| F. Michael Watson | |
|---|---|
| First Quorum of the Seventy | |
| April 5, 2008 – October 5, 2013 | |
| Called by | Thomas S. Monson |
| End reason | Designated an emeritus general authority |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Michael Watson March 9, 1943 Spring City, Utah, United States |
Frank Michael Watson (born March 9, 1943) served as the secretary to the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1986 [1] until his call as a general authority of the LDS Church in 2008.
The First Presidency, also called the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church or simply the Presidency), is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of Russell M. Nelson and his two counselors: Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring.
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.
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.
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Watson was born in Spring City, Utah. He received a bachelor's degree in business and office administration from Utah State University. He was in the United States Army for three years and was awarded the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medals.
Spring City is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 956 at the 2000 census.
A bachelor's degree or baccalaureate is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to seven years. In some institutions and educational systems, some bachelor's degrees can only be taken as graduate or postgraduate degrees after a first degree has been completed. In countries with qualifications frameworks, bachelor's degrees are normally one of the major levels in the framework, although some qualifications titled bachelor's degrees may be at other levels and some qualifications with non-bachelor's titles may be classified as bachelor's degrees.
Utah State University is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's largest public residential campus. As of Fall 2018, there were 27,932 students enrolled including 24,880 undergraduate students and 3,052 graduate students. The university has the highest percentage of out-of-state students of any public university in Utah totaling 23% of the student body.
Prior to employment as secretary to the First Presidency, Watson served as assistant secretary to the First Presidency (1972–86), [2] and as both assistant secretary and secretary to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1970–72).
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are apostles, with the calling to be prophets, seers, and revelators, evangelical ambassadors, and special witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Watson has served as president of the church's Bountiful Utah South Stake [3] and a temple sealer in the Bountiful Utah Temple.
Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,552, a three percent increase over the 2000 figure of 41,301. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was Davis County's largest city until 1985 when it was surpassed by Layton. Bountiful is Utah's 15th largest city.
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes". A stake is sometimes referred to as a stake of Zion.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord. Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth.
In April 2008, Watson was called as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the LDS Church. [1] He previously served as a counselor in the church's Africa Southeast Area and in 2011 was appointed as a counselor in the Pacific Area, based in Auckland, New Zealand, where he served until August 2013. In October 2013, Watson was released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and designated as an emeritus general authority.
An area is an administrative unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes and the church as a whole.
Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
Watson is married to Jolene Mann and they are the parents of 12 children.
