Sterling W. Sill
Born: 31 March 1903
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1954
Called to First Quorum of the Seventy: 1 October 1976
Became Emeritus General Authority: 31 December 1978
Died: 25 May 1994
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1954
Called to First Quorum of the Seventy: 1 October 1976
Became Emeritus General Authority: 31 December 1978
Died: 25 May 1994
Talks on Church WebsiteApr 1971 - Great Experiences
Oct 1971 - Thou Shalt Not Apr 1972 - Medicine for the Soul Oct 1972 - Keep the Commandments Apr 1973 - Hold Up Your Hands Oct 1973 - A Fortune to Share Oct 1974 - Transfusion Apr 1975 - Birth Oct 1975 - Success Stories Oct 1976 - To Die Well Apr 1978 - The Poetry of Success Image source: Relief Society Magazine, June 1954
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Image source: Improvement Era, May 1954
Image source: Improvement Era, November 1967
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Biographical Articles
Improvement Era, May 1954, Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Relief Society Magazine, June 1954, Elder Sterling W. Sill Appointed Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, November 1967, Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, July 1994, Elder Sterling W. Sill Dies at 91
Relief Society Magazine, June 1954, Elder Sterling W. Sill Appointed Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Improvement Era, November 1967, Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Ensign, July 1994, Elder Sterling W. Sill Dies at 91
"Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve." Improvement Era. May 1954. pg. 295.
Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Elder Sterling Welling Sill, whom the Church sustained as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve at the morning general conference session, April 6, 1954, has a lifelong background of Church activity from which he will draw strength for his new calling, for which he was set apart April 14, by President David O. McKay. Elder Sill was born March 31, 1903 at Layton, Utah, a son of Joseph A. and Marietta Welling Sill. Early in life he found activity and service in both the Sunday School and the Mutual. In his senior year at Davis High School he served as president of his class. He attended the Utah State Agricultural College and the University of Utah. In 1924, he accepted a call for the mission field to serve in the Southern States. During this mission he served as president of the Alabama District. On his return from his mission, he taught school in Davis County for a year. He held the lead in the North Davis Stake drama which won Church-wide honor at the Mutual Conference in June 1928. For nine years of his life, he has served youth as a Scoutmaster, attaining the rank of an Eagle Scout along with "his boys." He served for a year, 1931-32, as a member of the high council of the North Davis Stake. Garden Park Ward in Salt Lake City was organized in 1936 and he was called as the first bishop of this ward, where he served for ten years. He became a member of the Bonneville Stake high council in 1946, where he served until 1952. Then he was called as a member of the Deseret Sunday School general board. More recently he has been the speaker on the Sunday evening radio hour of the Church on KSL, completing this assignment in February 1954. From 1940 to 1951 he was a member of the board of regents of the University of Utah, being, the last four years, chairman of that group. In recognition of his long and distinguished service to country, state, and community, the University of Utah awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree at commencement exercises in June 1953. In March 1954 the University of Utah named its new family life center building the Sterling W. Sill Family Life Center. For twenty- two years Elder Sill has been Salt Lake City manager for the New York Life Insurance Company. Many honors have come to him also in this field. He was the first Utahn, in 1932, to address the National Association of Life Underwriters, and was the first Utah man to receive the degree of' Certified Life Underwriter. Since 1941 he has been inspector for his company's agencies in nine western states. On September 4, 1929, Elder Sill married Doris Mary Thornley of Kaysville in the Salt Lake Temple. They have three children, John Michael, David Sterling, and Mary Carolyn. Members of the Church everywhere welcome Elder Sill to his new calling of responsibility in the Church. |
Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill with his family grouped about him.
Mary Carolyn, 9, congratulating her father, and David Sterling, John Michael, and Mrs. Sill. |
McKay, David L. "Elder Sterling W. Sill Appointed Assistant to the Council of the Twelve." Relief Society Magazine. June 1954. pg. 354-356.
