Lorenzo H. Hatch
Born: ?
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: 1945
Released: 1948
Died: ?
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: 1945
Released: 1948
Died: ?
Image source: Improvement Era, October 1948
Biographical Articles
Josephson, Marba C. "Service to Youth through the Y.M.M.I.A. - The Retiring Superintendency." Improvement Era. October 1948. pg. 623, 663-666.
Service to Youth through the Y.M.M.I.A. The Retiring Superintendency By Marba C. Josephson Associate Editor SUPERINTENDENT GEORGE Q. Morris, newly appointed president of the Eastern States Mission, moves from one position of responsibility to another through his release as general superintendent of the Y.M.M.I.A. to appointment as president of the mission. Throughout his life, Brother Morris has given unstintedly of his time and talents to the Church, and his training and his personal characteristics have made him one of its beloved men. By heritage he enjoys the qualities of the Welsh and the English, for his father was Welsh; and his mother, English. He has a delightfully quiet sense of humor that he inherited from the Welsh, and this strikes home when situations need to be lightened by a deft touch. His gallantry and courtesy are innate and have made it a delightful experience for those who have been privileged to accompany him on conventions and other assignments of the M.I.A. His consideration and interest have been of great import, and he has made what might otherwise be strenuous trips enjoyable excursions. The work of the Mutual has been foremost, of course, but Elder Morris knows the country because of his association with the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association of which he has been an executive member for many years. With this knowledge he has shown the interesting spots to the group as they have journeyed to and from assignments. Blessed with an innate dignity. Elder Morris has brought respect to the organization which he heads. Restraint is his keynote. He is always the gentleman, always the nobleman. Work with the hands has ever been respected by Elder Morris, both by inheritance and inclination. This respect for honest labor is inherited from both his parents. His mother, Mary L. Walker Morris, evidenced it throughout her life. One particular occasion persists in memory. She was on one occasion visiting the colonies in Mexico where a daughter lived. Rather than be idle, even though she was supposedly enjoying a vacation, she directed a class for sewing among the young girls, and in order to foster culture, she organized the same group into a singing class. Brother Morris' father, Elias Morris, was a mason and general contractor and in pioneer days established a business which Elder Morris has carried on in the name of Elias Morris & Sons Company. This respect for honest work has carried over into the association which Brother Morris has headed for the past eleven years. He has expressed appreciation for the work done by those who have worked under him—both for the Young Men's and the Young Women's boards. His activities have been of such nature as to equip him for his new appointment. From 1904, when he was called to be superintendent of the Salt Lake Stake Y.M.M.I.A. until the present he has been active in the organization of the Church. Prior to that time he served on a three-year mission to England, where he officiated as president of the London district for over a year. His activities have included such offices as a member of the bishopric, a bishop, a member of the stake presidency, stake board member, general board member, first assistant to the general superintendent of the Y.M. M.I. A., as well as general superintendent. He was called to the position of first assistant in January 1935 and became general superintendent in April 1937 when Elder Albert E. Bowen was called into the Council of the Twelve. In every position that Brother Morris has filled, he has earned the wholehearted cooperation of his co-workers. George Q. Morris was married in 1905 to Emma Ramsey, a most talented musician. They have three daughters, Marian, Helen, and Margery, all of them gifted and lovely. Only one thought has been uppermost in Superintendent Morris mind and that has been to advance the cause of God and be of service to his children upon the earth. The question has never entered his mind as to whether the work would be hard to accomplish, or require endless time and energy. There has been only one question he has ever asked, and that is, "Is it the right thing to do?" If the answer was in the affirmative, the work was done. The amazing factor in all of Elder Morris' Church assignments is that he has been willing to sacrifice so much time from his own work in order to perform his assignments in the Church. He has held positions of trust and responsibility in the community in addition to his professional work. He is president and general manager of Elias Morris and Sons, chairman of the board of directors of Prudential Federal Savings and Loan Association, director of the Travelers' Aid Society, vice president of the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association, in addition to other positions such as in the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. Brother Morris' experience in business has been invaluable in his management of the Mutual and of The Improvement Era. His keen business sense has been the means of keeping the organization and the magazine on the safe side of the ledger. Everyone who has worked with Brother Morris wishes him success and happiness in his new assignment. His friends and associates know that as he has built surely in his previous appointments, so he will build in this new one. As he has helped build lasting monuments in stone, so he is building lasting monuments in the lives of the people with whom he has worked and will work. They will miss his quiet drollery and his incisive judgment, but they will know that his service still continues—for our Eternal Father and his children. Assistants to Elder Morris The way of service