Marion D. Hanks
Born: 13 October 1921
Called to First Council of the Seventy: 4 October 1953
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1968
Called to First Quorum of the Seventy: 1 October 1976
Called to Presidency of the Seventy: 6 October 1984
Returned to First Quorum of the Seventy: 15 August 1992
Became Emeritus General Authority: 3 October 1992
Died: 5 August 2011
Called to First Council of the Seventy: 4 October 1953
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1968
Called to First Quorum of the Seventy: 1 October 1976
Called to Presidency of the Seventy: 6 October 1984
Returned to First Quorum of the Seventy: 15 August 1992
Became Emeritus General Authority: 3 October 1992
Died: 5 August 2011
Biographical Articles
Improvement Era, December 1953, Marion Duff Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy
Relief Society Magazine, December 1953, Marion Duff Hanks, New Member of the First Council of the Seventy
Improvement Era, November 1967, Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy
Relief Society Magazine, June 1968, Elder Marion D. Hanks Called to Be Assistant to the Twelve
Ensign, November 1984, Elder Marion D. Hanks of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy
Relief Society Magazine, December 1953, Marion Duff Hanks, New Member of the First Council of the Seventy
Improvement Era, November 1967, Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy
Relief Society Magazine, June 1968, Elder Marion D. Hanks Called to Be Assistant to the Twelve
Ensign, November 1984, Elder Marion D. Hanks of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy
"Marion Duff Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy." Improvement Era. December 1953. pg. 915, 1007.
MARION DUFF HANKS OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY . . . Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me . . .? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-16.) To be a trusted caretaker of the flock seems to be a special calling of Elder Marion Duff Hanks who, on conference Sunday, October 4, 1953, was sustained as a member of the First Council of the Seventy. Early and late his classes (at Salt Lake City West High Seminary where he serves as principal, and at the Institute of Religion where he is an instructor) are as a beacon light to students who beat a path to the classroom doors. When he is not with the youth of Zion, counseling and encouraging them, he is at his assigned duties as assistant director of the Bureau of Information on Temple Square (a position he has held for more than five years, having been a guide on that world-famed square since 1946). There he greets thousands of tourists with the message of the restored gospel each year. Elder Hanks is a young people's man. He knows, loves, and appreciates their viewpoints; he knows how to bring the best out of them; but he is anchored by many years of teaching, of growth, and of activity in the Church. He was a Sunday School teacher at the age of fifteen—assigned to teach boys not much younger than himself. He was a member of the stake boards of MIA and Sunday School in Salt Lake Stake (where he was born and reared) before accepting a call to fulfil a mission in the Northern States (1942-1944). He was a member of the Church championship M Men 19th Ward basketball team in 1947; he is a Master M Man; he has performed, especially during June conferences, a number of special services for the general boards of the MIA. While attending the law school at the University of Utah he was active in Delta Phi, the returned missionaries' social fraternity, and at present serves as adviser to the chapter on the University of Utah campus. He is much sought after as a fireside speaker, he has a class at the Mission Home in "difficult questions"; and on Sunday morning was the adviser for the teachers' quorum of the Aaronic Priesthood in the Wasatch Ward, Hillside (Salt Lake City) Stake. When the call came to the First Council of the Seventy, his thirty-second birthday was still over a week away. In the mission field his record was outstanding. Serving as a field secretary, he traveled the mission with President Leo J. Muir. When President Muir was absent, Elder Hanks conducted the district conferences. In one year he filled over seven hundred assignments as he accompanied a ladies' missionary sextet, appearing with the gospel message in words and song before civic organizations, schools, hospitals, and churches. When President David I. Stoddard succeeded President Muir in the mission field, Elder Hanks accompanied him on his first visit to the branches and districts of the mission. Shortly after returning from the mission field he enlisted in the United States Navy. There were about six hundred Latter-day Saint men in training at the San Diego Naval Base (many like him, having just returned from the mission field), and Elder Hanks was chosen by the Church to be the group leader. Later he became a first class petty officer aboard a submarine chaser on extended South Pacific duty. Here he was the only LDS member of the crew and was selected by the ship's captain to serve as the chaplain for the some two hundred officers and men on board ship. He married Maxine Christensen in 1949, the daughter of Elder and Sister Ellwood Christensen of Honolulu, who themselves had once served together in the Japanese Mission. The ceremony took place in the Hawaiian Temple. The couple have two daughters: Susan Gay, 3; and Nancy Marie, 2. Elder Marion Duff Hanks was born October 13, 1921 in Salt Lake City, as the youngest of seven children of Stanley Alonzo and Maude Frame Hanks. His father, a municipal judge of Salt Lake City, died when Marion was two years old. In responding to the call to take his place among the General Authorities of the Church, Elder Hanks said in part: ... I pay tribute : . . to my father, whom I did not know—he passed away when I was a baby;—to my angel mother who reared six of us ... to my brothers and sisters, each of whom I love, and who have given service to this Church. . . . His widowed mother reared six children to maturity. He found time, in the past several years, to serve in many non-church assignments in Salt Lake City. He has served as president of the Emigration chapter, Sons of the Utah Pioneers; for three years as chairman of the speakers' bureau of the Salt Lake City Community Chest; and more recently as Salt Lake County cochairman of the Cancer Society. The Church indeed welcomes this young man who has done so much for the youth of the Church in the Salt Lake City area, and been active civically, as he is called to his position and trust—as a member of the First Council of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Elder Marion D. Hanks with his wife, the former Maxine Christensen, and their two daughters, Susan Gay, 3; and Nancy Marie, 2.
