Candor and commitment are two words that capture the essence of Elder F. David Stanley, called in June to the Second Quorum of the Seventy.
People who know the new General Authority find him easy to look up to - personally, spiritually and, at nearly 6-feet 4-inches tall, physically."David is a doer," said one associate, who served with him several years ago on the Young Men General Board. "His service was characterized by not a lot of sitting around talking, but by getting things done. One of his most impressive characteristics is his even-handedness with people. He treats the man on the street the same as anyone else, and is direct with his opinions of right and wrong. He lives one standard - the Lord's standard - wherever he is and regardless of who he is with."
Elder Stanley, 57, has taken the same direct, work-oriented approach to his family and career responsibilities as he has his Church assignments. He attributes this attitude to his parents and to growing up among the dedicated saints in Salt Lake City's historic Pioneer Stake.
"My parents taught me the value of hard work," he noted. "Among the many things I can attribute to them is the attitude of determining what needs to be done and going after it.
"And growing up among the tremendous people of the Pioneer Stake - many of whom were a generation or two removed from the pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley - had a significant influence. The values of hard work and honesty were bred into me by those great people, and it became a part of my nature. I was a product of good parents and people in the old Salt Lake 26th Ward and in the Pioneer Stake."
As a youth, Elder Stanley approached his activities with the same penchant for enthusiasm and effort. This was particularly true of basketball.
"Back in the days when they had the YMMIA tournament in the Church, we got heavily involved in the 26th ward and generated a pretty good team. Division 9 took in a good part of the Salt Lake Valley. We took the Division 9 championship one year and second place another."
Both of those years saw David Stanley named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player. On more than one occasion he played against young Ben Banks, now Elder Benjamin B. Banks of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
"He was a tremendous competitor," recalled Elder Stanley.
That love of basketball served a purpose higher than merely fitness and fun, as Elder Stanley coached a lot of youth hoop teams throughout his years of Church service, often while he held other leadership positions. He would frequently conduct clinics for the youth, encouraging them to develop not only their skills, but also their belief in themselves and their desire to behave appropriately on the court and off.
Elder Stanley has more or less "retired" from active participation in sports. In his limited spare moments, he enjoys working around his home and yard, reading and listening to good music. He especially enjoys music played and sung by his wife, the former Annette Shewell, a talented pianist and vocalist.
"I love to just sit and listen to the beautiful music that not only she generates, but also that we have in our home," he said.
The Stanleys met while he was a student at the University of Utah and she was attending Salt Lake's West High School. His brother introduced them, and they were quickly attracted to each other. Their first date was, fittingly, attendance at a basketball game wherein Elder Stanley played.
"I had heard about him and felt comfortable going out," reflected Sister Stanley. "After we met, a lot of what attracted me to him was that he was a good person."
The two had both come from families who at that time were not particularly involved in the Church, but were nevertheless encouraged to remain involved as youth by their mothers and dedicated Church leaders. Following their introduction, the pair's relationship blossomed, and they married in the Salt Lake Temple in June 1956. They have eight children, four daughters and four sons. (See accompanying box.)
"The day we were married, we made a commitment to each other as we left the temple that we would not let anything stand in our way of serving the Lord," Sister Stanley remembered. "We have received so many blessings because of that commitment, and we've learned so much, too."
The Stanleys' children all live within an hour from Salt Lake City. All are married. As a temple sealer, Elder Stanley had the privilege of performing the sealings of both his youngest son and daughter in the Boise Idaho Temple, where he was serving until July as president of the Idaho Boise Mission. The call to the Seventy cut short his mission president tenure by a year.
"When we were called to the Idaho Boise Mission, both Annette and I were elated," Elder Stanley said. "It was a wonderful place to serve and still close enough that our family could visit us occasionally."
The Stanleys were basking in their missionary service when they received a telephone call in May from Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Council of the Twelve. He told them he was coming through Boise and would like to visit. He interviewed the Stanleys and told them there might be a change in their Church assignment.
Several weeks later, the First Presidency invited the couple to Salt Lake City, where Elder Stanley was extended his present calling.