Elder Sterling W. Sill Appointed Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Elder David L. McKay First Assistant Superintendent, Deseret Sunday School Union Board ON April 8, 1954, in the Salt Lake Temple, Elder Sterling W. Sill was set apart as an Assistant to the Quorum of Twelve. When he was called to address the conference in the Tabernacle after having been sustained in his new position, he expressed a philosophy which has guided much of his life: 'The creation of man is still going on, and in a sense, each of us is a creator." In his busy life, Elder Sill has directed his energies to this creation —the influencing of others to good. He was bishop of the Garden Park Ward," Bonneville Stake, for ten years. Under his direction one of the most beautiful chapels in Salt Lake City was dedicated within one year from the laying of the cornerstone. Though a comparative newcomer in the ward, he was its first bishop, and exercised a remarkable influence. Members who had been inactive for years became enthusiastic workers, and the ward organizations began setting stake and Church records. Elder Sill was on two high councils— one in North Davis Stake and the other in Bonneville Stake. As chairman of the High Council Aaronic Priesthood Committee, he directed the activity of those Priesthood quorums, helping them be- come more and more active as he combined his salesmanship techniques with his love of boys. Under his direction his stake reached the top ten stakes in the Church in Aaronic Priesthood work. In October of 1952, Elder Sill was named a member of the Sunday School General Board. One of his assignments in the board was chairman of the committee to revise the Sunday School Handbook. He at tacked the problems with his usual vivacity. He distributed chapters to chairmen of committees in charge of particular subjects, and then devoted weeks to assembling and organizing their suggestions. He then mimeographed the revision at his own expense, distributed the copies to the general board, collected them, and noted the board members' criticisms on his master copy, working from that point with his committee toward the finished product. His suggestions to the administration leadership committee of the general board have been welcome and worthwhile. The board will miss his cheerful and helpful association. ELDER Sill is a fluent speaker, as is evidenced by his recent series of talks on the Sunday Evening Hour over KSL Radio Station. At one time he concluded that if every person prepared a talk for each sacrament meeting as if he were to be the speaker, he would be benefited as much as the speaker. With Sterling Sill, conclusion is action. So for the next year he prepared a talk for each Sunday night, whether or not he was asked to deliver it. Then he mimeographed the collection and gave it to his appreciative friends. It is not only in the religious field that Elder Sill pledged himself to the service of others. His influence as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Utah from 1940 to 1951 will be remembered for a long time. He was chairman of this board for the last four years. While chairman he deplored the lack of housing facilities for the domestic science department. Here was need for action, so Sterling Sill acted. His term ended before sufficient funds were raised for the new center, so he devoted hours, days, and weeks in personal contact, getting subscriptions from his friends and acquaintances. As a result, the Sterling W. Sill Family Life Center was recently dedicated, so named by grateful board members, faculty, and students. It is a beautiful home for girls studying homemaking and a lasting memorial to Elder Sill's energetic devotion to helping others. In the business field Elder Sill has been Salt Lake City manager for the New York Life Insurance Company for the past twenty-seven years, and inspector of companies' agencies in nine western states since 1941. He was the first Utahn to address the National Association of Life Underwriters and the first Utahn to receive the degree of Certified Life Underwriter. The following year he became president of the Utah State Association of Life Underwriters. Sterling is the son of Joseph A. and Marcella Welling Sill of Layton, Utah. He was fifty-one years old last March 31. On September 4, 1929, Sterling Sill and Doris May Thornley were married. They have three children—John Michael, nineteen, David Sterling, fifteen, and Mary Carolyn, nine. His wife is an accomplished musician. She has been effective in working for the Utah Symphony. She is a member of the ward choir and is active in Relief Society. Her loyal support at all times at her husband's side has been a great force in his achievements. Sterling's friends know that he, too, is loyal to a supreme degree loyal to them particularly when he is needed. He will do all he can for a cause he believes to be just. A leader has been chosen to join a group of leaders. He will be a great influence in creating character. |
ELDER STERLING W. SILL
ELDER STERLING W. SILL AND FAMILY
In front, left to right: Mary Carolyn; Elder Sill; Doris Thornley Sill. Standing at the back, left to right: David Sterling; John Michael. |
"Sterling W. Sill Appointed Assistant to the Council of the Twelve." Improvement Era. November 1967. pg. 46.
