Reader comments
Creator of CTR ring dies at 91

31 comments | Read story

Anonymous | 2:32 p.m. July 10, 2008

adios!

Thank you! | 2:49 p.m. July 10, 2008

Thanks for creating a lasting symbol for me and my children.

Anonymous | 3:23 p.m. July 10, 2008

I'm one of the few LDS without a CTR ring, but much respect to this man. Rest in peace.

Comments continue below

THANKS! | 3:27 p.m. July 10, 2008

I love that ring!

Bro | 3:33 p.m. July 10, 2008

"By small and simple things, are great things brought to pass." What a wonderfully simple way to remember to always make good choices.

P.A.T. (Piliin Ang Tama / CTR) | 3:49 p.m. July 10, 2008

I never knew the man till now, but thanks, his has been an inspiration even to the island where I came from.

From the Islands of the Philippines "Hanggang sa muli natin pagkikita" (Till we meet again).

MoJules | 4:28 p.m. July 10, 2008

You know, you never know the person behind the song or the ring or many other things. I just know that this ring was in it's own way a sacred reminder to youth and adults of "choosing the right". Bless this man for the gift he has given to many and I hope his posterity will never forget.

dee | 4:31 p.m. July 10, 2008

great works thank you ,dee

from the isles of the sea | 5:07 p.m. July 10, 2008

CTR, what an eternal symbol of faith and love.

Thank-you & RIP!

Brother David | 5:53 p.m. July 10, 2008

Brother Miles certainly left a Great Legacy.

May we all be inspired to leave behind us
something Good that Blesses others.

CTR | 6:16 p.m. July 10, 2008

For most my life CTR has meant the same to me as most of you...Choose The Right. Now I am older, the symbol has double meaning to me CHOOSE THE RED. I was happy to see that Bro Miles attend both UTAH and BYU. Maybe fans from both schools can appreciate all he has done too help us all remember who we are and how we should behave.
THANKS and rest in peace.

Should I know this? | 7:12 p.m. July 10, 2008

I don't see any mention in this piece what a "CTR ring" is? Did I miss something?

katie | 7:42 p.m. July 10, 2008

Re: Should I know this?

A CTR ring is "kinda" like a cross for mormons. It's an acronymn the LDS church members use. We wear it to remember to choose the right and remember we are children of god and should act accordingly. I personally have not only a ring, but I have a necklace as well. I love both very much. They are my most prized posessions. :) Praise to the man!

Should I know this? | 8:28 p.m. July 10, 2008

re: katie

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I appreciate it.

PS - Who's "the man"?

Re: Should I know this? | 9:19 p.m. July 10, 2008

Re: Should I know this?

katie's praising the gentleman that died. Praise to the man is also a phrase we use to honor Joseph Smith. It is also a hymn(song) title of one of our most treasured hymns.

Praise to the Man | 9:22 p.m. July 10, 2008

"Praise to the Man" is the name of a hymn in the
LDS Hymnbook that Praises Joseph Smith Jr., the one
who, as a 14 year old, had the First Vision where he testifies that he saw God and Jesus and had dialogue with them. That was the beginning event in a series of events that led to the
establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

Whether Katie was referring to Joseph Smith or
Brother Miles, who created the idea of the CTR
Ring, only Katie knows.

The whole idea of the "CTR" ring comes from another hymn that is in the LDS Hymnbook entitled "Choose
The Right" .... 'when a choice placed before you'... choose the right, there's safety for the soul....' meaning in seesnce choosing what Jesus would want us to choose. But it IS our Choice. It's a hymn about making choices of priority and choosing the best (Right) Choice. If one wears the ring, it's like a reminder. This is generally given first to children in their growing years.

Hope this helps to answer questions...

God Bless...

Question | 9:28 p.m. July 10, 2008

Does anyone know who owns the CTR rights? Someone is making a mint off this little marketing gimick to the mormons.

question again | 10:29 p.m. July 10, 2008

Do Mormons wear crosses around their necks? I honestly don't know. But I am sure someone will tell me.

Katlee | 10:42 p.m. July 10, 2008

Wow! That is awesome!! I am grateful to him for all he brought to the church! He will be missed!

J.B. | 10:40 p.m. July 10, 2008

I'm a bit confused; does this article refer to the man who commercialized the ring or the person who created the original ring for the LDS church?

I know originally, Naomi W. Randall (author for the words to "I am a Child of God" and 1st counselor in the LDS General Primary Presidency to Sister Parmley) led a committee that was asked by LDS leaders to create a symbol to be used by the Primary children. The committee came up with the idea of the CTR ring.

Did this man create the ring at the request of the committee (the green and silver ring that is used in the LDS primaries), or did he commercialize the original ring and make it into rings that are purchased at jewelry stores? I'd appreciate Deseret News clarifying this so we get accurate history rather than "half-fashioned" history.

Thanks.

The Cross | 11:18 p.m. July 10, 2008

To answer a previously posted ??

