President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, observed his 78th birthday on July 31.
President Faust observed the event quietly with a small family gathering the evening before on July 30. On the morning of July 31, he attended several meetings and that afternoon attended a reception in his honor. The reception, with a birthday cake, was held for the General Authorities in the West Board room of the Church Administration Building.
The Church leader, who was born July 31, 1920, in Delta, Utah, was set apart as second counselor in the First Presidency March 12, 1995, after serving in the Quorum of the Twelve for 16 years. He was called as an Assistant to the Twelve on Oct. 6, 1972, and was sustained to the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy on Oct. 1, 1976. He served in that capacity until being sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve on Sept. 30, 1978.
He and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of five children, and they have 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
