Delbert L. Stapley
Born: 11 December 1896
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 5 October 1950
Died: 19 August 1978
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 5 October 1950
Died: 19 August 1978
Talks on Church WebsiteApr 1971 - Honesty and Integrity
Oct 1971 - Our Responsibility: To Save the World Apr 1973 - The Path to Eternal Glory Oct 1973 - The Path to Eternal Life Apr 1974 - The Savior's Ministry Oct 1974 - Good Habits Develop Good Character Apr 1975 - Using Our Free Agency Oct 1975 - To Make a People Prepared for the Lord Apr 1976 - Easter Thoughts Oct 1976 - Teachings of the Apostle Paul Apr 1977 - What Constitutes the True Church Oct 1977 - The Blessings of Righteous Obedience Image source: Relief Society Magazine, December 1950
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Image source: Wikipedia, public domain
Image source: Improvement Era, November 1950
Image source: Improvement Era, February 1962
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Biographical Articles
Improvement Era, November 1950, Delbert Leon Stapely, an Apostle of the Lord
Relief Society Magazine, December 1950, Delbert Leon Stapely, Sixty-Seventh Apostle
Improvement Era, February 1962, Delbert L. Stapely of the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, October 1978, Death of Elder Delbert L. Stapely Mourned
Relief Society Magazine, December 1950, Delbert Leon Stapely, Sixty-Seventh Apostle
Improvement Era, February 1962, Delbert L. Stapely of the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, October 1978, Death of Elder Delbert L. Stapely Mourned
Kimball, Spencer W. "Delbert Leon Stapely, an Apostle of the Lord." Improvement Era. November 1950. pg. 873-874, 920, 922-923.
DELBERT LEON STAPLEY AN APOSTLE OF THE LORD By Spencer W. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve “What makes his dawning glow. . . . Only the constant know."—Griffith. ". .., and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Thus said the historian who wrote of the Acts of the Apostles nearly two thousand years ago, and Matthias became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. There had been devout supplication in which they had prayed: ". . . Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen." ( Acts 1 :24. ) Again the Lord has made his will manifest, and he has chosen another Apostle to be a special witness of his life, death, resurrection, and works. This time the "lot fell upon" Delbert Leon Stapley. The new Apostle is a native of Arizona, having been born in the then small town of Mesa, fifty-three years ago. And he comes to the Church with a rich background of varied experience and with a faith unsurpassed. He is tall and straight as any pine, and like Saul, "from his shoulders and upward . . . higher than any of the people." Well-proportioned, strong, and vigorous, his appearance is commanding and his approach positive; there seems to be a pleasing blending of self-assurance and deep humility. He has a twinkle in his eye and a smile easily provoked. His voice is strong and forceful, and withal, he is again like King Saul, "goodly to look upon." But Elder Stapley was not chosen for his comeliness; " . . . the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Sam. 16:7.) Up from the ranks came this new Authority, and in his appointment is seen the genius of this great Church of the Master in which any deacon, teacher, or priest may someday be called to high places. Elder Stapley was born in a good Latter-day Saint home, where were love, consideration, and filial devotion. His father, Orley S. Stapley, and his mother, Polly May Hunsaker, were community builders. They were also homebuilders, and Delbert and his five brothers and three sisters grew up in an atmosphere of culture and love and faith. Here the lad learned to pray. Here were born selflessness and self-reliance. With eleven in the family, all must work and share and sacrifice, and out of this experience came a family of unity that has been perpetuated in their lives to this day. True brotherhood and family cooperation has been manifest here. "All for one and one for all" seems to have been the Stapley family motto, and together they have built a family business known as The O. S. Stapley Company, which is recognized far and wide. With the sale of trucks, appliances, hardware, and farm implements, there has gone a brand of service and honor and integrity that has brought to the business financial success, and to the family an honorable place in the hearts of the people of Arizona and the respect of many important concerns throughout the country. His youth followed somewhat the same pattern of other boys of the community. Athletic and vigorous, he found pleasure in the games of contest, and he carries his love of sports to this date, being a consistent golfer. In the orchestra he played the violin. But his youth was shorter than most boys enjoy, for he was called into the mission field when he was but eighteen years of age. Maturity ended boyishness as he absorbed himself in his new-found work. So outstanding was he that President Charles A. Callis called him to be the conference president in Kentucky while yet in his teens, and here he began his career of presidency, giving leadership to some fourteen missionaries. He was most conscientious and was much concerned