. I decided then and there that I did not like stake board members, and hoped that I would never be called to be one. Shortly after that I found myself serving as a stake board member of Ogden Stake and I enjoyed and appreciated my associations therein."
Lawrence has a passion for learning, a keen desire to teach, and a profound admiration for the law. Following his release from his mission he went to Paris where, for a year, he studied psychology at the Sorbonne. In 1924 he entered the University of Utah. After receiving his A.B. degree he went to Washington, D. C, where he took his LL.B. at George Washington University. He spent seven years in Washington teaching French and Business Law at the Technical High School. Then he went to Harvard where he was awarded the degree of master of laws, the LL.M. degree.
He is a member of the American Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and Salt Lake County Bar associations. He is a member of the Phi Delta Phi, national law fraternity. He heads the law firm, McKay Burton, Nielsen and Richards, with offices in the Newhouse Building in Salt Lake City. For some time he has been a member of the Legal and Legislative committee of the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association.
He is a member of the following national committees: Decision and Legislation Committee of the Corporation Banking and Mercantile Law Section, and Reporter on Oil and Gas Conservation of the Industrial Law Section of the American Bar Association.
David Lawrence McKay has had an unusually rich Sunday School experience which has given him a detailed know-how of Sunday School procedure. He has been a Sunday School teacher at Huntsville, Washington (D.C.), Thirty-third, Seventeenth, Yale, and University wards. He has served as stake board member in Ogden, Salt Lake, and Bonneville stakes, as assistant stake superintendent of Salt Lake and Bonneville stakes and finally as superintendent of Bonneville Stake. In 1943 he became a member of the General Board of the Deseret Sunday School Union and has served on the Senior Committee, and as chairman of the Standards Committee and of the present Convention Committee, as well as on many special assignments. He was sustained as second assistant general superintendent at the October, 1949, General Conference.
It was while attending the University of Utah and serving on the Salt Lake Stake Sunday School Board that he met the charming and accomplished Mildred Calderwood, daughter of Dr. William Robert and the late Emily Dean Calderwood. They were assigned by the stake president to an experimental plan of ward teacher training on a stake basis. Each took a different ward class but they collaborated in preparing the lessons. Romance followed. They were married in 1928. She has been the inspiration of his life. They have four lovely daughters — Midene, a senior at the University of Utah, Edna Lyn, Catherine, and Joyce— and a beautiful home at 1348 Third Avenue.
Wheelwright, Lorin F. "New General Superintendency." Instructor. February 1967. pg. 64-65.
NEW GENERAL SUPERINTENDENCY Superintendent Hill Released with Love and Appreciation George R. Hill has sought retirement at the age of 82 and has been granted a release by The First Presidency from the position of general superintendent of the Deseret Sunday School Union. From the far reaches of the Church thousands of Sunday School members and workers have joined in a swelling chorus of appreciation for Dr. Hill. Those who have worked with him have felt the warmth of his friendship and his great concern for constant improvement of Gospel teaching. He has personified the spirit of enlistment—of attracting and holding every member of this Church in Sunday School by reverential worship and inspirational instruction. Since 1934 he has served on the general board as a member, as an assistant superintendent, and (since 1949) as general superintendent. During these years Sunday School attendance has more than doubled. Regular courses have been adopted in Teacher Training, Genealogy, Parent and Child, and Gospel Essentials. When attendance outstripped a rapidly expanding building program, he inaugurated double sessions. He brought to the general board a corps of loyal workers who have been inspired and directed to create texts, films, brochures, institutes, conferences, The Instructor, and a multitude of programs designed to help teachers make the Gospel of Jesus Christ an active force in people's lives. A tribute to Superintendent Hill was published in these pages in May, 1964. Those of us who have worked intimately with him on The Instructor magazine have felt his urging and guidance to improve the magazine's appearance, sharpen its content, and increase its spirituality. For us he has been a leader whose love of truth and willingness to present it dramatically have brought more use of full color, careful selection of authors, and progressive methods of circulation. We have loved him for keeping its pages free of advertising and for concentrating our energies upon Gospel content. We have felt his firm hand on the helm, his spirit of helpfulness, and his vision to set a true course. We will continue to feel his influence and be guided by his kindly, purposeful discipline. We say, with all other Sunday School workers, "Thank you, Brother Hill, for helping us develop our talents and for giving us an opportunity to use them in the work of the Lord." The First Presidency of the Church appointed a new general superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union, December 2, 1966. David Lawrence McKay was named general superintendent, with Lynn S. Richards as first assistant and Royden G. Derrick as second assistant. All three have served previously in positions of leadership under Superintendent Hill, and their appointment provides a continuity of Sunday School purpose and growth. Superintendent McKay joined the general board in 1944. He was serving as superintendent of Sunday Schools of Bonneville Stake at the time. He was named second assistant general superintendent in 1949 and became first assistant in 1952. Prior to joining the general board, he filled a mission to the French-speaking area of the Swiss-German Mission. He served for six months as associate editor of The Millennial Star in the British Mission. He is an attorney by profession and received his early education in the public schools of Ogden, Utah, and in Weber Academy (now Weber State College). He graduated from the University of Utah (A.B.), from George Washington University (LL.B.), and from Harvard Law School (LL.M.). Along the way he studied at the Sorbonne, University of Paris, and taught in the high schools of Washington, D.C., while attending school. For two years he taught French at the University of Utah. