Richard L. Evans
Born: 23 March 1906
Called to First Council of the Seventy: 7 October 1938
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 8 October 1953
Died: 1 November 1971
Called to First Council of the Seventy: 7 October 1938
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 8 October 1953
Died: 1 November 1971
Talks on Church WebsiteImage source: Improvement Era, February 1936
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Image source: Improvement Era, February 1954
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Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Improvement Era, February 1936, Richard L. Evans, Managing Editor
Improvement Era, November 1938, Richard L. Evans of the First Council of the Seventy
Instructor, December 1938, Richard L. Evans
Relief Society Magazine, December 1938, Richard L. Evans
Relief Society Magazine, December 1953, Elder Richard L. Evans Appointed Member of the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, February 1954, Richard L. Evans of the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, December 1971, Elder Richard L. Evans, Apostle of the Lord (1906-1971)
Improvement Era, February 1936, Richard L. Evans, Managing Editor
Improvement Era, November 1938, Richard L. Evans of the First Council of the Seventy
Instructor, December 1938, Richard L. Evans
Relief Society Magazine, December 1938, Richard L. Evans
Relief Society Magazine, December 1953, Elder Richard L. Evans Appointed Member of the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, February 1954, Richard L. Evans of the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, December 1971, Elder Richard L. Evans, Apostle of the Lord (1906-1971)
Jenson, Andrew. "Evans, Richard L." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 236-237.
EVANS, Richard L., a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. since 1935, was born March 23, 1906, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of John A. Evans and Florence Neslen. He was baptized May 2, 1914, filled a mission to Great Britain in 1926-1929, and has labored faithfully and diligently in Church activities. His father died when he was 10 weeks old, leaving his mother with nine children. From his youth Richard was made familiar with the realities of life, and learned early through intelligent service how to earn his own way through life. He was appointed managing editor of the "Improvement Era" in April, 1935, and fills that position with a rich background of efficient Church service and wide experience in business, education and editorial fields. He married Alice Ruth Thornley who bore him one son, Richard L. Jun. Elder Evans has written, produced and announced the coast-to-coast radio network program from the Salt Lake Tabernacle since June, 1930. He received an A. B. degree from the University of Utah in 1931 and an M. A. degree in 1932. During his mission to Great Britain he acted as associate editor of the "Millennial Star" under Dr. James E. Talmage and Dr. John A. Widtsoe, and as secretary of the European Mission. He accompanied the Tabernacle Choir to the San Diego Exposition as radio announcer, and also to Winter Quarters in September, 1936, at the dedication of the monument, as radio announcer. He was given the distinction of being the announcer over the radio with the clearest diction. Bro. Evans is industrious, intelligent and sympathetic, is a lover of truth and beauty, and, above all, he understands and practices the principles of the restored Gospel. He has acquired his education by persistent effort of his own, having worked at numerous occupations in order to attain his present efficiency.
EVANS, Richard L., a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. since 1935, was born March 23, 1906, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of John A. Evans and Florence Neslen. He was baptized May 2, 1914, filled a mission to Great Britain in 1926-1929, and has labored faithfully and diligently in Church activities. His father died when he was 10 weeks old, leaving his mother with nine children. From his youth Richard was made familiar with the realities of life, and learned early through intelligent service how to earn his own way through life. He was appointed managing editor of the "Improvement Era" in April, 1935, and fills that position with a rich background of efficient Church service and wide experience in business, education and editorial fields. He married Alice Ruth Thornley who bore him one son, Richard L. Jun. Elder Evans has written, produced and announced the coast-to-coast radio network program from the Salt Lake Tabernacle since June, 1930. He received an A. B. degree from the University of Utah in 1931 and an M. A. degree in 1932. During his mission to Great Britain he acted as associate editor of the "Millennial Star" under Dr. James E. Talmage and Dr. John A. Widtsoe, and as secretary of the European Mission. He accompanied the Tabernacle Choir to the San Diego Exposition as radio announcer, and also to Winter Quarters in September, 1936, at the dedication of the monument, as radio announcer. He was given the distinction of being the announcer over the radio with the clearest diction. Bro. Evans is industrious, intelligent and sympathetic, is a lover of truth and beauty, and, above all, he understands and practices the principles of the restored Gospel. He has acquired his education by persistent effort of his own, having worked at numerous occupations in order to attain his present efficiency.
Stevens, Stringham A. "Richard L. Evans, Managing Editor." Improvement Era. February 1936. pg. 74-75.