in the welfare of the people. Those in high places of responsibility realize perhaps more than many the importance of a good wife. Euripides exclaims: "Man's best possession is a sympathetic wife," and here again was the new leader blessed. He and Ethel Davis were united in marriage January 14, 1918, their sealing taking place in the Salt Lake Temple. Sister Stapley is a charming woman, refined and sweet; she is a bit retiring but is sympathetic, understanding, and cooperative. She complements her husband and supports him in all his work. Patiently she waits and serves. Their only son, Orley S., is affiliated with the family business in Phoenix. The older daughter, Berdine, is the wife of Grant Farley, a prominent businessman of the Gila Valley in Arizona; and the younger daughter, Phyllis, a graduate of the University of Utah, is with her parents until her approaching marriage is consummated. There are four grandchildren in this family. Because of his powers and willingness, Brother Stapley was much in demand in places of trust and responsibility. While yet very young he served his city as councilman for four years. He was president of the Phoenix Lions' Club and now is a member of the Phoenix Rotary Club; he has served on numerous boards, committees, and commissions. He has served at home and in the ' National Capitol for his state in securing Colorado River water for Arizona; he has served on the Chamber of Commerce. He has been a Boy Scout leader since about 1919 when he assisted in the organization of the Apache Council of Boy Scouts in Mesa, and which some two years later was absorbed by the newer organized Roosevelt Council of which he is the only surviving charter member. His scouting experience included service in almost every department reaching to president and finally national representative, in which position he now serves. His unusual service here earned for him the highest honor given by the National Council of the Boy Scouts to laymen, the Silver Beaver award for distinguished service to boyhood. He served his country in the marines in World War I and later joined the National Guard, where he served nine and one-half years. He was commissioned captain, September 12, 1924, and when he retired from the service about 1934, he had the rank of major. His scouting experience was closely related to his Church activity. Though he had been active all his life in all phases of the Church program, his first major assignment after his mission came when he was sustained while still about twenty years of age as assistant to John Cummard in the stake Y.M.M.I.A. About two years later when Elder Cummard succeeded to the stake presidency, Delbert was sustained as superintendent of the stake Y.M.M.I.A. This was a pretentious work for a twenty-two-year old, and perhaps he was one of the youngest stake superintendents in the Church. So efficient and forceful was his work that after seventeen years he was still stake M.I.A. superintendent when the Maricopa Stake was divided in 1938. During twelve years of this time, he had also served in the high council, and was then released to become first counselor to President J. R. Price of the new Phoenix Stake which position he occupied for approximately ten years. Here he served valiantly until December 5, 1947, when he was sustained as president of the Phoenix Stake when his predecessor was called to preside over the newly-created Central Atlantic States Mission. He had served as Sunday School teacher, and after many years, adults remind him of the impressions he made upon them when they were youths. The work of the new Apostle transcended the stake when, even as a counselor and later as president of the stake, he presided over the Arizona region in welfare with its nine stakes. This rich experience will be of value to the Church in the days to come. The Phoenix Stake is a fast-growing and active one, and its progress is much the result of the effective and untiring work of this new Authority and his associates. The last stake conference found forty-six percent of the membership, including men, women, and children, in attendance, a record which is equaled about each quarter and which few stakes can approach. The stake boasts 155 convert baptisms in 1949, and 154 had already been baptized by September 1, 1950. More than one percent of the stake members are in the foreign mission field, and some eighty local missionaries are responsible for the outstanding record above mentioned. An average of thirty-six percent of all the people attend sacrament meetings each Sunday, and the other work is equally brilliant. General Authorities returning from stake conferences in Phoenix Stake invariably extol the leaders and the people there for their faithfulness. "As with the priest, so with the people," and this stake president has not asked his people to serve more valiantly than he himself has served. Elder Stapley has seen the Maricopa Stake grow from a small rural stake into three large, strong, and progressive ones. The Church service of the new Apostle has been a brilliant succession of accomplishments. Only once in his life did he yield to the worldly impulse to carve out his religious life wholly independent of the constituted Authorities of the Church. In the terrific business pressures of the early twenties he resigned his position