Two General Authorities were granted emeritus status, and six members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy were released during the afternoon session on Saturday.
Elder Marion D. Hanks and Elder Robert L. Backman, both of whom were released as members of the Presidency of the Seventy on Aug. 15, were granted emeritus status. Released after serving five-year terms in the Second Quorum of the Seventy were Elders George R. Hill, John R. Lasater, Douglas J. Martin, Glen L. Rudd, Douglas H. Smith and Lynn A. Sorensen.Elder Hanks, 70, was executive director of the Church's Priesthood Department and had served as a General Authority for 39 years. He was called to the First Council of the Seventy on Oct. 4, 1953, as an Assistant to the Twelve in 1968, and to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976. He served twice in the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Hanks served as president of the Salt Lake Temple, president of the British Mission, and a Church administrator in Southeast Asia, where he oversaw development of the Church's refugee program in Asia.
Elder Hanks, a native of Salt Lake City, earned a juris doctorate from the University of Utah. He is a Navy veteran of World War II. He and his wife, Maxine Christensen Hanks, are parents of five children.
Elder Backman, 70, was executive director of the Missionary Department. He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 1, 1978, and has served nearly seven years in the Presidency of the Seventy. He served as a member of the Missionary Executive Committee and for six years as president of Young Men.
A native of Salt Lake City, Elder Backman earned a law degree from the University of Utah, and at the time of his call to full-time Church service he was a partner in a Salt Lake City law firm. He is a veteran of World War II. Prior to his call to be a General Authority, he served as a regional representative, general president of the Aaronic Priesthood MIA (forerunner to the Young Men), president of the Northwestern States Mission, stake president's counselor, bishop's counselor and high councilor. He and his wife, Virginia Pickett Backman, have seven daughters.
Elder Hill, 70, served in the presidencies of the Philippines/Micronesia and the Utah South areas. At the time of his call as a General Authority in April 1987, he was a professor of chemical engineering and fuels engineering at the University of Utah.
A native of Ogden, Utah, Elder Hill is a prize-winning scientist noted for his work with coal. He is also a former dean of the College of Mines and Mineral Resources at the University of Utah. He graduated from BYU, and earned a doctorate from Cornell University. His previous Church service includes regional representative, bishop, branch president, and the general superintendency of the Young Men's MIA. He and his wife, Melba Parker Hill, are parents of seven children.
Elder Lasater, 60, has served as president of the North America Southeast Area and was in the presidency of the Europe Area. He was an assistant executive director in the Missionary Department.
Elder Lasater, called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April 1987, retired in 1983 as a U.S. Air Force General. A native of Farmington, Utah, he is a graduate of Omaha University, earned a master's degree from the University of Southern California, and graduated from the National War College in Washington, D.C. Elder Lasater was a regional representative, stake president, branch president and president of the New Zealand Auckland Mission. He and his wife, Marilyn Jones Lasater, have five children.
Elder Martin, 65, has served as president of the Pacific Area and was a counselor in the presidency of the Philippines/Micronesia Area. He is serving as president of the New Zealand Temple. He was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April 1987.
Elder Martin, of Hastings, New Zealand, was operations manager of a plastic products company before his call as a General Authority. He has served as a regional representative, bishop, stake president, stake patriarch and temple sealer. He and his wife, Amelia Crawford Martin, have four sons.
Elder Rudd, 74, was president of the Pacific Area and the North America Southwest Area, as well as assistant executive director in the Temple Department. He was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April 1987.
Elder Rudd is from Salt Lake City and attended the University of Utah. He managed his own business for 12 years and then was named manager of the Church's Welfare Square. He later was director of zone operations for Welfare Services. He has been a mission president, temple president, bishop, stake president's counselor, regional representative, and was a member of the General Church Welfare Committee and the General Priesthood Missionary Committee. He and his wife, Marva Sperry Rudd, have eight children.
Elder Smith, 71, called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April 1987, has served as president of the Asia Area and in the North America West Area presidency.
A native of Salt Lake City, Elder Smith is a graduate of the University of Utah and is a former president of Beneficial Life Insurance Company and Utah Home Fire Insurance Company. He and his wife, Barbara Bradshaw Smith, are parents of seven children.
Elder Sorensen, 73, served in the North America Northeast Area presidency. Before his call as a General Authority in April 1987, he was a director of temporal affairs for the Church in Brazil.
Elder Sorensen of Salt Lake City is a former plant manager of Deseret Press. He graduated from the University of Utah, did graduate work at the University of Chicago and served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was a missionary, mission president, bishop's counselor, stake patriarch, Young Men's MIA General Board member, and executive secretary of the International Mission. He and his wife, Janet Elaine Weech Sorensen, have nine children.