SALT LAKE CITY — Funeral services for Elder L. Tom Perry, who died Saturday after serving for 41 years in the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square.
At 92, Elder Perry was the oldest living apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also was second in line to become the church's president, after President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Elder Perry's death came within 40 days of being diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer, which his son and doctor described as “wildfire.”
The Temple Square gates will open for the funeral at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, and the Tabernacle doors will open at 10 a.m., according to a church news release. Those who wish to attend should be in their seats by 10:30 a.m.
The funeral will be the first for a member of the church's First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve since December 2008, when Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin died. Membership of the two presiding councils of the church had been the same since the faith's general conference in April 2009, when church President Thomas S. Monson announced Elder Wirthlin's replacement, Elder Neil L. Andersen.
Other details from the church's news release:
Overflow seating will be available in the Assembly Hall and the North Visitors Center on Temple Square. The church campus buildings will close at 10:30 a.m. and reopen after the funeral.
The funeral services will be broadcast live on DeseretNews.com, KSL, LDS.org and BYU-TV.
The burial service at the Salt Lake City Cemetery after the funeral will be private.
There will be no public viewing, the church release said, but expressions of sympathy can be posted on Elder Perry’s official Facebook page or emailed to condolences@ldschurch.org
In lieu of flowers, Elder Perry’s family asked that contributions be made to the church’s missionary or humanitarian fund. Donations can be made at give.lds.org/perry.
Email: twalch@deseretnews.com