STERLING W. SILL Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
An impressive experience in Sterling Sill's youth was a turning point that greatly influenced his later life. He was asked to review in Sunday School class a paragraph from the manual. As he stood up to speak, the 12-year-old youth became panic-stricken. Tears coursed down his face, and he was unable to finish. That same day another youth spoke with such aplomb that Elder Sill still recalls the compelling motivations to seek similar excellence. A guiding hand was already influencing his life, for in a blessing he had been told: "The eye of the Lord shall be upon you . . . and your tongue shall be loosened to your astonishment."
Born March 31, 1903, in Layton, Utah, to Joseph and Marietta Welling Sill, Elder Sill still remembers the timidity that troubled him, even during his mission to the Southern States. After attending the University of Utah, he taught school for two years before entering the insurance business in Salt Lake City.
Hard-won success and the constant support of his wife, Doris Mary Thornley (they have three children), effected great changes in his self-confidence. He advanced rapidly in his profession, becoming Salt Lake City manager of his firm in 1933 and inspector of agencies in 1940, a position he holds in honorarium today. At the age of 29, he became the first Utahn to address the National Association of Life Underwriters.
In 1936 he was called as bishop of the Garden Park Ward. Stake conference came soon, and thinking he might be asked to speak, he prepared a talk. He was not asked. For the next conference he had prepared another talk, but again he was not asked. For the next ten years Bishop Sill prepared a talk — and never gave one in conference. The Lord was disciplining him for a great ministry.
In 1951 he became a Sunday School general board member, and in April 1954 he was called to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. After delivering 12 addresses on the Sunday evening Church radio program in 1959, he was asked to deliver them indefinitely, and for the past eight years he has prepared and delivered talks for weekly 15-minute and half-hour radio programs aired nationwide over 450 stations.
Over 4,200 letters monthly come from listeners, carrying such heartfelt sentiments as these: "I've joined the Church because of these talks." "You changed my life." "What an excellent Mormon ministry." His ability to serve the Lord in this way has been the fruit of 40 years of preparation. Years ago he began cataloguing his thoughts, and he is now compiling his twenty-first scrapbook of ideas. He is a great public spokesman for the gospel in our time.
STERLING W. SILL Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
An impressive experience in Sterling Sill's youth was a turning point that greatly influenced his later life. He was asked to review in Sunday School class a paragraph from the manual. As he stood up to speak, the 12-year-old youth became panic-stricken. Tears coursed down his face, and he was unable to finish. That same day another youth spoke with such aplomb that Elder Sill still recalls the compelling motivations to seek similar excellence. A guiding hand was already influencing his life, for in a blessing he had been told: "The eye of the Lord shall be upon you . . . and your tongue shall be loosened to your astonishment."
Born March 31, 1903, in Layton, Utah, to Joseph and Marietta Welling Sill, Elder Sill still remembers the timidity that troubled him, even during his mission to the Southern States. After attending the University of Utah, he taught school for two years before entering the insurance business in Salt Lake City.
Hard-won success and the constant support of his wife, Doris Mary Thornley (they have three children), effected great changes in his self-confidence. He advanced rapidly in his profession, becoming Salt Lake City manager of his firm in 1933 and inspector of agencies in 1940, a position he holds in honorarium today. At the age of 29, he became the first Utahn to address the National Association of Life Underwriters.
In 1936 he was called as bishop of the Garden Park Ward. Stake conference came soon, and thinking he might be asked to speak, he prepared a talk. He was not asked. For the next conference he had prepared another talk, but again he was not asked. For the next ten years Bishop Sill prepared a talk — and never gave one in conference. The Lord was disciplining him for a great ministry.
In 1951 he became a Sunday School general board member, and in April 1954 he was called to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. After delivering 12 addresses on the Sunday evening Church radio program in 1959, he was asked to deliver them indefinitely, and for the past eight years he has prepared and delivered talks for weekly 15-minute and half-hour radio programs aired nationwide over 450 stations.
Over 4,200 letters monthly come from listeners, carrying such heartfelt sentiments as these: "I've joined the Church because of these talks." "You changed my life." "What an excellent Mormon ministry." His ability to serve the Lord in this way has been the fruit of 40 years of preparation. Years ago he began cataloguing his thoughts, and he is now compiling his twenty-first scrapbook of ideas. He is a great public spokesman for the gospel in our time.