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"Marion Duff Hanks, New Member of the First Council of the Seventy." Relief Society Magazine. December 1953. pg. 810-812.
Marion Duff Hanks, New Member of the First Council of the Seventy Elder Richard L. Evans Of the Council of the Twelve IT is sometimes strikingly significant to see how early in life the course and character of a man become manifest. This is a sobering thought for young people who may think that the early years do not matter too much. The young man who was made a member of the First Council of Seventy at the general conference of the Church on October 4, 1953, is one whose early life indicated a definite direction. Marion Duff Hanks was a Sunday School teacher at the age of fifteen —teaching boys not much younger than himself. Always active in the auxiliaries, he served on the Salt Lake Stake Sunday School and M.I.A. boards before he filled his mission. In the Northern States Mission (1942-1944), his record again was one of leading out. Serving as a field secretary, he traveled the mission with President Leo J. Muir. On occasions of the mission president's absence or illness, he conducted district conferences. He spoke in over a hundred non-Mormon churches. Wherever he has gone, he has lived a well-rounded life, and the Church has been his chief interest. World War II found him enlisted in the Navy where he served two years. As a First Class Petty Officer aboard a submarine chaser, he was selected by the ship's captain to serve as chaplain. And for most of the time on extended South Pacific duty, he was the only Latter-day Saint among some two hundred officers and men. Before this he had been a group leader of some six hundred Latter-day Saint men at San Diego Naval Base. Brother Hanks' broad interests consist of many sides, with a wholeness of spirit, a humanness of heart, a genuinely fine sense of humor, and a deep love and understanding of life that make him always choice company and an effective associate in any assignment. Civically, he has served as a president of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers (Emigration Chapter); three years as chairman of the speakers' bureau of the Community Chest; and recently as Salt Lake County co-chairman of the Cancer Society. For more than five years he has served as assistant director of the Bureau of Information on Temple Square in Salt Lake City where he has been active as a guide since 1946, and has left an unforgettable impression upon many thousands of people concerning the mission and message of the Church. He has also conducted the evening outdoor Temple Square meetings for tourists, which, in recent summer seasons, have attracted hundreds of visitors each evening. He is a Master M Man, and has performed a number of special services for the General Board of the M.LA. He was an active member of Delta Phi at the University of Utah. At the time of his present appointment he was serving as advisor to the teachers' quorum in Wasatch Ward. Brother Hanks has also been much in demand as a fireside speaker, and has served for two years at the L. D. S. Mission Home in Salt Lake City, where he has conducted a course on ''difficult questions." His activities have been well balanced. In high school he was an all-star basketball player and later an Intermountain A.A.U. all-star player. He was a member of the Church championship M Men basketball team in 1947, representing the Nineteenth Ward, where he was born and lived most of his life. He has also engaged in sports broadcasting. The physical side was supplemented by editorship of the school paper, debating, and presidency of the student council. He was a scholarship student, and nine years after he was valedictorian of his high school, he was invited back to West High in Salt Lake City to give the commencement address. Marion Duff Hanks was born on October 13, 1921, in Salt Lake City, the youngest of seven children (six surviving). His father, Stanley Alonzo Hanks, a municipal judge in Salt Lake City, died when Marion was two years of age. The teachings and life of his faithful mother, Maude Frame Hanks, are reflected in her family; one son, Lincoln, now serving as president of Salt Lake Stake, and two, Bruce and Marion, having both filled missions. The three girls, Maurine, Jeannette, and Beulah have also followed the family tradition for faithful service. As the sons of widows often do, Marion worked at many occupations from his earliest years to finance himself through the period of preparation, which included graduation from the School of Law at the University of Utah in 1948. In the Hawaiian Temple, in 1949, he married Maxine Christensen, the daughter of Brother and Sister Elwood Christensen of Honolulu, who themselves once served together in the Japanese Mission. Susan Gay, three, and Nancy Marie, two, are Brother and Sister Hanks' two young daughters. One of Brother Hanks' greatest satisfactions and services has been the teaching of young people, including his position as principal of West High Seminary, which he has held for some six years. Scores of high