Robert L. Backman
| Robert L. Backman | |
|---|---|
| Emeritus General Authority | |
| October 3, 1992 | |
| Presidency of the Seventy | |
| October 6, 1985 – August 15, 1992 | |
| End reason | Honorably released |
| General President of the Young Men | |
| 1979 – October 6, 1985 | |
| First Quorum of the Seventy | |
| April 1, 1978 – October 3, 1992 | |
| End reason | Granted general authority emeritus status |
|
General President of the Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women |
|
| November 1972 – 1974 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert LeGrand Backman March 22, 1922 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Robert LeGrand Backman (born March 22, 1922) was a Utah lawyer and politician and has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1978. Since the death of Eldred G. Smith in April 2013, Backman has been the oldest living general authority of the LDS Church, although he has not been active in this role since 1992.
Backman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, but spent much his youth in South Africa, where his father, LeGrand Backman, was president of the LDS Church's South African Mission. After returning to Utah for his last year of high school, Backman later served as a missionary in the church's Northern States Mission.
Backman served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines during the Second World War. Following the war, he enrolled at the law school at the University of Utah. He was a member of the Utah House of Representatives for two terms.
Before his call as a general authority, Backman served as the president of the church's Northwestern States Mission, as a temple sealer, and as a regional representative. In 1972, he was briefly the second assistant to W. Jay Eldredge, the general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA). When the YMMIA was renamed the Aaronic Priesthood–MIA in 1972, Backman was called as its general president. He served in this calling until 1974, when the Aaronic Priesthood–MIA was placed under the direct supervision of the church's presiding bishopric. In 1978, Backman became a member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1979, he succeeded Neil D. Schaerrer as the general president of the Young Men organization. Backman is the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms as the general president of the Young Men.
...
Wikipedia