In 1975, President Spencer W. Kimball called Joseph B. Wirthlin to full-time service in the Church. In accepting his call as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Wirthlin said, "I give you my life and my service. I will go where you want me to go and I will do my best to build up the kingdom of God here upon the earth."
He maintained that commitment when he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in October 1976, to the Presidency of the Seventy in August 1986 and to the Quorum of the Twelve in October 1986.
With a lifetime of service in the Church and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ as part of his legacy, Elder Wirthlin observed his 90th birthday on June 11.
The milestone anniversary didn't go unnoticed. The First Presidency and members of Elder Wirthlin's family gathered on separate occasions to commemorate the event. On Friday, June 8, President Gordon B. Hinckley, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust met with Elder Wirthlin and members of his family to extend birthday greetings. On Saturday, June 9, Elder Wirthlin's children, grandchildren and other adults in the family, along with some General Authority colleagues and friends gathered at the home of one of his daughters for a birthday observance. Then, on the actual anniversary of his birth, the extended family met in a Salt Lake City park for a family party that was attended by 56 grandchildren and 64 great-grandchildren.
On the occasion of his 90th birthday, Elder Wirthlin said, "Regardless of my age, my call is still to build the kingdom of God here on the earth and to answer every assignment given to me from the Lord and the First Presidency."
