Post Honoring President Dieter F. Uchtdorf on his 77th birthday

As promised, I am posting now in honor of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who is celebrating his 77th birthday today. Aside from being only the 11th apostle born outside the US and the first with ties to both German and the Czech Republic, President Uchtdorf is the 6th of those 11 to serve in the First Presidency. At the time of his call to the First Presidency in February 2008, there were only two apostles more junior than he (Elder Bednar, also called to the apostleship in October 2004, and Elder Cook, who was called 3 years after that, but 3 months before President Monson became Church President. Since that time, President Uchtdorf has gone up in the ranks of the apostleship to become the 7th most senior apostle in the Church, which makes him the least senior of the first half of our 14 apostles. So, what is important to note about the life of this wonderful man? Let's talk about all of that.

Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf was born on November 6, 1940 in Czechoslovakia to Karl Albert and Hildegard Else Opelt Uchtdorf. He was raised in Germany, where his family joined the Church in 1947. He studied engineering, business administration, and international management. Joining the German Air Force in 1959, he trained to be a fighter pilot. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines as a pilot, working as an airline captain from 1970-1996. He held many responsible executive positions with German Airlines. He married Harriet Reich on December 14, 1962, and they have two children and several grandchildren. He served as a stake president before his call as a General Authority. He was sustained a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy on April 2, 1994. On April 6, 1996, he was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. He became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 15, 2002 and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 2, 2004 and ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004. On February 3, 2008, he was set apart as 2^nd Counselor in the First Presidency to President Thomas S. Monson.

President Uchtdorf, who has become so well loved by many members of the Church, has had the experience of being a refugee twice, and of seeing how their conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ blessed him and his family. He also also spoken before of first being impressed by the woman he would eventually marry, when he saw them come to Church after being found by the missionaries. President Uchtdorf has spoken frequently about ways in which Church members should consider themselves called to action. I enjoy hearing what he has to say in his General Conference addresses every six months. Throughout his almost 24 years as a general authority, almost 14 years as a special witness of the Savior, and nearly a decade of service in the First Presidency, he has given 67 talks, only 2 of which were given prior to his apostolic call. To review any of these remarkable and noteworthy addresses, click here. Also worthy of note (in my opinion) is the fact that, in addition to being the 7th in seniority in the apostleship, he is also, coincidentally enough, the 7th oldest of our apostles. Though he may never read this, I wanted this post to stand as a tribute to this remarkable, unassuming man that has had such a profound effect on me personally.

That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in all that you do.