1971
Sunday School Appointments
October 1971


“Sunday School Appointments,” Ensign, Oct. 1971, 28

Sunday School Appointments

A new kind of administrative structure for general Sunday School operations has been announced by Russell M. Nelson, recently sustained general superintendent of the auxiliary.

Directing the new program will be a thirteen-man executive committee, comprised of the three members of the superintendency, Superintendent Nelson, Joseph B. Wirthlin, and Richard L. Warner; executive secretary Jay W. Mitton; and nine newly called board members. Each man will head a committee assigned to a specific area of Sunday School responsibility.

The nine chairmen, their committees, and their areas of responsibility are:

Elliott D. Landau, professor of education at the University of Utah, child committee. Review and evaluation of manuals; teaching aids for child courses; child area sessions of general Sunday School conferences; lessons for Junior Sunday School coordinator’s department of stake leadership meetings.

William B. Smart, executive editor of the Deseret News, communications committee. Direct monthly publication of the Sunday School Bulletin; communications regarding Sunday School conferences, regional meetings, and other major events and programs.

A. Harold Goodman, chairman of the Music Department of Brigham Young University, music committee. Sunday School music program, working closely with the Church Music Committee; music portions of regional conferences; lessons for music department of stake leadership meetings; review of music aids currently in use.

G. Homer Durham, commissioner, Utah System of Higher Education, adult committee. Outline courses of study; work closely with Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve in preparation of Gospel Essentials and Family Relations courses; adult sessions of Sunday School conferences; Gospel Doctrine course manuals.

Ben E. Lewis, executive vice-president of Brigham Young University, instructional implementation committee. Planning and organization of Sunday School regional and general conferences; superintendents’ department session at Sunday School general conferences.

Kenneth H. Beesley, associate commissioner of education for Church Colleges and Schools, youth and young adult committee. Preparation of study outline for courses 12 to 22 for the next five years; youth area sessions of Sunday School general conferences; courses of study and programs for college and university Sunday Schools.

B. Lloyd Poelman, Salt Lake City attorney, administrative and planning committee. Survey and evaluate all Sunday School programs; preparation of Sunday School special programs; “activation program,” working closely with the Adult Correlation Committee secretary; review and evaluation of statistics.

J. Fielding Nelson, advertising account executive, language adaptation committee. Work with Church Translation Department on translation schedules; review needs and design programs and projects for non-English-speaking areas; adaptation and preparation of regional meeting programs.

Ruel A. Allred, associate professor of education at Brigham Young University, inservice committee. Programs for stake and ward inservice leaders and teaching aids specialists; work closely with Church teacher development and library committees; review published materials and teaching aids; prepare teacher’s guidebook.

In outlining the objectives of the new board structure, Superintendent Nelson stated: “The concept is that we’ll have an echelon of responsibility between the superintendency and the general board. These nine men will head nine committees, with a full board functioning under them. We hope these changes will result in a more effective way of managing the tasks with which the Sunday School is charged.”

The name by which the auxiliary has been known since 1872—Deseret Sunday School Union—has also been changed. The First Presidency recently announced that the official name of the organization is now Sunday School of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Elliott D. Landau; William B. Smart; A. Harold Goodman; G. Homer Durham; Ben E. Lewis; Kenneth H. Beesley; B. Lloyd Poelman; J. Fielding Nelson; Ruel A. Allred