Hartman Rector, Jr.

Hartman Rector, Jr. (born 1924) was one of the first converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to become a general authority of the church during the second half of the 20th century. Rector served as a member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1968 to 1976 and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1974 to 1994.

Early life

Rector was born in Moberly, Randolph County, Missouri."2005 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2004) p. 80.] Rector was raised in a somewhat religious family, who attended church only in summer. His maternal grandmother was a firm believer that the end of the world was near. [http://gapages.com/rectoh2.htm Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Hartman Rector, Jr.] , gapages.com, accessed 2008-03-19.]

Conversion to Mormonism

Rector joined the United States Navy in 1943. He was released from active duty in 1947 and then married Constance Kirk Daniel. In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Rector returned to being a naval aviator. Rector moved his wife and two young children to San Diego, California and then went off to special training in Hawaii. While he was away, his wife met Mormon missionaries and began taking lessons with them. Rector studied with the missionaries after returning from Hawaii and came to accept the LDS Church. He then was sent on a ship to Japan, on which he was able to study Mormonism with some members of the LDS Church. Upon reaching Japan, Rector met with a counselor in the mission presidency and was able to get permission to be baptized. He was baptized February 24, 1952 in Japan. Rector spent a total of 26 years as a navy pilot. [M. Russell Ballard, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=653792be7beeb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Away from the Blinding Dust,”] "New Era", May 1991, p. 44.]

LDS Church service

In 1968, Rector was called as a member of the LDS Church's seven-man First Council of the Seventy. From February to March 1969, Rector served as the interim president of the Italian Mission of the church. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=850727cd3f37b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Comment,”] "Ensign", Sep. 1989, p. 73.] Beginning in 1971, Rector was the first president of the Alabama–Florida (later the Florida Tallahassee) Mission of the church. ["2005 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2004) p. 474.] He became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976. In the late 1970s, Rector served as president of the church's San Diego Mission. [Janet Brigham, [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=2484d0640b96b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “When ‘The Best Two Years’ Are Over,”] "Ensign", Dec. 1978, p. 29]

In 1994, Rector was made an emeritus general authority of the LDS Church and released from full-time ecclesiastical duties.

Notes