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GRAND MARSHAL
We
are pleased to announce ELDER SPENCER CONDIE of the 1st Quorum of the
Seventy will be the 2009 Pioneer Day Celebration Parade Grand Marshal.
- Born 1940 Preston, Idaho
- Graduated Pocatello High School
- Baptized 1948
- Mission to Southern Germany 1960-1963
- Married Dorthea Speth 1965; five children
- President of Austrian Mission 1984-1987
- Called as Regional Representative of the Twelve 1987
- Second Quorum of the Seventy 1989-1992
- First Quorum of the Seventy 1992-present
When Spencer Condie was a teenager, he had
an image problem. An aspiring athlete who had two cousins on the
University of Utah basketball team, he realized early on, “I
wasn't destined for greatness in that sport.”
Deciding what should become number one in his life,
however, was a different matter. “If you seek first the kingdom
of God instead of just putting the gospel in your top ten, you can then
study almost any field or be employed in almost any area and still
remain faithful in the kingdom.”
Elder Spencer J. Condie, of the Seventy, studied
many fields, worked in many areas, and managed to keep his commitment
to the gospel his top priority.
Born on 27 August 1940 in Preston, Idaho, to Spencer
C. Condie and Josie Peterson Condie, Spencer Joel Condie received his
patriarchal blessing shortly after his ninth birthday. “I was too
young to appreciate or even understand it at the time,” he
recalls of the experience, “but it gave me direction that helped
me decide what's important in life.”
The opportunity to serve as a stake missionary at
seventeen further directed Elder Condie’s priorities. He went on
to serve in the Southern Germany Mission, from 1960 to 1963, where he
became acquainted with Sister Dorthea Speth, a native missionary from
Dresden, Germany. They married one and a half years after Elder Condie
returned from Germany, a decision he calls, “the wisest I've
made. She has been the driving force behind our family, and to this day
I am in spiritual awe of her.”
Elder Condie also attributed to his wife's influence
his ability to put the gospel first during the following years of
academic study that took him from Brigham Young University to the
University of Pittsburgh for a doctorate in medical sociology, and
finally back to BYU in 1969 as a professor of sociology and ancient
scripture. He has been honored as Honors Professor of the Year and as a
recipient of the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Teaching Award.
“I guess one experience that typifies my
wife's example to me occurred during those early years,” he
explained. “One night I came home at 1:00 A.M. exhausted from
working on my dissertation, fell into bed, and felt a distinct thump on
my chest. ‘You forgot to say your prayers,’ she said.”
Elder Condie’s Church service throughout his
schooling and career included work as a Young Men president, as a
bishop and a stake president, and, from 1984 to 1987, as president of
the Austrian mission that included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Yugoslavia, and Greece. Upon his return in 1987, Elder Condie was
called to be a Regional Representative.
Elder and Sister Condie had five children, who were raised
in a home “with many books and no videocassette recorder.”
Elder Condie explained his philosophy about
families: “The gospel must be number one and used in its fullness:
scripture study, family home evening, father's blessings—the
whole recipe. Some families leave out certain ingredients and then
wonder why they get chocolate chip cookies without the chips.”
Elder Condie often told his students, “The
gospel isn't just true, it's vitally important!” His life of
service constantly focuses on that importance, and he has an optimism
that stems from an awareness of what changes the gospel can bring about:
“We saw in the Eastern European countries,
especially in Hungary, the Red Sea virtually part to let the
missionaries in. I know from experiences I've had, especially within
the last five years, that Jesus is the Christ and that God has not
ceased to be a God of miracles.” Elder
Condie served in the Second Quorum until 1992 when he was called to the
First Quorum of the Seventy where he serves until this day.
Bibliography
Grandpa Bill's G.A. Pages see http://www.gapages.com/condisj1.htm
"News of the Church: Elder Spencer J. Condie...," The Ensign, May 1989, p. 94
"15 New General Authorities are Called," Church News Archives, June 6, 1992
2005 Church Almanac p. 32
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