Adney Y. Komatsu

Last updated
Adney Y. Komatsu
Adney Y. Komatsu.jpg
Emeritus General Authority
October 2, 1993 (1993-10-02)  February 23, 2011 (2011-02-23)
First Quorum of the Seventy
October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01)  October 2, 1993 (1993-10-02)
End reason Granted general authority emeritus status
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 4, 1975 (1975-04-04)  October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01)
End reason Position discontinued, transferred to First Quorum of the Seventy
Personal details
BornAdney Yoshio Komatsu
(1923-08-02)August 2, 1923
Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, United States
Died February 23, 2011(2011-02-23) (aged 87)
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Resting place Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery
21°23′21″N157°47′16″W / 21.3891°N 157.7877°W / 21.3891; -157.7877 (Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery)
Spouse(s) Judy Nobue Fujitani
Children 4
Parents Jizaemon Komatsu
Misao Tabata

Adney Yoshio Komatsu (August 2, 1923 – February 23, 2011) was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1975 until his death. Komatsu was the first person of Asian descent to become a general authority of the LDS Church. [1]

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a general authority is a member of the highest levels of leadership in the church who has administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church. A general authority's jurisdiction is church-wide, in contrast to the responsibilities of a local authority or an area authority, which relate to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. As a group, the general authorities are often referred to as "the Brethren". As of October 2017, there are 109 general authorities.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nontrinitarian Christian restorationist church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16 million members and 67,000 full-time volunteer missionaries. In 2012, the National Council of Churches ranked the church as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.5 million members reported by the church, as of January 2018. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

Asian people or Asiatic people are people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.

Contents

Born of Japanese parents in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Komatsu became a convert to the LDS Church in 1941 at age 17. He was the first Latter-day Saint of Japanese descent to become a bishop in the church. Komatsu was the first person of Asian descent to serve as a regional representative and later as a mission president, serving in the church's Northern Far East Mission from 1965 to 1968.

Japanese people ethnic group native to Japan

Japanese people are a nation and an ethnic group that is native to Japan and makes up 98.5% of the total population of the country. Worldwide, approximately 129 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 125 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live outside Japan are referred to as nikkeijin(日系人), the Japanese diaspora. The term ethnic Japanese is often used to refer to Japanese people, as well as to more specific ethnic groups in some contexts, such as Yamato people and Ryukyuan people. Japanese are one of the largest ethnic groups in the world.

Honolulu State capital city in Hawaii, United States

Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. It is an unincorporated part of and the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu along the southeast coast of the island of Oʻahu. The city is the main gateway to Hawaiʻi and a major portal into the United States. The city is also a major hub for international business, military defense, as well as famously being host to a diverse variety of east-west and Pacific culture, cuisine, and traditions.

Territory of Hawaii organized incorporated territory of the United States, 1898–1959

The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 12, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding Palmyra Island and the Stewart Islands, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii. The Hawaii Admission Act specified that the State of Hawaii would not include the distant Palmyra Island, the Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, and Johnston Atoll, which includes Johnston Island and Sand Island, and the Act was silent regarding the Stewart Islands.

On April 4, 1975, LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball called Komatsu to serve as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a general authority. In 1976, when the calling of Assistant to the Twelve was discontinued, Komatsu was ordained to the office of Seventy and became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He served in this capacity until October 1993, when he was designated as an emeritus general authority. During his tenure as a general authority, Komatsu served for several years as the president of the Tokyo Japan Temple.

President of the Church (LDS Church) highest office in the LDS Church

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the President of the Church is the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The President of the LDS Church is the church's leader and the head of the First Presidency, the church's highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" and refer to him as "the Prophet," a title that was originally given to Smith. When the name of the president is used by adherents, it is usually prefaced by the title "President". Russell M. Nelson has been the president since January 14, 2018.

Spencer W. Kimball President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Spencer Woolley Kimball was an American business, civic, and religious leader, and was the 12th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1973 to 1985. Grandson of the LDS apostle Heber C. Kimball, Spencer was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. He spent most of his early life in Thatcher, Arizona, where his father, Andrew Kimball, farmed and served as the area's stake president.

Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976. As the title of the calling suggests, men who held this position assisted the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. Assistants to the Twelve were general authorities, and were generally assigned by the Twelve Apostles to preside over and speak at stake conferences; re-organize stakes; tour missions; and assist in the direction of worldwide missionary work. Like counselors in the First Presidency, Assistant to the Twelve was not a distinct priesthood office—rather, it was a calling that any worthy high priest could be asked to fill.

