On 12/8 in New Mormon History...
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New Mormon History
Dec 8, 2025, 7:28:50 AMDec 8
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Historic events in New Mormon History on 12/8
1911: James E. Talmage is ordained an apostle. Although Apostle Orson Pratt had self-taught interests in mathematics and astronomy, Talmage is the first apostle with university training in the sciences (geology). He is also the first general authority and first apostle with a Ph.D. degree (from Illinois Wesleyan University). However, as a non-resident, correspondence doctorate, his degree lacks full academic stature. Nevertheless, Talmage's appointment heralds a forty-year era when scientifically trained intellectuals serve in the Quorum of the Twelve. Succeeding appointments of Richard R. Lyman, John A. Widtsoe, Joseph F. Merrill, and (to a lesser extent) Sylvester Q. Cannon have a considerable impact on the LDS church administration. From 1921 until 1952 there are always two (and sometimes four) scientifically-trained intellectuals at the highest levels of decision-making. There are no scientific doctorates in the Twelve from 1952 until 1984, when Russell M. Nelson (physician with a Ph.D.) becomes an apostle. On nuclear engineering becomes church patriarch in 1947, and another becomes an apostle in 1988. Theodore M Burton (with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue) serves as an Assitant to the Twelve (1960-76) and in the First Quorum of the Seventy (1976-89), George R. Hill III (with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell) serves in the First Quroum of the Seventy (1987-92), and Alexander B. Marrison (with a Ph.D. in food sciences, Cornell) serves in the Seventy (1987-... some time after Quinn complied this list).
Source: See The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn
To see the whole database in chronological order, Click here. Note that I'm not done entering all the information. While most of these facts come from Quinn's book, I'm seeking the primary sources for each, but this will take a long time.
1911: James E. Talmage is ordained an apostle. Although Apostle Orson Pratt had self-taught interests in mathematics and astronomy, Talmage is the first apostle with university training in the sciences (geology). He is also the first general authority and first apostle with a Ph.D. degree (from Illinois Wesleyan University). However, as a non-resident, correspondence doctorate, his degree lacks full academic stature. Nevertheless, Talmage's appointment heralds a forty-year era when scientifically trained intellectuals serve in the Quorum of the Twelve. Succeeding appointments of Richard R. Lyman, John A. Widtsoe, Joseph F. Merrill, and (to a lesser extent) Sylvester Q. Cannon have a considerable impact on the LDS church administration. From 1921 until 1952 there are always two (and sometimes four) scientifically-trained intellectuals at the highest levels of decision-making. There are no scientific doctorates in the Twelve from 1952 until 1984, when Russell M. Nelson (physician with a Ph.D.) becomes an apostle. On nuclear engineering becomes church patriarch in 1947, and another becomes an apostle in 1988. Theodore M Burton (with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue) serves as an Assitant to the Twelve (1960-76) and in the First Quorum of the Seventy (1976-89), George R. Hill III (with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell) serves in the First Quroum of the Seventy (1987-92), and Alexander B. Marrison (with a Ph.D. in food sciences, Cornell) serves in the Seventy (1987-... some time after Quinn complied this list).
Source: See The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn
To see the whole database in chronological order, Click here. Note that I'm not done entering all the information. While most of these facts come from Quinn's book, I'm seeking the primary sources for each, but this will take a long time.
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