in the M.I.A. but soon found himself so unhappy and miserable at having taken matters into his own hands that he repented and returned to his leaders to offer himself for service. "Any kind of service," he said; "I'll do anything to keep busy in the Church." He was restored to stake M.I.A. work and has spent the rest of his third century of Church life in devoted and humble service wherever called by the Church leaders. Though his companions in the mission field knew he was perhaps the most conscientious and effective of them all, little did they suspect that they would see him later as one of their loved Church Authorities. Though President Charles A. Callis recognized him as industrious, faithful, and perhaps the most persevering of his missionaries, yet even when he appointed this youthful elder president of the Kentucky conference, while yet in his teens, perhaps little thought that both of them should some day represent the Lord as special witnesses. How glorious would it have been had Elder Callis lived to see this happy appointment and to have sat in the Council with his protege! It was not alone his service to his community that brought him to this position, for in this Church are many great and splendid men who devote themselves to the public weal; not in his goodness is the answer to his call, for though there must be an abundance of this quality in the great leader, yet there are in the kingdom numerous people who are good. His personality alone is not responsible for the call- for there are people in great numbers who have this in abundance; not alone in his power of organization is the reason, for in the world and in the Church are many who have these abilities to organize and direct; not alone in his family and forebears could the answer be found, for there are thousands "born of goodly parents" who fail to measure up; not opportunity alone has made this man great, for opportunity knocks at many a door. Griffin says: "What makes his dawning glow. . . . Only the constant know." Elder Stapley is an Apostle today because he has had all of these, and there has been a combining of these rare qualities into a composite whole. He has been constant, consistent, and ever faithful. He has grasped opportunities, and they have presented problems. He has grappled with the problems, and. this has brought to him wide experience. His varied experience has brought him rare insight and wisdom. Though the door to apostleship is opened only occasionally, the gates to greatness and other leadership positions of trust and influence are ajar always, and no armored guard stands to prevent entrance. The call of Delbert Stapley should again assure the faithful that the Lord places no limitations upon the accomplishments and development of men, and that he who is loyal, true, industrious, willing, humble, well-balanced, ever in the service of others, may reach high places. The door to the apostleship in October 1950 had been open to any of the thousands of missionaries who have served in the decade with this faithful man. It was open to any of the hundreds of M.I. A. superintendents of the 1920's and I930's. It was open to any of the thousands of high councilors who served while he was serving. Some were less valiant; some tired along the way; some found service a burden. But, of them all, most of whom are good and many have a large measure of devotion, this man was chosen by the Lord because in him are all these qualities in abundance. And service and power, experience and wisdom, energy and devotion, blended together into a perfect whole, to put this man in a position where he can make an outstanding contribution to the building of the kingdom. He has been constant and has never failed. There have been a day-to-day surmounting of obstacles, solution of problems, a meeting of situations. He has been a faithful deacon, an energetic teacher, a worthy priest, an orthodox instructor, a resourceful auxiliary worker, a common-sense counselor, and an undaunted and courageous stake president. His life has been enriched by association with many great men, among whom President George Albert Smith has been a great influence. He set apart the youthful missionary in 1915, performed the temple marriage ceremony for him and his wife in 1918; as the mouthpiece for the Lord he called Elder Stapley to the apostleship, and as President of the Church on October 5, 1950, ordained him an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder Delbert Stapley brings to the membership of the Church in its far-flung areas, faith and devotion, courage and forthrightness, judgment and wisdom, precept supported by example. He will be a wise counselor to the people in their problems. Both in the moral and technical phases of business will he be helpful. His experience having penetrated into most phases of life, he will be able to bring commonsense solutions to the problems which afflict so many. He has fulfilled gloriously the admonition of Paul to the Corinthians when he said: ... be ye stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (I Cor. 15:58.) |
Delbert Leon Stapely
Elder Stapely with his wife Ethel and daughter Phyllis
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Kimball, Camilla Eyring. "Delbert Leon Stapely, Sixty-Seventh Apostle." Relief Society Magazine. December 1950. pg. 806-807.