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Bar Associations of Utah and the District of Columbia. He is senior partner in the law firm of McKay and (Wilford M.) Burton. He was born in Ogden, Utah, September 30, 1901, the eldest son of President and Mrs. David O. McKay. He married Mildred Calderwood, and the couple have four daughters. Sister McKay serves on the editorial board of The Children's Friend. Superintendent Richards was serving as bishop of Federal Heights Ward, Emigration Stake, when he was called to be second assistant superintendent in 1952. He had previously been bishop of University Ward. He had served as a member of the general board from 1934 to 1945. He was born February 3, 1901, in Salt Lake City, a son of the late President Stephen L Richards and Irene Merrill Richards. Superintendent Richards attended the University of Utah and Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University). He graduated from Brigham Young University and was twice elected president of its alumni association. He holds a distinguished service award from BYU. He received his professional degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence from Stanford University. He is past president of the Salt Lake City and County Bar Association and a member of the Utah State and American Bar Associations. Superintendent Richards has long been involved in educational pursuits. He spent two years as principal of the Oneida Stake LDS Seminary in Preston, Idaho, and has served 14 years on the Utah State Board of Education. While teaching in Preston, he married Lucille Covey; the couple have six children. He has served as a senator in the Utah state legislature and is senior partner in the law firm of Richards, Bird, Hart, and Kump. Superintendent Derrick was a member of the general board from 1954 to 1957. He was released to join the presidency of the Monument Park Stake, where he served both as second and first counselor. He also has been a high councilor, a bishop's counselor, a ward clerk, and a teacher in priesthood quorums and the Sunday School. He has been a guide on Temple Square intermittently since 1954. He was born September 7, 1915, in Salt Lake City, where he attended the public schools. He studied engineering at the University of Utah and received the University's College of Business Outstanding Achievement Award in 1963 and an honorary doctor's degree in 1965. He served eight years on the Board of Regents. He has had a distinguished career in business and public service. He heads the Western Steel Company and four other companies. He is director of several other firms. He is chairman of the board of the Salt Lake Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and a member of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District board of directors. This body is assigned the important responsibility of supervising Utah's share of the upper Colorado River water. He is the son of Hyrum and Margaret Glade Derrick. In 1938 he married Allie Jean Olsen of Monroe. They have four children. The members of this superintendency bring to their callings a rich background of Church service, as well as experience in many civic enterprises. The Sunday School looks forward to a period of spiritual prosperity under their leadership. —Lorin F. Wheelwright. |
George R. Hill
Lynn S. Richards, 1st Asst., Gen. Supt. David Lawrence McKay, Royden G. Derrick, 2nd Asst.
|
Richards, Lynn S. "Inspiration from the Lives of Eight Men - David Lawrence McKay." Instructor. October 1970. pg. 380.
Inspiration from the Lives of Eight Men
by First Asst. General Superintendent Lynn S. Richards
David Lawrence McKay
David Lawrence McKay was appointed eighth general superintendent of the Deseret Sunday School Union on December 2, 1966. (He had been appointed to the Sunday School general board in 1944.) His keen, incisive mind and precise use of the English language have characterized his administration. No Sunday School worker who has ever tried has failed to obtain the ear of Superintendent McKay. One of his great qualities is that he has a disposition to listen. It seems his earnest desire is always to understand your point of view.
He has in his office the inscription on a plaque, "Whate'er thou art, act well thy part." This verse comes from what is affectionately known as the David O. McKay stone, which so strongly impressed his father, President McKay, as a missionary in Scotland. Superintendent McKay is a great advocate of discharging responsibility when assigned. When you are given a duty, determine the best way to discharge it. This concept has led the Sunday School general board under his direction to develop a new teacher-training program; a new outline form for the teachers' supplements; a new teaching support team for assisting teachers; an improved supervisory method for upgrading teachers; a more inspirational way to conduct Junior Sunday School; and more emphasis on pupil activity to increase learning of gospel principles.
Superintendents who can find inspiration from the lives of these great leaders and who can follow their examples will be blessed twice: first, through the improvement of the Sunday School work for which they are responsible; and second, in the joy that comes through a service well performed.
Inspiration from the Lives of Eight Men
by First Asst. General Superintendent Lynn S. Richards
David Lawrence McKay
David Lawrence McKay was appointed eighth general superintendent of the Deseret Sunday School Union on December 2, 1966. (He had been appointed to the Sunday School general board in 1944.) His keen, incisive mind and precise use of the English language have characterized his administration. No Sunday School worker who has ever tried has failed to obtain the ear of Superintendent McKay. One of his great qualities is that he has a disposition to listen. It seems his earnest desire is always to understand your point of view.
He has in his office the inscription on a plaque, "Whate'er thou art, act well thy part." This verse comes from what is affectionately known as the David O. McKay stone, which so strongly impressed his father, President McKay, as a missionary in Scotland. Superintendent McKay is a great advocate of discharging responsibility when assigned. When you are given a duty, determine the best way to discharge it. This concept has led the Sunday School general board under his direction to develop a new teacher-training program; a new outline form for the teachers' supplements; a new teaching support team for assisting teachers; an improved supervisory method for upgrading teachers; a more inspirational way to conduct Junior Sunday School; and more emphasis on pupil activity to increase learning of gospel principles.
Superintendents who can find inspiration from the lives of these great leaders and who can follow their examples will be blessed twice: first, through the improvement of the Sunday School work for which they are responsible; and second, in the joy that comes through a service well performed.