How old is boyd k packer 2018

Packer died Friday afternoon at his home in Salt Lake City from natural causes, church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement. Quorum member Russell M. Nelson, 90, now becomes the leader who would take Mormon President Thomas S. During his 45 years as a member of the quorum, Packer became known as a fearless defender of the gospel and master teacher of church principles, the church said in a news release. Packer spent most of his adult life working for the church and earned a reputation of being a tenacious advocate for his orthodox views on Mormonism, said Patrick Mason, chairman of the religion department and professor of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in California.

Packer is remembered for giving a speech in in which he warned that the religion faced the greatest threat from three groups: feminists, homosexuals and intellectuals.

In , a Utah gay-rights organization started a petition to protest the naming of a new Weber State University center after Packer. But the Tabernacle on Temple Square is different from them all. During World War II he was a bomber pilot and took part in some of the most dangerous and desperate raids in Europe.

He returned to an assignment in Washington, D. We had a day or two together in Washington before I left for overseas. I asked how he had held himself together in the face of all that he had endured. Learn More.