Prior to his service as mission president, he had served as a regional representative and sealer in the Salt Lake Temple, which he said he "enjoyed immensely." He had been a member of the Young Men General Board in the early 1980s, where he participated in a Church study to determine what influences Latter-day Saint young men to serve missions, marry in the temple and continue on as worthy husbands and fathers. He can't speak about that study and service on the board without his excitement level rising a notch, probably because the outcome of the study confirmed what he had long felt and had in fact experienced as a young Aaronic Priesthood holder.
As a teacher, Elder Stanley underwent what he terms his personal "spiritual ignition." His quorum adviser, Hart Reuckert, helped provide through his teachings and example spiritual experiences that touched the young men in the quorum, including one David Stanley.
In the year or two following this spiritual "ignition" and acquisition of a testimony, another person entered his life and helped spiritually "launch" the young man.
As Elder Stanley remembers it, J Malan Heslop, former Church News editor, and his wife, Fae, "took this quiet, reserved, backward type of young man and brought him into roadshows, stake plays and other Church activities. They taught me how to organize and how to do the things that needed to be done to accomplish the assignment or project at hand. J Heslop was in effect my spiritual mentor, a tremendous individual who influenced my life for good.
"I was probably 16 years old at this time, within a year or two from the time of receiving this spiritual boost from my teachers quorum adviser. J picked up and helped me continue to grow and learn. He ordained me an elder, and shortly thereafter I was called as his counselor in the bishopric."
That call to the 26th Ward bishopric came at age 24. It was quite a surprise. The Stanleys were seated in sacrament meeting with two young children when the stake president announced that Brother Heslop had been called as the new bishop.
"I leaned over to Annette and whispered, `He'll be a great bishop,' and was thrilled because of my love for the man," Elder Stanley recalled. "Then the stake president did something unusual. He announced that because of time constraints, they had not had the time to call the counselors ahead of time, but the bishop knew of their worthiness. We're calling as first counselor Brother F. David Stanley, and would like him to come up onto the stand. I stood up and looked down at Annette, and it was like she was drifting off into space in slow motion."
"He's been on the stand ever since with me in the congregation, until he was called as mission president," Sister Stanley said. The young counselor was subsequently called as bishop at age 26. He later served in stake leadership capacities, and in whatever he has done he always made an extra effort to teach and love the youth.
"My patriarchal blessing says that one of the talents I would be blessed with would be to be able to work with young people. I remember as a counselor in the bishopric, and later as a bishop, that it was just a natural thing to be aligned with and counsel with and love the youth."
Through it all, the Stanleys have found that the keys to their happiness and success - individually and as a family - are basic. They include regular scripture study, personal and family prayer, family home evenings and participating fully in the Church, doing faithfully whatever they are called to do.
"As we have been taught, if young people - and this I believe comes primarily from parents with support from good leaders - can get interested in the holy scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, they will be on the right track," Elder Stanley emphasized. "If they also learn to pray privately wherever they are, they are going to be spiritually strong. And if somehow they can perpetuate this desire to stay active in the Church, without having to be pressured, wonderful things will happen in their lives. It's inspiring to see the miracles taking place in the strong young people in the Church throughout the world. They are our hope for a bright future."
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Elder F. David Stanley
Family: Born in Salt Lake City Sept. 11, 1935, to O. Frank and Winifred Parker Stanley; married Annette Shewell in the Salt Lake Temple June 29, 1957; parents of eight children: Mark David, 35; Deborah Ann Wright, 33; Diana Thomas, 30; Douglas Frank, 28; Matthew Paul, 26; Catherine Peacock, 24; David James, 23; Jennifer Hansen, 20.
Education: Attended University of Utah 1954-56, emphasis in education.
Employment: Vice president and general manager of Westroc; Vice president of operations, Western Utility Contractors; estimator for Staker Paving; division manager, Gibbons and Reed Co.; assistant supervisor of maintenance, Salt Lake City Water Department.
Church Service: President of Boise Idaho Mission, regional representative, temple sealer, Young Men General Board, stake president, counselor in stake presidency, bishop, bishop's counselor, stake YMMIA superintendent, counselor in stake YMMIA presidency.