RICHARD L. EVANS MANAGING EDITOR BY Stringham A. Stevens The First Presidency of the Church has announced the appointment of Elder Richard L. Evans to succeed Elder Harrison R. Merrill as managing editor of The Improvement Era. The growth of the Era, requiring the full time of its managing editor, has made this change necessary. Brother Evans has already assumed his new duties and is preparing the March issue, the first under his supervision. He will devote his entire time to the Era with the exception of his assignment as Director of Public Events and Special Features at Radio Station KSL. Elder Harrison R. Merrill, who has served as managing editor since the death of Elder Hugh J. Cannon, returns to the Brigham Young University to become director of the Extension Division and to continue his services as head of the Division of Journalism. Professor Merrill will remain a member of the contributing staff of the Era and a member of the General Board of the Y. M. M. I. A. The present editorial staff of The Improvement Era will include as editor President Heber J. Grant, who has probably done more than any other individual to bring the Era to its present enviable position; John A. Widtsoe of the Council of the Twelve, who will serve as joint editor with President Grant; Richard L. Evans, who as managing editor will be the executive officer of the editorial staff and associated with the business and mechanical departments; and Marba Cannon Josephson, associate editor, who succeeded the late Elsie Talmage Brandley. This staff will develop and expand the editorial policy announced during the recent M. I. A. conferences. Steady efforts will be made to make the Era more than ever the official organ of the Priesthood quorums, the Mutual Improvement Associations, and the Department of Education—in short to make it the "voice of the Church." The new managing editor, Richard L. Evans, comes to his new position with a rich background of efficient Church service and wide experience in business, education, and editorial fields. His father, John Alldridge Evans, was active in the printing and publishing business and served as business manager of the Deseret News for several years. His mother, Florence Neslen Evans, is a sister of C. Clarence Neslen, former Mayor of Salt Lake City, who for many years past has been bishop of the 20th Ward in Salt Lake City. When Richard was ten weeks old his father died as a result of an accident, leaving the rearing of nine children to the widowed mother. This she has done with great credit and honor. From his youth Richard was made familiar with the realities of life, and learned early, through diligent and intelligent service, how to earn his own way through life. The educational career of Richard L. Evans gives evidence of a deep love of learning, the possession of a mind of unusual clearness, and the ability to mingle with others and to render them service. He attended the public schools of Salt Lake City, the Latter-day Saint University and the University of Utah. He was always a leading student. In the public schools he was several times given special recognition for high scholarship. In the Latter-day Saint University he engaged extensively in student activities, became prominent in school clubs and social organizations, was a member of the state high school championship debating team, for which he was awarded a University of Utah scholarship, was a member next year of the district high school championship debating team, was editor of the school paper, the Gold and Blue, and upon graduation was given the Heber J. Grant award for distinguished service to the school. At the University of Utah he was manager of the freshman debating team and became a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. His university studies were interrupted for three years by a call to fill a mission in Great Britain, but upon his return he continued his academic work and received his A. B. degree, with a major in English, in 1931, and his M. A. degree in 1932, with a major in Economics. Both diplomas were awarded with honors. His education has been secured entirely through his own efforts, since he has financed himself by engaging, with much success, in a wide variety of business activities. In the Mission field Brother Evans secured a broad and valuable experience and rendered outstanding service to the Church. After having served six months in the Norwich district he was called to the mission office at Liverpool by Dr. James E. Talmage, then president of the European Mission, and was made associate editor of the Millennial Star. When Dr. Widtsoe succeeded Dr. Talmage as president of the European Mission in 1927 Elder Evans was continued as associate editor of the Millennial Star. His articles and editorials are evidences of the high quality of his editorial labors in Great Britain. In 1928 he was appointed secretary of the European Mission, and in that capacity he visited all the missions in Europe, in company with Dr. Widtsoe, including eleven countries extending from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean. During a three-month visit of President Talmage to the Holy Land, and during numerous extended continental trips which took Dr. Widtsoe away from England, Elder Evans was in sole charge of the editing and publishing of the Star, and of other activities centering around the mission office. During his service in the mission office, he began the compilation of a history of the British Mission of which more than 1 00 pages were published in the Millennial Star. Upon returning home and while continuing his studies at the University of Utah, Elder Evans became associated with Radio Station KSL as staff announcer. His rise with the KSL organization was rapid, advancing step by step until he became production manager, supervisor of announcers and director of publicity. He organized the Continuity and Production Departments of KSL and has been closely associated with Earl J. Glade, general manager, in both business and program activities. ELDER Evans has written, produced and announced the coast-to-coast network program from the Salt Lake Tabernacle, for nearly six years. He has also handled many major and local assignments, including the introduction of two Presidents of the United States during nationwide broadcasts from Salt Lake City. By special arrangement he will continue with the Tabernacle broadcast and other special features. Early in 1934 he was singled out for special mention by a nationally distributed Bryan Davis radio publication of New York City, which magazine designated him for its 1933 announcer's award as one of the best radio announcers of the United States. He has received tens of thousands of appreciative letters from every state and from foreign countries for his handling of the oldest uninterrupted nationwide community-produced program in the history of American radio — the Mormon tabernacle choir program. During the forepart of 1934, Brother Evans, under the direction of the Church radio committee, wrote and delivered a series of twenty-three Gospel discourses which were presented from the Tabernacle during the regular Sunday evening radio service, which talks were warmly and widely responded to by the young people of the Church. The new managing editor of the Era is married and has one son, Richard L., Jr. His wife, formerly Alice Ruth Thornley of Kaysville, Utah, is proving to be a wise counselor and true helpmate. When the General Board of the Y. M. M. I. A. was reorganized last April Brother Evans became a member and was assigned to the Adult Committee. Elder Evans is a devoted and active Latter-day Saint, who through earnest study and faithful practice has become familiar with the principles of the Gospel. His life has been characterized by determined efforts to prepare himself thoroughly for service to his Church and state in public and private capacities. To accomplish this purpose, since he had no financial support or independent means, he has worked at numerous occupations, and these experiences have given him a most valuable practical acquaintanceship with life. By temperament and training, Richard L. Evans is well fitted for his new work with the Era. He will give to it his full strength. All who learn to Know him soon learn to love and respect him. The readers of the Era will find him an intelligent, sympathetic fellow worker. We welcome him to the large Era family. |
"Temple Square, the Crossroads of the West," Whence Emanates the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Program
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Widtsoe, John A. "Richard L. Evans of the First Council of Seventy." Improvement Era. November 1938. pg. 656-657, 671.