Latter-day Saints/Mormons RECOGNIZE the significance of The Cross >> That Jesus Died
on that Cross at Calvary on that First Good
Friday is MOST BASIC to LDS/Mormon Belief!!
(That belief is Basic to most Christian Belief)
Most Catholic and Protestant believers also DO
Share that same Basic belief.

The LDS/Mormons, however, like to put more emphasis on the Ressurection Part of the Easter story than the Cruxificion. Easter does have TWO days to remember: Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Most Historians would say that the Cross being considered the "symbol" of Christianity came long
after the origial events. Many Early Christians, before the adoption of the Cross happened in time, wore fish on a necklace around their necks. This is where "the fish" symbol that some Christian groups use today comes from. There's even some
Christian music radio stations that call themselves "The Fish".

LDS/Mormons generally don't wear crosses, but that no way diminishes the belief in what Jesus DID!!
The emphasis is on the Rising from the Dead, the Resurrection!!

The Angel Moroni which is symbolized on many, but not all, LDS Temples is an LDS symbol representing the Restoration of the Gospel

Thomas | 11:54 p.m. July 10, 2008

How much money do you think the church has made off of this guy? Well done, thou good and faithful servant!

Dumb | 12:33 a.m. July 11, 2008

I choose to use the adult version for business.

"cover thy rear"

it is nicer than CYA

BUt personally I tink the CTR ring is dumb.

CTR | 12:43 a.m. July 11, 2008

What fun it is to come up with other meanings!

Anonymous | 7:38 a.m. July 11, 2008

He sounds like a very talented man in many areas, and a man who loved the Lord. RIP.

I "was saddened" to see the ad Des News put on the page that I read this story on. An ad from some resort in NV, picturing a naked woman laying on her stomach, with only a towel across her buttocks. Rose petals are scattered around her, which I assume is designed to lend an elegant look - but the red splotches and her position make one wonder if she is dead and those are blood spots.

Very distracting and quite incongruent with the story at hand.

Des News? CHOOSE THE RIGHT. Get RID of that ad. A Mormon paper has no call to use nudity in any of its ads.

Appalled in GA

Jay | 9:24 a.m. July 11, 2008

For years I wore a CTR ring that was in the Hawaiian language. (KKP, Koho Ka'a Pono) I think that is the right words. I wore it in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. I had more conversations about religion over that little ring than I can count! I simply said "It means Choose The Right, or in other words "Do the right thing all the time." I always got positive feedback. Sadly that ring got bent while working on the car and I took it off and lost it. I have a new one and I wear it all the time.
Jay

Jean | 10:40 p.m. July 12, 2008

Speaking of other meanings of CTR, every time going out the door to the Temple with my husband, he'll ask, do you have your CTR? (Current Temple Recommond!)

"B" | 12:53 p.m. Aug. 7, 2008

I recently purchased a CTR slider ring for my son with several different inscriptions on it. Each incription is a different language meaning Choose The Right. Does anyone have one and can you tell me what each different language is. I know the Spanish and Hawaiian versins. Thanks for any help.

Brandon | 12:44 a.m. Aug. 15, 2008

I work for the website you may have purchased your ring from - TheCTRStore.com. The languages on the ring are: chinese/japanese, danish/norwegian/swedish, english/portugese, french, german, and spanish! Hope this helps!

Danny Huang | 7:00 a.m. Sept. 6, 2008

I met Mr.Douglas Miles in 1969 at a hotel in Taipei. Ever Since I worked with him till 1983. He was a great man. We keep our friendship till the last day. We have wonderful time together. One day he told me his war story that he saw a Japanses battle ship near Philippine, he called bombers and sank that ship. He felt very excited about what he did. We supplied many jewelry items and gift items to Cheverolet and the church. I still keep many of his photoes in these years. His last trip to Taiwan, he gave me an American flag which I precious very much. He was the first man to teach me the Western way of business. Now I work with Europeans to handle the toxicate waste in many countries. I wish he can work with me again.
He is a great person you feel like to work with all your life. I miss him.

Kent Miles | 11:11 a.m. Sept. 8, 2008

Douglas Coy Miles, my father, was the original producer of the CTR ring for the LDS Church. He was brought an idea by the Primary committee, and he was responsible for translating an idea into a practical reality. He crafted a piece of jewelry that would have lasting value for the children, while being inexpensive to produce. He worked with designer Joel Izatt to refine the symbol, and came up with the first (and best for the money) CTR ring. He also consulted with the Primary on how best to utilize it within the program to motivate youth to "Choose the Right."

The LDS Church typically retains and registers copyrights to items produced for it, but someone dropped the ball and it fell into the public domain, hence the plethora of rings produced for adults. I do not know if they pay any royalties to the Church.

Later suppliers of the CTR ring to the church undercut my father's bid by a few pennies per ring, and he lost the account. Those later rings did not have the same quality or durability. The sustained popularity of the CTR ring is a testament to his creative vision and determination.

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.