Elder Jack H. Goaslind Jr., Mormon emeritus general authority, dies at 83

Before his call as mission president, Elder Goaslind was second counselor in the Aaronic Priesthood MIA presidency in which the president, Elder Robert L. Backman, later served in the Seventy. He also was a regional representative to the Provo and Midvale regions.

His first assignment as a general authority took him back to his first mission field, where he assisted in the reorganization of the Calgary Alberta North Stake presidency. He also was able to talk to some people from Vernon, British Columbia, where he had helped start the first missionary work.

Elder Goaslind spoke seven times in general conference and organized some new stakes.

In his last conference address, given at the priesthood session of the April 1997 general conference, Elder Goaslind said that ordinary men, blessed with holding the priesthood of God, may be called on to do extraordinary tasks.

He is a recipient of the Master M-Men Award and also received Scouting's Silver Buffalo.

In 2007, Elder Goaslind was inducted into the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing at the Catholic Church's Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. He was honored because of his humanitarian efforts in the former Portuguese colony of Sao Tome off the coast of West Africa while serving as president of the British Isles/Africa Area from 1987 to 1990.

In 1998, he was named technical counselor in Beneficial Life's agency operations department.

EMAIL: taylor@desnews.com CONTRIBUTING: Tom Hatch, Lynn Arave