school students have faithfully come to his 7 a.m. Book of Mormon classes. More than 150 students are currently attending like classes at the L.D.S. Institute of Religion, adjacent to the University of Utah. And outside the classroom, young people have constantly sought him to talk about their problems. With the principles of the gospel, the standards of the Church, and an understanding heart, he has satisfied the souls of many, and sent them on their way with the spirit of peace and purpose and promise, with his solid and forthright counsel. This young man, short of thirty-two years old when his present call came, can be counted on to add strength and understanding and courage and conviction, and humility and positive leadership in the council of which he is now a member, and in all the calls and assignments that may come to him. His life has followed a consistent course. His character and capacity were early in evidence. He is loved, and he has loved the Lord. May he be blessed with a long lifetime of effective and satisfying service. |
ELDER MARION DUFF HANKS
ELDER MARION D. HANKS AND HIS FAMILY
Left to right: Nancy, Maxine Christensen Hanks, Susan, and Elder Hanks |
"Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy." Improvement Era. November 1967. pg. 58.
MARION D. HANKS of the First Council of the Seventy “You don't get an ivory tower feeling about him," replied a young returned missionary when asked about his relationship with Marion Duff Hanks. "President Hanks is very much in contact with the world ordinary people live in. He seems to come to grips with daily excitements and opportunities and experiences." Talk to building custodians, secretarial help, childhood friends, fellow General Authorities, or the soldier just home from Vietnam, and you'll learn that Brother Hanks is loved because he has shown his concern for their welfare. Many a quiet battle he has fought to bring peace to his fellowman. Many a courageous stand he's taken to insure fair judgment of a person or a problem. Marion D. Hanks was born October 13, 1921, in Salt Lake City to Stanley A. and Maude Frame Hanks. He married the former Maxine Christensen of Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1949, and they have five children. Their home has always been open to people in need of a place to stay, a place to be comforted, a place to be healed. Regardless of his race, religious belief, station, or problem in life, the stranger is warmly welcomed into their home. A desire to serve his Heavenly Father has been the motivating force of President Hanks' life. When just a young deacon, he began staying up long past midnight to read the standard works. Though a fine athlete, he gave up a college athletic scholarship to serve the Lord as a missionary. He was graduated from the University of Utah Law School and has his juris doctor degree from that institution. But rather than practice law, he decided to teach institute and seminary classes. His Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants classes, which he teaches at the University of Utah Institute of Religion, attract large crowds, often filling the institute chapel. In October 1953 he was called to serve in the First Council of the Seventy. President Hanks finds his greatest joy is to assist and encourage people in their search for enlightenment and truth, and as editor of the Era of Youth, he has had a wide influence on the youth of the Church. Ask about Marion D. Hanks and the answers reflect the many facets of his personality and the depth of his contribution: "He listens. " "His conference talks are always so relevant." "I've noticed how comfortable he seems among the greatest souls and the most brilliant minds." "Do you remember this quote, T could tell where the lamplighter was by the trail he left behind'? Well, you can tell where Duff Hanks has been, too—people are better. He cares about people." |
"Elder Marion D. Hanks Called to Be Assistant to the Twelve." Relief Society Magazine. June 1968. pg. 408.
Elder Marion D. Hanks Called to Be an Assistant to The Twelve Elder Marion D. Hanks was sustained as an Assistant to the Twelve at the Saturday morning session of the 138th Annual General Conference, April 6, 1968. Elder Hanks has been prominent in Church and civic affairs, predominantly in the field of youth development. He was appointed to the President's Citizens Advisory Committee in 1957, and was the featured speaker at the White House Conference on Youth the past year. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Brigham Young University, and on the National Council of Boy Scouts of America. Elder Hanks was called to the First Council of Seventy in October of 1953, and since that time has served diligently. He presided over the British Mission, and currently serves as supervisor of the Orient-Hawaii Missions, under direction of Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. He has visited Latter-day Saint servicemen in Vietnam and in other areas of the Orient. Elder Hanks is married to the former Maxine Christensen, and they are the parents of five children. |