Delbert Leon Stapley, Sixty-Seventh Apostle Camilla Eyring Kimball “BUT seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Elder Delbert L. Stapley, newly appointed member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, signified his willingness to follow this admonition when he declared: ''This call to the Council is the first call of my life, and all my personal interests are now of only secondary importance and consideration." It was on December 11, 1896 in Mesa, Arizona, that the boy Delbert was born, and here he received his early training in school and Church activity. Following the filling of a mission in the Southern States, under Elder Charles A. Callis, he enlisted in the Marine Corps to serve his country in World War I. As president and general manager of the O. S. Stapley Company, founded by his father, he has been eminently successful in the business world. His civic activities have brought him the respect of the citizens of Maricopa County and the State of Arizona. Years of consistent and faithful Church service and outstanding leadership ability are requisites to the successful performance of this high calling to the apostleship. Seventeen years as superintendent of the Maricopa Stake Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, and thirty years of active service in various Boy Scout positions from scout leader to national representative, qualify him to now become a Church-wide leader of youth. On February 27, 1930, he was chosen as counselor in the newly created Phoenix Stake presidency, and in December 1947 he was sustained as the stake president. Enthusiasm, efficiency, and faithful attention to detail have made his leadership outstanding. "I deeply appreciate my good wife for the attitude she took when this call came, and I know that in this work if it were not for the good women the men could not succeed in these high callings." This quotation from Elder Stapley's first message from the Tabernacle pulpit indicates his high regard for his wife, Ethel Davis Stapley, to whom he was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple January 14, 1918, the ceremony being performed by President George Albert Smith, then a member of the Council of the Twelve. They have two daughters, Berdine and Phyllis, a son Orley S., and four beloved grandchildren. Leaving their lovely new home in Arizona and the many life-long friends as well as relatives, to make a new home in Salt Lake City, will not be done without heartache, but people of their caliber are not looking for the easy road, but always for the opportunity for greater service. They will look forward, not backward. At fifty-three years of age, Elder Stapley brings into the councils of the General Authorities of the Church, a strength of character, a breadth of vision, and a background of experience and accomplishment that will be of great worth to these councils and to the members of the Church throughout the world. |
Delbert L. Stapely
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Kimball, Spencer W. "Delbert L. Stapely of the Council of the Twelve." Improvement Era. February 1962. pg. 90-95, 112-114.
Delbert L. Stapely BY SPENCER W. KIMBALL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE Friday, December 11, 1896, was an eventful day. In Mesa, Arizona, a sweet young mother brought forth a child whose lusty cries were later changed into a clarion call and a voice of warning to the world. The Church was growing. Wilford Woodruff was President, and there were about forty stakes of Zion, largely in Utah. Proselyting was world-wide, and converts were migrating as they had done for more than half a century. Even from far away Australia had come important people, some of whom are concerned with this story. This child came to the small, simple home of the Orley Seymour Stapley family—a child of promise, wanted, loved, and welcomed—Delbert Leon! This house was a home in a deeper sense than most modern mansions or luxurious palaces, for in it was a growing family building a close harmony of faith and love. Mesa, named for the plateau-like nature of the area above the river valley, was on the fringe of the desert land. It refused to grow crops and would only grow them if hard labor sent water from the lower levels of the river to irrigate its rich soil. Arizona was truly in its pioneer stage, but today it is a changed empire, and in no small way has our brother, Delbert L. Stapley, contributed towards its marvelous growth and development. Among Mesa's earlier inhabitants was the family of Thomas Stapley, grandfather of Delbert L., who went from England to Australia in 1838 as a boy, along with his father Charles Stapley, Elder Stapley's great-grandfather. They were among the first converts to the gospel after the Church mission was established in Australia. The first meeting of the Saints in New South Wales, Australia, was held at Sydney on Sunday, November 2, 1852, and it is likely that Charles and Thomas and other Stapley converts attended that meeting. It is interesting to note that the descendant, Delbert Leon Stapley, was one of two apostles to return to Sydney and organize the Sydney Stake on March 27, 1960, the first stake in Australia and the second in the South Pacific. From Australia the Stapleys came to America. Charles Stapley and his English wife and their twelve children arrived in San Bernardino, California, in 1854, and two years later made their way to Toquerville, Utah. There Thomas fell in love with Mary Ann Bliss, and they were married in the St. George Temple. It was in Toquerville, April 28, 1872, that their son Orley Seymour was born. In 1882, when he was about ten years of age, the family moved to Arizona where the parents and seven living children cultivated their forty-acre farm southwest of Mesa and took care of their cattle. This meant little formal schooling for Orley Seymour and his brothers and sisters. This self-educated