RICHARD L. EVANS of the First Council of Seventy BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE Of the Council of the Twelve By putting youth in high places, the Church manifests its faith in youth. Richard L. Evans by his industry, integrity, honesty, devotion to truth, willingness to sacrifice, and other virtues has marked himself as a leader of and an example to the youth of Zion. Our managing editor, Richard L. Evans (born March 23, 1906), was called at the recent General Conference to be a member of the First Council of Seventy as the youngest man to be called to a place among the General Authorities of the Church since 1906. His appointment comes to him at age 32. Fortunately, this new work will not deprive the Era of his notable editorial service. Instead, his new connection will enhance his labors. Brother Evans is in every particular worthy to fill the vacancy among the General Authorities occasioned by the death of Elder J. Golden Kimball. In natural endowment, education, spiritual comprehension, and integrity, he will rise to the best traditions of the Council which he enters. He is an intelligent, sturdy, and fearless defender of the Gospel. Best of all, he is a sincere, consistent, and active Latter- day Saint with a firm testimony of the truth of the Gospel—the first requisite for acceptable service in the Church of Christ. The call was unexpected and unsought, as all calls to service in the Church should be. Office-seeking has no place in the Church. We know that Brother Evans stood in fear and trembling before the new opportunities for service and the accompanying heavy responsibilities to a great people. But there was no hesitation. He accepted the call gladly, though conscious of the required personal sacrifices. The dreams that he may have had of distinction in secular fields were buried. The larger labor in the Church of Christ was faced with steady vision. In his own words, "to turn back is to turn away"; and Brother Evans does not turn away from his convictions. Of this no one has doubt who has known him or who heard him respond to his call before the Tabernacle congregation at the recent General Conference of the Church. Richard Evans knows the life of a widow's son. He was only ten weeks old when his father, John A. Evans, a former general manager of the Deseret News, died as the result of an accident. His mother, Florence Neslen, of firm English stock, reared her family of four sons and five daughters to be faithful Latter-day Saints. The eldest, 1 8 years of age at the death of the father, was immediately sent on a mission for the Church. All had to work, but, standing together, the needs of the family were met. Brother Evans can testify that the Lord is a friend of the widow and the fatherless, and that the sacrifices of a family bereft of husband and father, understood only by those who have gone through it, become converted into blessings. It was so with this family. So, from earliest childhood, Richard learned the lesson of work. Delivering papers, selling flowers, service at a soda fountain, driving trucks, traveling as a salesman for wearing apparel, and surveying with a railroad were among the tasks that drilled the boy in habits of industry and thrift. A keen business sense was developed, reflected later in his outstanding business activities at KSL and with The Improvement Era, and in his affiliation with the Rotary and Advertising clubs. He always heeded his mother's counsel; one-tenth of his earnings has been given to the Lord, from his first earned dime to his present income. Strength comes to those who command their natural love for temporal possessions, and acknowledge, through obedience to the principle of tithing, that all good gifts come from the Lord. In the midst of jobs to earn money, schooling was not forgotten. He has an excellent education. He graduated from the Latter-day Saint High School in 1924, from the University of Utah with the degree of A. B. (major in English) in 1931; with the degree of M. A. (major in Economics) in 1932. While in high school he was editor of the school paper and won a state championship for debating, and an award for distinguished service to the school. In college he affiliated with Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Wide reading, extensive travel, and association with worth-while people, have extended his educational horizon. He has firsthand acquaintance with many lands and peoples. From his earliest boyhood, also, Richard Evans was taught the Gospel. He attended Priesthood and auxiliary meetings, took part in Church activities, as quorum leader, Boy Scout, Sunday School teacher, counselor in the Y. M. M. I. A. superintendency, etc., and gained experience in Church procedure. At the end of his second year in college, in the fall of 1926, he went on a mission to Great Britain, where he served until the fall of 1929, first as traveling Elder, next as Associate Editor of the Millennial Star, and last as Secretary of the European Mission. In 1935 he was made a member of the Y. M. M. I. A. General Board. It was while Brother Evans served as a traveling Elder in the Norwich District of the British Mission, that Dr. James E. Talmage, then President of the European Mission, observing the keen intellect and literary gift of the young missionary, called him to be Associate Editor of the venerable Millennial Star, oldest of the present-day