President Faust -- A look back

As Latter-day Saints anticipate the opening of their faith's 177th Semiannual General Conference on Saturday, many are wondering who will be named as second counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church following the death of President James E. Faust on Aug. 10.

Known by colleagues as both compassionate and exceptionally competent, President Faust had addressed recent general conference sessions from a sitting position. However, his death at age 87 came as something of a surprise to church members, who often have heard President Gordon B. Hinckley speak about his own advanced age.

President Hinckley is 97, and he told Latter-day Saints at President Faust's funeral that saying goodbye was a challenge. "This is a time of deep emotion and a difficult assignment for me. I've lost a close friend and a wise and able counselor."

President Hinckley recalled his early association with President Faust, when they both worked as stake leaders in the same part of Salt Lake City. From that point, "I watched him as he progressed up the ladder of church administration. And in 1995, when I was called as president of the church, I knew I wanted him for a counselor."

In those days, President Faust was physically "sharp and bright. He was able to get about without difficulty. Then illness hit him. He had trouble with his back. One thing led to another. He had difficulty walking. He maneuvered that Jazzy (scooter) like a taxi driver," President Hinckley quipped to knowing laughter from the congregation.

He recalled President Faust's early days as a farm boy, an athlete and a missionary in Brazil, a place that became so dear he "never got over his love for the people of that nation."

President Hinckley said President Faust was scheduled to participate in the Curitiba Brazil Temple dedication early next year, in the place where he baptized the first LDS family in that nation several decades earlier. "Now none of that is possible. It is all behind us. For him it will simply not be."

President Faust was set apart as second counselor to President Hinckley on March 12, 1995, and served there for nearly 12 1/2 years. He was ordained an apostle on Oct. 1, 1978, at the age of 58, and served in the Quorum of the Twelve for 16 years.

One of his last notable public appearances was on June 23, 2007, the occasion of President Hinckley's 97th birthday and also the dedication of the new Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center at Provo's Brigham Young University.