man, however, became one of the foremost merchants in Arizona—a leader in reclamation, a trustee on school boards, including the Normal School at Tempe, a state senator, and a counselor in the Maricopa stake presidency which was given the responsibility for the erection of the Arizona Temple. Other forebears, Abraham Hunsaker and family, joined the Church in 1842 in Illinois. Abraham later moved his family to Utah and after a time located at what is now Honeyville, which town he founded. It. was here, to Abraham's son, Alexander Hunsaker and his wife Melissa Caroline Johnson, that Polly May Hunsaker was born and spent her early childhood. With other members of the family she went with her parents in a covered wagon to Snowflake, Arizona. Here her father, Alexander, worked with the Indians for two years and then continued south with his family into the Mesa area where he later became bishop of the Alma Ward. The Hunsakers had reared this lovely girl worthy to be the wife of the stalwart Orley and to be the mother of nine splendid children, one to become an apostle. She was reserved, quiet, meticulous, and orderly, creating a home which afforded the progressive atmosphere in which young Delbert and his brothers and sisters grew up. When the second son Delbert came to the Stapley home in Mesa, he came to a modest two-roomed brick house to a young couple who wanted children, who loved the Lord, who were ambitious and industrious, and who would provide the background and environment in which great souls were to be nurtured. The small home was enlarged as children continued to make their appearance. One room after another room was added to the original structure until there was a large home, capable of accommodating the eleven members of the family. The children, who all grew to maturity, filled responsible positions in business, community, and Church activities. They were Orley Glenn, who was older than Delbert, and Lorel Aaron, Lynn Erwin, LaRue Zelda (Hakes), Thyrle H., Zola May (Deshler), Cleo Melissa (Johnson), and Wayne Curtis. Of these, Glenn, Lorel, LaRue, and Wayne have passed away in recent years. For Delbert there were the wholly dependent days in his mother's arms; there were the barefoot days of marbles and tops and kites; there were the growing up days, including the youthful days of athletics and the beginnings of romance; there were the missionary days, the days of blossoming out into business, church, social, and community life, and then came the days Brother Stapley has been an active scouter for forty-two years. of Church leadership. The Stapley boy was to grow up in a home of good training and in an atmosphere of culture and family affection. Regular family prayers were to develop his faith. Chores and work were to develop responsibility. Individual prayers at his mother's knee, and family planning and family gatherings were to tie him close to the family. Honesty and integrity of an exemplary father in business, church, and community life were to develop character in the boy. As he grew older, he entered into the games of youth—baseball, basketball, and later hunting, fishing, and golfing. Of all of them, perhaps baseball was his favorite. Here there could be fudging and chiseling, but this was a boy whose religion carried through seven days a week, who would rather be injured than injure, who would rather be fouled than foul. His brother Thyrle says of him, "In all his dealings with the Church or business, not expediency but right ruled his decisions. I remember particularly that he loved to play baseball and was invited to play on the town team. This he agreed to do provided that he did not have to play on Sunday. So he played the week days only, although pressure was brought on him by many sportsmen of the town. He was offered a chance to play major league baseball but turned it down because he would have to play on Sunday. The Sabbath also ruled out for him on Sunday his loved sports, hunting, fishing, and golfing." As a young man of twenty-three years, the father, Orley Stapley, has envisioned a business which would cement family relationships and provide for his expected numerous posterity and keep his family about him. This business in 1895 was known as the "Hunsaker and Stapley Hardware Company," and ads were running in the Mesa Free Press such as this: "Full line of wagons and buggy material, stoves, tinware, celebrated blue flame oil stoves. Mining supplies complete, terms strictly cash." or "Nails at 4V2 cents per pound. Wire and staples at the same old price." The confidence people had in his father and the kind, solicitous interest he showed in their problems was certainly inherited by the son. The father had filled a mission in the Southern States in 1898, leaving his wife, two sons, and an unborn third one. He had sold the business to his father-in-law. Delbert speaks of his own youthful experiences: "Most of my early days at home were spent running the ranch, milking the cows, and looking after the fruit orchard." At ten he remembers seeing the disastrous fire which wiped out the Stapley business in Mesa. There had been established a good credit rating, however, and so they were able to re-establish the business immediately. The father expressed his happiness that it was the business and not the home that had burned. At fifteen Delbert began working in the business by delivering commodities with a horse-drawn wagon. He was warehouse boy, handling heavy equipment and assembling machinery shipped from the factory. After his mission he began his sales work and later became the manager of the store in Mesa. His older brother, Glenn, assumed leadership in the general management of the entire business. Another store was opened in Phoenix while Delbert was in the mission field, and later stores were opened in Chandler, Glendale, and other towns until the total number of nine stores was reached, with some 450 employees. So Del grew