Stephen L. Richards was born 18 June 1879 in Mendon, Cache County, Utah to Stephen Longstroth Richards (1853-1922) and Emma Louise Stayner (1857-1937) and died 19 May 1969 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah of unspecified causes. He married Irene Smith Merrill (1876-1969) 21 February 1900 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.
Biography
One of Willard Richards’s grandsons, President Stephen L Richards (1879–1959), graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1904, and began a successful career in Salt Lake City in law, politics, and business.
Richards was born in Mendon, Utah Territory. He was the oldest of ten children born to Stephen Longstroth Richards and Emma Louise Stayner. He was raised in the Cache Valley. Richards was the grandson of Willard Richards, an early apostle of the church and colleague of Joseph Smith.
Richards married Irene Smith Merrill (a maternal granddaughter of George A. Smith) in 1900. The couple had nine children. One of their sons was Lynn S. Richards, a Utah politician and leader in the church.
Education / Profession
Richards did undergraduate studies at the University of Utah. He received his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1904. Richards had begun his law school career at the University of Michigan before transferring to Chicago.
After graduating from the University of Chicago, Richards practiced law in Salt Lake City and was a professor of law at the University of Utah. Richards had been considering running for governor of Utah in the 1918 election, but he was selected as an apostle in 1917 and he decided against it..
Call to Apostleship
On 18 January 1917 he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). In later years, Stephen L Richards said, “I have often felt that the only reason for my being in the presiding councils of the Church is in the devotion of Willard Richards to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I believe there are councils on the other side. We have had testimonies of them, and while I cannot understand, I can believe that the Prophet, out of consideration for his friend, has had a voice in bringing me into the Council of the Twelve through President Joseph F. Smith, and also in that which has brought me to this position as counselor in the First Presidency.”
Joseph F. Smith called Richards to be an apostle at the age of 37. As an apostle, Richards became a member of the superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union under David O. McKay in 1918. In April 1919, McKay was appointed Church Commissioner of Education and chose Richards as his first counselor. Richards would remain a counselor in the Deseret Sunday School Union Superintendency until 1934 when apostles were released from these positions, which freed up the apostles to focus on other aspects of church governance.
The Christus statue that is at the visitors center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City was purchased by Richards as a gift to McKay.
Richards was a mentor to Gordon B. Hinckley as the head of the Radio, Publicity and Missionary Literature Committee when Hinckley served as its executive secretary.
After many years of service in company with his fellow apostle David O. McKay, Stephen L Richards was called as first counselor to President McKay on 9 April 1951. He served until his death in 1959.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Lynn Stephen Richards (1901-2001) | 3 February 1901 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | 26 May 2001 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | Lucille Janette Covey (1901-1989) |
| Irene Louise Richards (1902-1991) | 5 April 1902 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | 29 May 1991 | Stephen Glenn Covey (1897-1980) |
| Lois Bathsheba Richards (1903-1993) | 24 November 1903 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | 20 April 1993 | Frederick Russel Hinckley (1902-1993) |
| Alice Leila Richards (1907-2002) | |||
| Helen Merle Richards (1908-1909) | |||
| Georgia Gill Richards (1910-1982) | |||
| Joseph Albert Richards (1912-1926) | |||
| Philip Longstroth Richards (1917-2006) | |||
| Richard Merrill Richards (1919-1995) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Stephen Longstroth Richards (1879-1959) | 18 June 1879 Mendon, Cache County, Utah | 19 May 1969 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | Irene Smith Merrill (1876-1969) |
| Alice Louise Richards (1880-1906) | |||
| Claude Richards (1882-1962) | |||
| George Gill Richards (1883-1950) | 5 September 1883 Mendon, Cache County, Utah, United States | 20 April 1950 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts | Florence Lott Farnsworth (1884-1933) Lacy Jane Farnsworth (1887-1979) |
| Staynor Richards (1885-1953) | 20 December 1885 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | 28 May 1953 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah | Jane Foote Taylor (1883-1975) |
| Willard Richards (1887-1960) | |||
| Russel Richelieu Richards (1889-1948) | |||
| Arthur Richards (1892-1892) | |||
| Nanny Richards (1893-1894) | |||
| Grace Richards (1895-1972) | |||
References
- Joseph Richards 1762 Immigrant Ancestors
- Elder Stephen L Richards - Wikipedia
- Jan 1980 Ensign: They Served - Richards Legacy in the Church