Henry D. Moyle

Henry Dinwoodey Moyle (April 22, 1889 – September 18, 1963) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Early life

Moyle was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to politician James Moyle and his wife Alice Dinwoodey.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> He studied at the University of Utah and served as an LDS Church missionary in Switzerland<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in Germany. During World War I, Moyle served in the US military.<ref name=":0" />

Moyle continued his studies at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School.<ref name=":0" /> He was also a student at the School of Mines in Freiberg, Saxony.<ref name="Jenson">Template:Cite book</ref>

Employment

Moyle was for many years a lawyer and a part-time member of the University of Utah faculty.Template:Citation needed He was also a businessman involved in various railroad, trucking, oil, insurance and finance businesses.<ref name=":0" /> During World War II, he was the director of the Petroleum Board.<ref name=":0" />

LDS Church Service

From 1927 to 1937, Moyle was the president of the LDS Church's Cottonwood Stake, located in the south-east suburbs of Salt Lake City.Template:Citation needed He also served as chairman of the church's Welfare Committee.Template:Citation needed

Apostle and member of the First Presidency

Moyle was ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 10, 1947.<ref name=":0" /> Moyle served as Second Counselor in the First Presidency to church president David O. McKay from June 12, 1959, to October 12, 1961, when he was called as First Counselor.<ref name=":0" /> He was First Counselor in the First Presidency until his death.

Moyle was a successful cattleman and originated the idea of the church establishing a cattle ranch in Florida.Template:Citation needed He was convinced that Florida's climate would prove ideal for raising cattle, as the key to success in that industry is growing grass.<ref>Barnett, Cynthia. "The Church's Ranch". Florida Trend Archives. December 2001.</ref> The church bought the original Template:Convert tract in 1950, and over 50 years, the ranch grew to more than Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch, which is southeast of Orlando, is today the world's largest beef ranch, and the land is worth an estimated $858 million.<ref>Biema, 1997Template:Full citation needed</ref>

Moyle spearheaded much of the church's building program in the early 1960s.Template:Citation needed He believed that the Church Office Building, the headquarters of the LDS Church, should have been twice its size.Template:Citation needed He was also convinced that by building larger meetinghouses, the church would attract more converts.Template:Citation needed Moyle convinced McKay not to publish an account of church spending as was customary in order to hide the extent of the budget deficit caused by spending on buildings.<ref name="Quinn">Template:Cite journal</ref> By 1962, the deficit had reach $32 million.Template:Citation needed His optimistic building programs placed a considerable financial strain upon the church and McKay eventually relieved Moyle from many of his administrative responsibilities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The controversial "baseball baptism" program was Moyle's idea to increase baptisms in order to fill the church meetinghouses. Missionaries would encourage young men to join sports leagues and used baptism as a prerequisite.Template:Citation needed Under this approach, large numbers of young men were baptized but very few were ever active in the church.<ref name="Quinn">Template:Cite journal</ref> The rush to baptize was accompanied with the establishment of baptism quotas for missionaries and memorized missionary discussions which were to be delivered verbatim to potential converts.Template:Citation needed The rest of the apostles were largely opposed to these changes, which led to Moyle being relieved of his responsibilities in the missionary department.Template:Citation needed

Moyle died of heart disease<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in Deer Park, Florida, aged 74, and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

• Grave monument to the Moyle family
  Grave monument to the Moyle family
• Henry D. Moyle's headstone
  Henry D. Moyle's headstone

Family

In 1920, Moyle married Clara Alberta Wright in the Salt Lake Temple; they were the parents of six children.<ref name="Jenson"/> One of his sons, Henry D. Moyle, Jr., was the first president of the French East Mission (based in Geneva, Switzerland) starting in 1961.<ref>2005 Deseret Morning News Church Alamanc (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2004) p. 471.</ref>

See also

• Alvin R. Dyer

Sources

• Arnold K. Garr, et al., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, p. 801.

External links

• Working the Divine Miracle, by Richard D. Poll