up in the mercantile business which was to give him long years of occupation and opportunity for expanding leadership. The father's example was always before Delbert Stapley. Orley Stapley had taken his sons in with him in business. Delbert saw his benevolent father forgive debts of customers, give commodities to widows, and assist those in distress. Thus, generosity was born in Del's life, and many are recipients thereof. He felt the deep-seated love of a mother who was devoted to her family, and tenderness sprang up in his nature, kindness was inherited, and love for people became his consuming interest. This carried on into Delbert's later life, for today he is president of the family business, which is like a covering tent over the Stapley tribe. The family numbers about 175, and his personal interest lies with each one. He is exultant when the business prospers and when the individual members are doing well. He is troubled and anxious when problems are found in family or business. Elder Stapley has been an active, consistent member of scouting for forty-two years. He was a charter member of the Roosevelt Council and served in all positions therein, including president of the Council for two years. The Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope were awarded him in 1934 and 1957 respectively. His activities have reached into the regional field where he served as vice-chairman of Region 12 and national representative. On June 3, 1961, he was awarded the Silver Buffalo by the National Council, Boy Scouts of America, scouting's highest honor. "He possesses those qualities which exemplify all the things we are working for with boys in scouting" says George F. Miller, Scout Executive of the Roosevelt Council at Phoenix. From the beginning, his church life was full and consistent. While most of his friends found other things to do, he filled an honorable mission. His brother said, "Of course, the biggest thing that happened to Del as a young man was his call to a mission for the Church when he was just eighteen." Kentucky was then in the Southern States Mission. Delbert tells of rare experiences. There was the time when he had difficulty readying a young man for baptism. Without success they retired for the night, and in a dream he saw himself talking again to the young man, then taking him to the river where he was baptized. The next day the dream came true as he had seen it. Into the back country of Kentucky he went—an immature boy. Out of the hills of Kentucky he came two years later—a man with steadiness of soul and with high purpose in life to follow his own charting like a river follows its own self-hewn channel. He entered his mission naive and young; he emerged therefrom matured and inspired with an unwavering testimony and determination to follow the lofty path, the high road. I have known Delbert L. Stapley through the later phases of his life. Having had similar experiences as a youth in the same demanding, hard country, I know the man. I asked others of his associates about his growing up days. One of his contemporaries in military life, not a member of the Church, made this remark: "Some of the Mormon boys who came to camp found opportunity to relax the standards of their Church and jump over the traces, and some were real problems to their commanders, but not Del Stapley. Never did any officer see Del compromise his standards. We always knew where he stood." Delbert was a good soldier, tall, erect, impressive. He entered the Marine Corps in 1918 at twenty-one years and after a few months of training had to return home on furlough because his wife, Ethel, was critically ill with influenza and double pneumonia. When the Arizona National Guard was organized in 1924, Delbert was given the rank of captain and commanded a company of infantry. After nine years of military experience he resigned his commission. At that time he then held the rank of major and was a battalion commander. He is a prayerful man. I hear him pray. His voice has in it a tenderness, and as I listen I seem to hear Peter saying, "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12.) And then I know that this man, wholesome as a child, worthy as a boy, faithful as a man, devoted as a leader, has the ear of the Lord when he prays. There are no wornout phrases, triteness, or memorization. When he prays, every word, every phrase seems to have meaning. Every situation, condition, or individual seems to have a special place in his heart. Have you heard him pray? His voice softens, there is pleading in his tones. He is talking to someone with whom he seems to be well acquainted, in whom he has great confidence and faith. His words speak gratitude, but there are requests besides, though they are not favors for himself. He remembers the weak, the wronged, the ill, the leaders, the brethren. When we think of Brother Stapley we think that Isaiah must have been speaking of men like him. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. ". . . then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." (Isaiah 58:8-11.) The sincerity and intensity and personality and faith of his prayers undoubtedly account for the numerous people who have been healed by the Lord through the hands of this, his servant. Such healings would fill chapters. His sister-in-law, Ruth, says of him: "We believe in him, have faith in him much like the early-day Saints who put so much confidence in the healing power of the Apostle Peter. Through Thyrle's operations, and each of them an emergency, Del would somehow manage to get to Phoenix without our knowledge of his arrival and would appear at the moment when we needed him most. I shall never forget one afternoon during a very trying painful ordeal, after the surgeons had reported that the operation was not a successful one, and there was nothing more they could do. Looking out of the window I saw Del walking up the steps of the hospital. What