Komatsu married Japan native Judy Nobue Fujitani in the Laie Hawaii Temple in 1950; the couple have four children. Komatsu died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2011.

Laie Hawaii Temple

Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. The temple sits on a small hill, a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean, in the town of Lāʻie, 35 miles (56 km) from Honolulu. Along with Brigham Young University–Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Laie Hawaii Temple plays an important role in the town of Lā'ie, with the Visitors' Center attracting more than 100,000 people annually.

Notes

  1. Yoshihiko Kikuchi was the first native-born Asian to be called as a general authority of the LDS Church.

Related Research Articles

Richard G. Scott American Mormon leader

Richard Gordon Scott was an American scientist and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Helvécio Martins Mormon leader

Helvécio Martins was the first person of Black African descent to be called as a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Yoshihiko Kikuchi has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1977, and was the first native Asian to be called as a general authority of the LDS Church.

Regional representative of the Twelve, commonly shorted to regional representative or regional rep, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1968 and 1995. As the title suggests, the responsibility of regional representatives was to represent the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the various regions or areas of the church. Regional representatives were not general authorities or general officers of the church, but were lay ministers who donated their time to church service.

Robert L. Simpson (Mormon) American Mormon leader

Robert Leatham Simpson was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1961 until his death.

Neil L. Andersen Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Neil Linden Andersen is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was sustained by church membership as an apostle on April 4, 2009, during the church's General Conference. At the time of his call to the Twelve, Andersen had been serving as an LDS general authority since 1993, including service in the Presidency of the Seventy from 2005 to 2009. Currently, he is tenth apostle in order of seniority in the church.

Franklin D. Richards (Mormon seventy) National commissioner of the US Federal Housing Administration and a general authority of LDS Church.

Franklin Dewey Richards was a national commissioner of the United States Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

J. Thomas Fyans Mormon leader

Joseph Thomas Fyans was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1974 until his death.

Marion D. Hanks American Mormon leader

Marion Duff Hanks was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1953 until his death.

William Grant Bangerter Mormon leader

William Grant Bangerter was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1975 until his death.

Alma Sonne American Mormon leader

Alma Sonne was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1941 until his death.

Horacio Antonio Tenorio was the first general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Mexican ancestry.

Bernard P. Brockbank Mormon leader

Bernard P. Brockbank, Sr. was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1962 to his death. Brockbank was an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve from 1962 to 1976 and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1976 to 1980. One of his major contributions was heading the Mormon Pavilion at the New York World's Fair in 1964 and 1965.

Ulisses Soares is a Brazilian businessman and is the junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 2005 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from January 2013 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. He is the LDS Church's first apostle from South America, being from Brazil. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Soares is accepted by the LDS Church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the junior and fifteenth most senior apostle in the church.

Gary Evan Stevenson is an American religious leader and former businessman who is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served previously as the church's Presiding Bishop and was the fourteenth man to serve in that position. He has been a general authority of the church since 2008. Stevenson was appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 2015. Currently, he is the twelfth most senior apostle in the church.

Donald Larry Hallstrom has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2000. From 2009 to 2017, he served as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Traditionally, a member of the Church holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jesus Christ, charged with the mission of preaching the gospel to the entire world under the direction of the Twelve Apostles. The Church teaches that the office of seventy was anciently conferred upon the seventy disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-2. Multiple individuals holding the office of seventy are referred to collectively as seventies.

Gerrit W. Gong Mormon leader

Gerrit Walter Gong is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 2010 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from October 2015 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. He is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint's first apostle of Asian descent. Prior to becoming a general authority, he served as Assistant to the President of Brigham Young University (BYU) for Planning and Assessment. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Gong is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the fourteenth most senior apostle in the church.

William Rawsel Bradford was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1975 until his death.

References

<i>Ensign</i> (LDS magazine) magazine

The Ensign of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly shortened to Ensign, is an official periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The magazine was first issued in January 1971, along with the correlated New Era and the Friend. Each of these magazines replaced the older church publications Improvement Era, Relief Society Magazine, The Instructor, and the Millennial Star. Unlike some of its predecessors, the Ensign contains no advertisements.

<i>Church News</i> newspaper in Salt Lake City, Utah

The Church News is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the Deseret News and the MormonTimes, a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the only publication by the LDS Church that is entirely devoted to news coverage of the LDS Church.

Find A Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. It receives and uploads digital photographs of headstones from burial sites, taken by unpaid volunteers at cemeteries. Find A Grave then posts the photo on its website.