in the Church is to act where called until released, and continue to serve in other positions to which one may be called. Brother Giles and Brother Hatch have evidenced this way throughout their lives. They have served in position after position in the Church, and they will continue to serve wherever they may be ap- pointed. Their years of service in the capacity of the superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association commenced in January 1946. During this time and all of the years before in other Church positions, they have been valiant in the cause of youth. Elder John D. Giles, first assistant superintendent under Brother George Q. Morris, has been a member of the Y. M. M. I. A. general board since 1929. For ten years of that time he served as field representative for Scouts, Explorers, and M Men. For fifteen years before he was appointed to the general board, he served as superintendent of the Y.M.M.LA. in Ensign Stake. Moreover, he has been associated with the Scout work for all but the first three years of its adoption in the United States. He began his work with the Scouts in 1913. In 1936, Brother Giles received the Silver Beaver award "for outstanding service to boyhood." In 1944, he received the thirty-year veteran award. He also was influential in making the M Men an important department in the M.I.A. Service to young men has long been uppermost in Brother Giles' mind, especially since he served both the Mutual and the Aaronic Priesthood, the latter under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. In October 1941, he was called to a mission in the Bureau of Information at Hill Cumorah, Palmyra, New York, and he labored there for three years. A member of the American Pioneer Trails Association, he has been exceedingly busy as executive secretary for many years. He has also been executive secretary for the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association, satisfying an urgent desire to honor those who made our growth a reality. The crowning work of this position is undoubtedly the monument that now overlooks the valley at the point where the pioneers first saw the land they were to call home. Elder Giles was married to Una Pratt, June 20, 1906. They have been blessed with four children. Parley Giles, Dorothy Giles Topham, Lucille Giles Gardner, and one son who died in his youth. Elder Lorenzo H. Hatch, second assistant superintendent to Elder George Q. Morris and principal of Granite High School in Salt Lake City, has had an active life in Church leadership. He began in the Y. M. M. I. A. with a position as teacher in Franklin Ward, Oneida Stake, Idaho. In this same ward he later became a member of the Sunday School superintendency. A veteran of World War I, he has been concerned with civic questions and has affiliated himself with various civic organizations. In his Church work he served as president of Granite Stake for ten years, being released from that position at the time he became a member of the general superintendency of the Y.M.M.I.A. It is interesting to note that the newly appointed general superintendent, Elbert R. Curtis, served as stake clerk to President Hatch and later became one of his counselors in the stake presidency. Under Brother Hatch's leadership of Granite Stake, it was one of the first stakes to have every quorum qualify for the Aaronic Priesthood Standard Quorum Award. In other ways, too, this stake, under the capable leadership of Elder Hatch, had advocated other programs which have proved effective in youth leadership and have become part of the general youth program for youth leadership. Brother Hatch was married to Ina Porter, June 20, 1917. They have four children: three sons, Wayne L., Hyrum P., and Robert L., and one daughter, Catherine. Those who have worked with these three men know without a shadow of a doubt of their fervent testimony and their earnest desire to act in any capacity to which they may be called under the direction of the priesthood. The blessings and thanks of the membership of the Church as a whole go with Superintendents Morris, Giles, and Hatch in whatever positions they may hold in the Church. The Y.M.M.I.A. General Board With the release of the general superintendency the entire board is released. These board members have served faithfully and well. The gratitude of the Church goes with them into whatever work in the Church to which they may be called. Those released are: Aldon J. Anderson, Richard M. Ball, M. Elmer Christensen, Merrill D. Clayson, J. Spencer Cornwall, Roy M. Darley, Richard L. Evans, Floyed G. Eyre, Dr. Philo T. Farnsworth, Doyle L. Green, Dr. Wayne B. Hales, D. E. Hammond, Dr. George H. Hansen, Dr. Franklin S. Harris, Charles J. Hart, Creed Haymond, Werner Kiepe, Oscar A. Kirkham, Rock M. Kirkham, Axel A. Madsen, Frank W. McGhie, W. LeGrand Maxwell, Mark H. Nichols, Dr. T. Earl Pardoe, Alma H. Pettigrew, Reed H. Richards, W. O. Robinson, Stanley Russon, Verl Scott, Stringam A. Stevens, Dr. L. A. Stevenson, Dr. George Stewart, Clark N. Stohl, Homer C. Warner, T. Frank Williams, Elwood G. Winters. |
GEORGE Q. MORRIS
Newly Appointed President, Eastern States Mission JOHN D. GILES
First Assistant LORENZO H. HATCH
Second Assistant A Message From President Morris
"The opportunity for service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not lie in one organization or one auxiliary alone, but lies in membership in the Church. From membership we may be called to positions of leadership—and whenever that call comes, we grow if we accept it. My experience in the Mutual has been a happy one, largely because of the unusual people with whom I have been privileged to work. It has been a real pleasure to watch the growth of the Mutual program. There are accomplishments yet to be realized, and I am certain that under the direction of the Lord and under the leadership of Superintendent Curtis the organization will continue to progress and achieve. I am likewise happy to go into the mission field, where I hope to further the work of the Lord upon the earth." —George Q. Morris |