a surprise! We thought he was in Salt Lake City. As I watched him enter the hospital, the feeling came over me that this wonderful man was much like Peter, who hastened to Joppa, laid his big, healing hands on the head of Dorcas, and raised her from the dead. As I listened to the fervent prayer of our present-day apostle, all worry and doubt and fear left me. The blessed relief and assurance that my husband would recover came over me. I was not the least bit surprised several days later when the doctor said, 'Mr. Stapley, you have had a miraculous recovery.'' This is not so strange that the aged should be comforted, the deformed healed, the ill made well, the erring turned from their way of unrighteousness, the dying brought back to life, for was it not the injunction of his Master, through James, to call in the elders of the Church, and the prayer of faith should heal the sick? When I see him standing straight and tall and firm, and when I hear him contend for the right, I recall what Blaine H. Alexander, a former counselor in the Phoenix Stake presidency wrote: "His outstanding quality would be his concern for people . . . giving due consideration to the importance of people, their problems, their rights, their health and happiness, their peace and progress both here and in the eternities. He has lived and taught the things that make men free—attributes which preserve the dignity and justice, virtue, honor, and integrity, and which bring mankind closer to understanding the everlasting things of life." Brother Stapley is just; he wants no favoritism nor unfair advantage. He wants things to be right. If, in his anxiety to correct errors and to stimulate goodness, he should give offense, he is equally anxious to rectify it. I remember once when it came to his attention that offense had been taken in something that he said. He told me of it in great concern. He mentioned it for days, and then made a long trip and reconciled and cleared up the misunderstanding. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Matt. 5:9.) Elder Stapley is such. Not only is he courageous enough to clear his own difficulties, but in numerous occasions has he stepped in to help former friends become friends again, to help neighbors return to speaking terms, to encourage brethren to settle their difficulties and to help husbands and wives to return to mutual understanding and sweet compatibility. If there was any surprise in his call to the apostleship, it was perhaps because he was so far away from headquarters. Many who knew him rather expected it, and all who knew his virtues accepted it as something merited by ability and worthiness. "When he was chosen an apostle in our great Church," added Naomi Brimhall, a former co-worker, "you would have thought that every youth and adult in the stake had a personal hand in selecting him, they were so proud of him." "He was no pretender," wrote his brother-in-law, Alma M. Davis. "His word was his bond. I have never known anyone to question his honor or integrity. He developed the talents and gifts with which he was blessed by using them in the service of his fellow men and the Master. To him the gospel is the way of life, not just a theological doctrine. He has the common touch, he has great humility, always recognizing that the cause he represents is far greater than his own personal interests. Also he has the ability to inspire confidence in others and to organize his time and effort. He is dedicated and loyal." His brother, Thyrle, says of him, "His policy is that the end does not justify the means. It must be right." His friends outside the Church are legion. One of the numerous lifelong friends, Marian L. Chandler, praises highly Delbert Stapley's talents and thoughtfulness. "No one ever had a better counselor," wrote James R. Price now Arizona Temple President and for many years the stake president to whom Delbert was counselor. "He was a natural leader, a great organizer, loved and followed by youth. Young men fulfilled missions because Brother Stapley filled a mission. They wanted to be like him." Our brother is impressive, never boisterous, yet he loves a good story. He laughs sometimes, smiles often, and he beams with the pure joy of service and love, which is beneath his smiling face. His smile seems to emanate from a keen sense of pure joy and an inward feeling of satisfaction, coming from an understanding of deep, immeasurable, eternal things. He is a realist. He is practical. In him is no weariness of body and of soul. He acknowledges the presence of problems, faces them squarely, grapples with them with both hands, and like the earnest plowman, holds the plow in its proper path. One is not overly conscious of any of Brother Stapley's great qualities for they stand out in a complete whole, none predominating. They are so well balanced that one is impressed merely with the bigness, the well-proportioned bigness of this apostle of the Lord. There is complete symmetry. He intermingles a majestic greatness with deepest humility and unrelenting determination with sweet gentleness. Like other great men, Brother Stapley has been lifted to greatness by an inspiring wife. Ethel Davis was his childhood sweetheart. As they went through four and a half years of school together, they became fond of each other. They carried on a correspondence through his mission days. It would not take too vivid an imagination to close one's eyes and see them walking home together, Del leading the bicycle. It seemed quite important then that he carry her books home. Ethel was a basketball player, also, for in those days there were both girls' and boys' teams. Their friendship ripened. The best horses and buggies from Dan Hibbert's livery stable were none too good for this lovely Davis girl. Del's father, one of the first to have an auto, was obliging, and Ethel was later courted in the auto. Delbert took Ethel to the traveling troupe shows, to