Church publications. He was continued in this work by the writer, who succeeded Dr. Talmage, and Richard later became Secretary of the European Mission, traveling widely and showing matured insight into the varied business and administrative problems of the far-reaching European Mission. His Star service revealed such fine literary judgment and craftsmanship that when the late Professor Harrison R. Merrill withdrew from the editorship of The Improvement Era, Brother Evans was, in January, 1936, selected to fill the vacancy. The volumes of the Millennial Star and The Improvement Era under Brother Evans' collaboration are eloquent witnesses of his literary ability. Among his writings is A Century o[ Mormonism in Great Britain, an authoritative history of the British Mission. Soon after his return from England, in 1929, Brother Evans became connected with Radio Station KSL, and showed outstanding ability in that field as announcer, producer, administrative officer, and writer. He has been the coast-to-coast announcer for the Tabernacle Choir weekly broadcasts since 1930. He was the radio announcer for the Tabernacle Choir at the San Diego Exposition and for other Church events, such as the dedication of the monument at Winter Quarters. He prepared and delivered a series of twenty-three radio talks for the Church Sunday Evening Hour. His announcing activities have been varied, including presentation of presidents of the United States, and coverage for international networks of speed tests on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Not only has his announcing been of such quality as to win him nationwide distinction, but he has shown himself able to write and produce scripts of such appeal that they are now awaited every Sunday morning, in connection with the L. D. S. Church Tabernacle Choir broadcast, throughout and beyond the nation, in response to which tens of thousands of letters have come from listeners. Indeed, his classical, faith-promoting sermonettes, made alive by the Gospel spirit, furnish weekly joy, comfort, and instruction to a radio audience of untold millions. This radio work he will also continue as an assignment in his new Priesthood calling. Miss Alice Ruth Thornley, of Kaysville, Utah, became Brother Evans' wife on August 9, 1932. In this choice he was blessed, for she supports her husband in his manifold and consuming public duties. Wives of public servants are called upon to make many sacrifices. They have two children, Richard L. Evans, Jr., 3 ½ years old, and John Thorney Evans, 7 months old. The life of Richard L. Evans is an example to the youth of Zion. Industry, integrity, honesty, devotion to truth, willingness to sacrifice — these and other virtues mark men of real distinction. It is from among such men that the Church must ever draw its leaders. Brother Evans comes to the First Council of Seventy with an intelligent vision of the future of the Church of Christ, and with the hope and faith and vigor of youth. May the Lord bless him in his ministry for and among the Latter-day Saints. (Note: An account of the life of Richard L. Evans in fuller detail may be found in The Improvement Era of February, 1936.) |
RULON S. WELLS, SENIOR MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL, WELCOMES RICHARD L. EVANS.
RlCHARD L. EVANS AND HIS WIFE, ALICE THORNLEY EVANS, AND TWO SONS, RICHARD L, JR., (LEFT) AND JOHN THORNLEY EVANS RIGHT.
JOHN ALLDRIDGE EVANS, FATHER OF RICHARD L. EVANS
FLORENCE NESLEN EVANS, MOTHER OF RICHARD L. EVANS
AN INFORMAL CONFERENCE PICTURE OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF SEVENTY, READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, RICHARD L. EVANS, JOHN H. TAYLOR, ANTOINE R. IVINS, RULON S. WELLS, LEVI EDGAR YOUNG, SAMUEL O. BENNION. RUFUS K. HARDY WAS ABSENT BECAUSE OF
ILLNESS. |
"Richard L. Evans." Instructor. December 1938. pg. 584.
PRESIDENT RICHARD L. EVANS At the recent General Conference of the Church, Richard L. Evans was sustained as one of the First Council of Seventy, succeeding the late Jonathan Golden Kimball. For a young man of his age (he is but thirty-two) President Evans has had unusual preparations for such a position. Ever since he was old enough to do so, he has been active in the Church. He has held offices in both the ward and the stake, as well as in the priesthood. He is to be commended in this fact because he was half orphaned when only a few weeks old. His mother did a good job in his bringing up. No doubt his natural disposition helped her in the task. He has also enjoyed good scholastic training. A graduate of the Salt Lake City schools and of the L. D. S. High School, he obtained the degrees of A. B. and M. A. from the University of Utah, majoring in English and Economics, respectively. In 1926, when he was twenty, he filled a mission to Great Britain, serving as associate editor of the Star. Also he was secretary of the European mission. On his return home, in 1929, he completed his schooling and became announcer at KSL radio station. He is now managing editor of the Improvement Era, and a member of the Y. M. M. I. A. General Board. The Instructor congratulates both him and the Church, and predicts a successful career for him as a messenger of Truth. |
PRESIDENT RICHARD L. EVANS
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Josephson, Marba C. "Richard L. Evans." Relief Society Magazine. December 1938. pg. 819-821.
Richard L. Evans By Marba C. Josephson RICHARD L. EVANS' appointment to the First Council of the Seventy at the semi-annual conference, October, 1938, comes as a tribute to his adherence to the principles which his mother, Florence Neslen Evans, implanted in his heart and mind. Without an understanding of the mother who held her family together in love and truth after her husband, John Alldridge Evans, was killed when Richard, the youngest, was only ten weeks old, we cannot fully appreciate the accomplishments of this young man. In his own words when he was called to this position, he bore testimony to her qualities when he said : "If I had been of a mind to turn back I should have done it at my mother's knee. I should have done it before she taught me to pay out my first few pennies in tithing. I should have done it before her firm and gentle hand directed my steps into the ways of truth. . . "My own father died as the result of an accident when I was ten weeks old. My mother reared a family of nine children, all of whom at that time were under eighteen. With a meager and unreliable income, she immediately sent my eldest brother on a mission. Such faith as that, in the home in which I was reared, could produce only one result, and the result is that all of my nine brothers and sisters have come up through the program of the Church to be a credit to my mother and to all that the Church stands for." Further tribute comes to her in a letter which was written by one of her daughters-in-law from which the following excerpts are quoted: "I want you to know how much I have always enjoyed the rich hospitality of your home — a place where young people, frequently from homes of greater luxury, have always loved to congregate. "I appreciate the delicate, respectful consideration you extend to the privacy of your married children's affairs. And thank you, too, for those deep religious principles and convictions which you made so naturally a part of your children's lives. "I thought pleasantly of you and your family recently when a modern woman was telling critically of a mother she knew who had actually paid tithing on her meager income. I imagine your children will outlive this sacrifice. But how irreparable the loss if you had not sacrificed for the molding of their immortal souls. But your children felt that they gave up nothing to pay tithing. They were merely stewards of God's holy tenth when it came into their hands. It belonged to them no more than it did after they had returned it to Him. And they had the strength of being partners with Him in a great and powerful work. “There were thoughts I would like to have made audible to you on the night of your golden wedding anniversary — but as usual I didn't say them. I think that the newspaper picture of you and your husband was the only Golden Wedding anniversary picture I ever saw published when one of the two was dead. It seemed to me that there was a particular fitness about it. I think no one ever kept alive in a home more perfectly the spirit of her mate. Your certainty and ever-present conscious conviction seems to have grown right into every one of your children; so, again, I have you to thank that such faith touches my life and goes before my children. "From the priceless foundation for a happy home and marriage given through being reared in the radiant glow of your beautiful romance with its never-failing devotion, each child has carried with him a torch of living fire which kindles the hearthstone of each new home." IN this home, Richard L. Evans with his four brothers and five sisters, was taught devotion to the Gospel, a devotion that has borne fruit in continued service to the Church, beginning with ward activities as an auxiliary and Priesthood member and continuing as Sunday School teacher, a member of the Y. M. M. I. A. superintendency, a missionary to Great Britain, and as a member of the General Board of the Y. M. M. I. A. While Elder Evans was on his mission to Great Britain, he was called to serve as associate editor of the Millennial Star under both Dr. James E. Talmage and Dr. John A. Widtsoe. He also served as secretary of the European Mission and as such traveled extensively in Europe from the northernmost countries in the Arctic circle to the southernmost on the Mediterranean Sea. In his home, he was taught industry, an industry which meant he would work at such diverse occupations as newspaper boy, soda fountain clerk, truck driver, traveling salesman, and surveyor. This industry taught him the value of time and effort, indispensable qualities for those who would achieve. His industry was to be rewarded by his rapid rise from an announcer at KSL radio station to production manager, supervisor of announcers, and director of publicity. He also organized the continuity and production departments of KSL. At the present time he is Director of Special Features and is identified with such notable events as. the speed runs on the Bonneville salt flats, as the introducer of special guests, and as the continuity writer and announcer for the weekly Sunday morning broadcasts of the Tabernacle choir, a program which is listened to eagerly by tens of thousands of coast-to-coast listeners. Into his own home he has carried the same ideals which he learned from his mother. He chose his wife carefully, Alice Thornley, a woman who has the same standards and the same fine purpose which has prompted her husband in his endeavors, whose home life paralleled his. To them have been born two sons, Richard L. Evans, Jr., three and one-half years old, and John Thornley Evans, eight months old. Although Richard L. Evans is young in years, having been born March 23, 1906, he is seasoned in his outlook on life because of his wide and varied experiences; he is trained to cope intelligently with situations, having been graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in English and a Master's degree in Economics ; he is able to meet unusual and unforeseen conditions which arise because of his exceptional sense of humor, which combined with his idealism, his realism, makes for real wisdom. |
RICHARD L. EVANS
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Ivins, Antoine R. "Elder Richard L. Evans Appointed Member of the Council of the Twelve." Relief Society Magazine. December 1953. pg. 805-806.
Elder Richard L. Evans Appointed a Member of the Council of the Twelve Antoine R. Ivins Member of the First Council of Seventy WHEN, at the last general conference of the Church, Richard L. Evans was sustained for ordination into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the First Council of the Seventy and the Seventies of the Church gave over to a more extended service of the Church one of its most loved and appreciated members. In going into the Council of the Twelve, Elder Evans becomes one of a group of three brethren who have been taken from the First Council of the Seventy to serve the Church in another capacity. In 1889, Abraham H. Cannon, who had been a member of the First Council of the Seventy for seven years, was ordained an apostle, which position he held for an equal term of seven years until his death. In 1854, Jedediah M. Grant, father of our recent President Heber Jeddy Grant, was taken from the First Council to become a counselor to President Brigham Young. Now Elder Evans becomes a third to receive such recognition. The Council feels highly complimented and extends the best of wishes to Richard L. Elder Evans was thirty-two years of age when he was set apart to the First Council and has served it fifteen years. Abraham H. Cannon was twenty-three years of age when set apart to the First Council, while Jedediah M. Grant was twenty-nine when he went into the First Council. It is highly probable that no member of the Church today is more widely known than Brother Evans. His development from youth has been noteworthy, but it is not our purpose to follow him through its many ramifications. It may, however, be noted that he was an excellent student through high school and college; an excellent missionary for the Church in Great Britain; is a devoted husband and father; has had a most important part in the development of the radio business of this State. It is in this field that he has become most widely known. Flis direction of the Temple Square Mission, together with his Tabernacle Choir broadcasts, has given him opportunity to teach the gospel to many thousands of people. His appeal is always uplifting. It is not because of this, however, that the members of the First Council have loved and admired him, for he has brought to the counsels of this body a quiet serenity, dignity, and excellence of judgment that are rare indeed. If he may ever be annoyed or ruffled, he rarely shows it; he is calm, considerate, deliberate, and wise in consideration of such questions as may arise in the Council. He loves his fellows, always desiring to be helpful. He has been intensely devoted to the betterment of the Seventies of the Church. Is it any wonder, then, that we shall miss him from our counsels? We shall, however, feel that he may now have greater opportunity to aid and influence for good a greater number of people. May the Lord extend his life and crown his labors with even greater success. |
ELDER RICHARD L. EVANS
ELDER RICHARD L. EVANS AND HIS FAMILY
In front, center, Elder Richard L. Evans and son William; At right Alice Thornley Evans; at back, left to right: Richard L. Jr., John, and Stephen. |
Josephson, Marba C. "Richard L. Evans of the Council of the Twelve." Improvement Era. February 1954. pg. 80-82, 98-108.