the open air coliseum, the silent moving pictures, the Chautauqua, and also to Church functions. The interest of those days deepened into a romance which gained in intensity and sacredness until their sealing in the Salt Lake Temple on January 17, 1918 made it eternal. Brother Stapley is a greater man because of Ethel. A devoted couple, Del and Ethel take pride and satisfaction in their children and grandchildren, all of whom live in Arizona. A loving son and two charming daughters with eight grandchildren praise, honor, and love them both. Their son, Orley S., lives in Phoenix. His eldest daughter, Berdine, and her husband Grant A. Farley live in Yuma. Their eldest child Bruce, after serving in the Scottish-Irish Mission, is now attending BYU; Janice is married to Gary Alexander Greer, and Leona and Dianne are at home with their parents. Elder and Sister Stapley's youngest daughter, Phyllis, married Reed F. Mack, and their home also is in Phoenix. Their eldest child is named Delbert for his grandfather. They also have a daughter, Coralie, and twin sons, David and Michael. Elder Stapley had many titles. Dix W. Price said he was lovingly called "Mr. MIA" by his associates who found him always thinking of and planning for the youth—the hope of Israel. "Mr. Responsibility," he was called by those of his fellow workers like Mabel P. Davis, a sister-in-law and co-worker in MIA, who says, "I have always found him honest, kind, generous, and dependable. Young people respect, admire, and honor him. His courage never falters." "Mr. Reliable," he was called by others. We saw this young man in the strength and virility of youth; yesterday he was a baby-tender, weed-puller, garden-planter, yard cleaner, cow-milker, land-plower, and violin-player. Today we see him a torchbearer, a lamplighter, a man of action, a man of progress, a man of peace. "And he lighted the lamps before the Lord." (Exodus 40:25.) He is truly a man with the glow of love in his heart; a man with vigor and purpose, faith and vision. Elder Stapley has an unusual combination of self-confidence and impressive humility. He moves with sureness into the solution of the most knotty problems yet has withal an outstanding simple dependence on heavenly powers. His humility is strength, not weakness as some might imply. His faith is a genuine dependence upon his Lord whom he loves devotedly and knows intimately. "Blessed are they" said the Lord to doubting Thomas, "that have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29.) He needs not thrust his fingers in the wounds assassins bored in palms and wrists and feet and side. He knows it is his Lord. Unwavering faith in things divine, his testimony's sure. He knows that through God's prophets now come revelations pure. He follows with a loyal heart the leaders of our day; he knows as sure as Peter did the kingdom's here to stay. We see him now in his sixties, alert, vigorous, inspiring, strong and with neither his strength diminished "nor his natural force abated." (Deut. 34:7.) |
Delbert L. Stapely
Picture of Delbert Leon Stapley in his early childhood. Note style of dress and backdrop which were used when having a picture taken. Elder Stapley was the second of nine children
Elder Stapley's love for baseball found him on the high school team in Mesa (front row, far right), along with his brother, Lorel Aaron (row two, far left). Later he turned down an opportunity to play major league baseball.
As a youth he spent considerable time working in his fathers store prior to his mission call.
Mission field companions included Carlos Judd, Kanab (front left), and Spencer Heiner, Morgan, Utah; and Leo L. Hardy, Mesquite, Nev. (back left). Elder Stapley (back right) represented Arizona in the group.
The future apostle served in the Southern States Mission. Following his mission he married Ethel Davis on Jan. 17, 1918.
The Orley Seymour and Polly May (Hunsaker) Stapley family were well thought of in their Arizona community. For inspiration
young Delbert (hack row, far left) had only to look to his father who was an outstanding Arizona merchant, state senator, counselor in the stake presidency, a trustee for the Normal School at Tempe (now Arizona State University), and a leader in the erection of the Arizona temple. Apostle Stapley's leadership abilities were evident as president of the Phoenix Stake. His counselors included David E. Heywood (left), present president of the Phoenix Stake, and R. Melvin Johnson, later patriarch of East Phoenix Stake, now deceased. Marion L. Clawson (hack) was stake clerk.
In 1918, at age twenty-one, Elder Stapley entered the Marine Corps. He was stationed at Mare Island in San Francisco Bay.
Brother Stapley has been an active scouter for forty-two years. The BSA National Council has awarded him scouting's highest honor, the Silver Buffalo award. He is pictured below as a member of a selection committee for Eagle Scouts representing seven councils.
Brother Stapley's daughter, Phyllis Ruth, her husband, Reed F. Mack, and their family, twin sons Mike and David (l-r), Coralie, and Delbert (back), named for his grandfather
Orley S. (below), the Stapley son. He, like the rest of the Stapley family, lives in Arizona, residing in Phoenix.
The eldest daughter, Ethel Berdine, assists her husband Grant A. Farley in their hardware and gift business in Yuma. Their son, Bruce, recently returned from the Scottish-Irish Mission and is now attending Brigham Young University. Other members of the family are (l-r) Dianne, Leona, and Janice.
A recent photograph of Apostle Stapley and his beloved wife Ethel. Both natives of Arizona, they have one son, two daughters, and eight grandchildren. Elder Stapley has been called "Mr. MIA" by his associates who found him always thinking of and planning for the youth of the Church. Other titles given him are "Mr. Responsibility" and "Mr. Reliable."
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