Richard L. Evans OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE by Marba C. Josephson ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR Richard L. Evans' devotion to the Church is inherited from a long 1 line of worthy ancestors. Likewise his qualities of mind and spirit and many of the lovable and laudable characteristics which have endeared him to millions of Americans seem to be inherited to a remarkable degree. No doubt he is most widely known for his weekly radio sermonettes. But those who know him well know of the many other sides of his life. The talents and virtues which are combined so delightfully in this newest and youngest member of the Council of the Twelve, can be clearly traced to his father and mother, and through them to the lives of the seven grandparents or great-grandparents who accepted the gospel in the early years of the Restored Church. These family names include: Evans, Neslen, Alldridge, Stevens, and Woolley. A great-grandmother, Mary Woolley Evans, died en route to Utah in 1862 and lies buried near Florence, Nebraska, a testimony to the cause she embraced. Her son, David Woolley Evans, who was Richard's paternal grandfather, came to Utah in 1860, and died here when still a young man of forty-three. But he had already lived more abundantly and usefully than most men who survive to old age. He was born at Louth, England, in 1833, and worked as a boy at the shoemaker's bench with his father. Becoming permanently crippled from an accident when a boy of nine and having no chance for formal schooling, David Woolley Evans somehow found time to become shorthand writer, grammarian, newspaper editor, musician, and linguist. It is reported that he spoke several foreign languages, especially French, fluently. Baptized a member of the Church, in England, when twenty-one years old, he came to Utah alone six years later. Here he worked and saved enough money to send for his widowed mother and five of her younger children, in 1862. In the sixteen years he lived in Utah he became one of Brigham Young's secretaries, teacher in Brigham Young's school, first violinist in the original Salt Lake Theatre orchestra, associate editor of the Deseret News. Perhaps he is best known for his service as official Tabernacle reporter where he distinguished himself as one of the most able shorthand reporters of his time. Richard Evans' paternal grandmother, the wife of David W. Evans, was a daughter of Richard Alldridge, writer of early Mormon hymns, which are still popular today. Richard's father, John Alldridge Evans, was one of the sons of this couple. When John, the eldest, was eleven years old, his father died, and John had to assume at once the responsibilities of providing for his mother and for her own four children, plus two others who were reared in the Evans home. John A. Evans also was shorthand reporter and musician, which arts he learned from his father. Starting as an errand boy at the Deseret News John worked his way up the ladder until he became the paper's general manager. Also, like his father, John A. Evans was self-taught, "self-made": a devoted Church worker, a keen student of literature and the arts, a floriculturist of considerable reputation, and a man of great integrity and dependability. For many years he served in the Eighteenth Ward under Bishop Orson F. Whitney as ward clerk, and, later with Thomas A. Clawson, as a member of the bishopric. He was a penman of unusual ability. An accomplished musician, John Alldridge Evans specialized in the clarinet, the bassoon, and other woodwinds though he gave up playing professionally when he discovered it interfered with his family life and his Church activities. However, in his later years he was "drafted" whenever the Utah Symphony orchestra of that day, under the baton of Professor Anton Pedersen, prepared for a major concert, because he was one of the few people in the state who played the bassoon. On his mother's side Richard Evans is a grandson of Robert F. Neslen and a great-grandson of Samuel F. Neslen, both converts to the Church from Lowestoft, England. Samuel Neslen was preparing to become a Methodist minister when the Mormon missionaries found him. He soon joined the Church. He then decided to give land and money for the building of a chapel so the Saints of his native city could have a place to meet. Later the Neslen family emigrated to Utah accompanied by forty-two other Saints for whom he advanced funds for the trip. They were eight and one-half months en route, arriving in Salt Lake City in September 1853. Robert Neslen, Samuel F.'s second son, was also preparing for the ministry and serving as an apprentice preacher when converted to "Mormonism." He later filled three missions for the Church in England. Called home with others in 1856 near the time of the Johnston's Army episode in Utah, he reached America but separated from the rest of the party when they went west, so he could take care of his dying missionary brother, Samuel Neslen, in New York City. After Samuel's death, but before returning to Utah, Robert returned to England to complete a second mission. Robert Neslen was a great devotee of the theater. As one of his relatives said, "He was an actor at heart." He was also a rare humorist and doubled as costumer-actor in the early Salt Lake Theatre productions, being cast usually in character and comedy parts. We first take notice of Richard's maternal grandmother, Eleanor Stevens Neslen, when she was a young convert-member of the Church in Bristol, England, while Elder Robert Neslen was filling his first mission. Elder Neslen, accompanied by Ezra Taft Benson (great-grandfather of the present Apostle) was being prevented from returning to his lodgings by an angry mob who threatened them with violence as they left a nighttime preaching service. The young woman, who later became the wife of Robert Neslen, pushed her way boldly through the mob to escort the missionaries to the home of her parents, where they remained for the night until the mob had dispersed. Richard L. Evans has acquired much from these stalwart ancestors as well as having his own inimitable characteristics. One side of his nature that the radio audience is unaware of is his humor. He has a dry wit that is sometimes explosive in its effect. Tense moments have relaxed under the humorous relief that Brother Evans has been able to inject. At times he himself has felt, although no one else ever feels it, that he has not maintained the dignity which he was supposed to have. From his mother Brother Evans learned the value of a great and enduring love. Although John A. Evans, Richard's father, died when Richard was only ten weeks of age, Sister Evans never allowed the memory of their love to die. The older brothers and sisters could remember the deep affection that existed between their parents; the younger ones were made to feel their father's presence and concern and love on every occasion. Richard himself nearly passed away during the winter after his father's death. He contracted membranous croup and almost choked to death on several occasions. The Evans family had their sorrows and hardships, but family occasions have been made much of with the five girls and the four boys who constituted the family. They enjoyed one another when they were young, and they have continued to enjoy one another, even though death has thinned the ranks. Whenever the Evans brothers and sisters get together even to this day, as one of the "in-laws" observed: "It is always a happy occasion." The family had to struggle to make ends meet after their father's death. Yet there was seldom a Sunday night that the Evans' home was not the scene of a get-together for the boys' and girls' friends after church. It became the social center for "the crowd." Everyone felt free to gather there to enjoy the scintillating conversation and sparkling wit that abounded in the Evans' home. The unfailing hospitality and conviviality made the gatherings there long-remembered events. The things that money might have bought would have played a poor second to the things the Evans family had, and their friends and acquaintances knew and appreciated their rare qualities. The devotion between Richard Evans and his mother was rare and beautiful. In her joy at his accomplishments she used to say, "I raised him myself," and he recognized that she had done much for him. Latter-day Saint ideals were stressed in the home. "Do your duty always," was Sister Evans' watchword. Each was taught to pay his tithing—no matter how small an amount he might have to pay; to give his fast offering; to attend to his Church duties. Sister Evans was sitting alone in the Tabernacle at the conference when her son Richard was sustained as a member of the First Council of the Seventy. She thought, "I can't have heard it right." She hesitated to ask, but felt she must know. Turning to the stranger sitting next to her, she said, "Would you please tell me what name was read?" Ways and means had to be found to obtain the education that Richard so much desired. Since his forebears had educated themselves when there were few opportunities, he must make the most of those that were more readily available. He, together with his brothers and sisters, early learned the value of work and the wise use of money. They helped bring up each other. Many and varied were his experiences in earning the necessary means. He has been heard to say that he scarcely remembers going to school without working at some job outside of school hours. He became more mature by thus assuming responsibility early in his life, but he never lost the spark of humor that helped him make friends wherever he was and to enjoy life under all conditions. At the Latter-day Saint University he joined in the school clubs and activities. He earned a scholarship to the University of Utah as a member of the state high school championship debating team. At the Latter-day Saint University he also became prominent for his writing activities. He served as editor of the Gold and Blue, the school paper. After his sophomore year at the University of Utah, he accepted a call as a missionary to Great Britain. It was necessary to gather money enough for the mission. Richard and a friend started out for Washington and Oregon, in an ancient car, to sell woolen goods. The going was rough, so rough, in fact, that his companion returned, but Richard, after conferring by telephone with his family, stayed through the summer and earned the funds with which to start his mission, and gained experience and confidence in the process, which aided him greatly in his missionary labors. That summer seemed to be an important point in his life. A few months after arriving in Great Britain, he was appointed associate editor of the Millennial Star under Dr. James E. Talmage, then president of the European Mission. Brother Evans has frequently expressed his indebtedness to the painstaking training he received under Dr. Talmage, who was meticulous in his own work and demanded the same care from anyone who worked with him. Elder Evans .calls that he rewrote one editorial, nine times before Dr. Talmage would accept it. In 1927, Dr. John A. Widtsoe succeeded Dr. Talmage as president of the European Mission, and Brother Evans continued in the office as associate editor of the Millennial Star until 1928 when he was appointed secretary of the European Mission. He subsequently accompanied Dr. and Sister Widtsoe on a tour of eleven countries of Europe. During the necessary absences of Dr. Talmage and Dr. Widtsoe, Brother Evans assumed responsibility for the editing and publishing of the Millennial Star as well as for other duties of the mission. The influence of the Talmages and the Widtsoes on his life has been immeasurably great. When Richard returned home, he again enrolled at the University of Utah and secured work at Radio Station KSL as staff announcer. Network broadcasting was then in its infancy, and the active mind and endless energy of Richard L. Evans were used advantageously in this expanding institution. He successively held several positions of responsibility in the program and business operation of KSL and is now serving as a director of that institution. It was during this time that he began his work with the Tabernacle Choir broadcast. It was not long before he was writing, producing, and announcing the coast-to-coast weekly program, a service he has continued to render nearly twenty-four years, since June 1930. This service alone has brought him unnumbered thousands of letters from the great and the humble throughout the world. In February 1936 Elder Evans became managing editor of The Improvement Era, a post which he filled with distinction. He has since become one of the senior editors of the publication. On October 9, 1938, Richard Evans was appointed to the First Council of the Seventy and the following year he received the "distinguished service award" for "outstanding community service" from the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Salt Lake City and was named "the outstanding young man of 1939." As reported by the press at that time, "decision of the award committee was based on his work on the Sunday morning nationwide broadcast by the LDS choir, for which he writes the scripts as well as makes the announcements; his appointment to the Council of the Seventy at the age of 33; his Boy Scout activities; his international broadcasts of the Bonneville Salt Flats speed trials and ... his new book, which is now on the presses." Brother Evans and his wife, Alice Thornley Evans, who were married August 9, 1933 in the Salt Lake Temple, are the parents of four sons: Richard L., Jr., 18; John Thornley, 15; Stephen, 12; and William, 9. Their home has preserved many of the qualities of the Evans and Thorn- ley homes. Elder Evans has encouraged his children to sink their roots into the family traditions that have gone into the Thornley acres in Kaysville. His children have learned to love and honor their heritage on both sides of the family. One of his nephews stated that the thing he remembered most about his Uncle Dick was the good times they had on the Thornley campground on the lower Weber years ago. He was always on hand to help them in their fun, building big bonfires for them, and swimming with them. Brother Evans, who feels that he had too little time and opportunity for sports in his own early life, has encouraged his children to engage in football and basketball. He attends games when he can and encourages his sons in their activities. He has set aside both convenience and pleasure for his work. Although he may have missed much that he might have done during the past twenty-four years of complete devotion to the Tabernacle broadcast and other work, he has gained much. In a letter he made the statement that the "recently used phrase from Livingstone, Tear God, and work hard' is a great prescription. I believe that a man cannot watch a clock or serve his own convenience or pleasure and accomplish very much in any endeavor." In spite of the fact that Brother Evans has been intensively engaged in official duties, he has found the necessary time and energy for other accomplishments as well. His graduation from the University of Utah with an A.B. degree in English was followed by his earning an M.A. degree in economics. He has since served his alma mater as University of Utah alumni president for three years and is currently serving on the board of regents of the University of Utah. He is a member of the Newcomen Society, of Utah Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, and of the Author's League of America. For more than five years he wrote a weekly editorial for a New York newspaper syndicate, which was published nationwide. His writings have appeared in Reader's Digest, Coronet, and in numerous other periodicals and publications (with articles recently written for Encyclopaedia Britannica and Look magazine). Five of his six books have been published by Harper & Brothers of New York. He is also a director of the David W. Evans Advertising Agency. His membership in the Salt Lake Rotary club (which he served as president) and with the Chamber of Commerce, has brought him into wide association with the business community. He is at the present time president of the Bonneville Knife and Fork Club. One of his greatest satisfactions is the esteem in which he is held by his fellow Rotarians and by Chamber of Commerce and other business and professional friends who are not Mormons. Without compromising the religious principles or practices for which his Church stands, Brother Evans seems able, in an unusual way, to win the confidence of men of all faiths and walks of life and return friendship and understanding in kind, as indicated by the non-Mormon press when he was named to the Council of the Twelve. His varied activities through the years have made his name a household word in millions of homes throughout the nation. He is frequently invited to speak or serve as master of ceremonies at important meetings and dinners both at home and away from home. On these occasions his quick wit and his sincere, faith-promoting, encouraging messages that come from the philosophy of his Church and people have won thousands of friends and admirers for himself and his Church. Richard Evans' advancement in the Church has been deserved and steady. He was made a member of the general board of the YMMIA in 1935 and served in that capacity for eleven years. He has served as Director of Temple Square since 1947. He became a member of the First Council of the Seventy October 13, 1938, the youngest member of that Council. And in October 1953, he was selected a member of the Council of the Twelve, the youngest member of that body. He brings to his new office a seasoned understanding of problems and difficulties confronting youth, a trained mind, an ingrained knowledge of the gospel, and, above all, an unshakable testimony of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of the fact that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God, the one through whom the gospel was restored to the earth to bring happiness and salvation to all men who will listen to its message and accept its divine principles. |
Richard L. and Alice Thornley Evans with their four sons: William, front, and I. to r., Richard L., Jr., John Thornley, and Stephen.
John Alldridge Evans, father
Florence Neslen Evans, mother
Alice T. Evans
Richard L. Evans
Richard at about 8 years of age.
As the choir prepares for a nationwide broadcast in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, with Frank W. Asper at the organ, J. Spencer Cornwall conducting, and Richard Evans at the microphone.
Richard Evans in September 1938 sportscasting the speed trials on Bonneville Salt Flats.
Mrs. John A. Evans and her nine children, taken about seven years after John A. Evans, the father of the family, died: Front row, left to right: Alldridge N. (deceased),
Mrs. Florence Neslen Evans (mother, passed away in 1940), Richard L., Florence E., and David W. Second row: Mary (Mrs. Rupert Soderberg), Elizabeth (Mrs. Roland G. Kaiser), John Elmer, eldest brother (deceased), Lucille (deceased), and Ruth (Mrs. Milton W. Cutler) |