Get to Know President Dallin H. Oaks

General Conference

Aug 8

How well do you know President Dallin H. Oaks in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Gather your family or church class and learn a little bit more as you make a fun paper puppet.

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How well do you know President Dallin H. Oaks?

See if you know these fun facts!

The H stands for Harris, his mom’s maiden name who is a relative of Martin Harris.
His mother was a big fan of the work of Cyrus Dallin, a Utah artist. She went to the unveiling of The Pioneer Mother, a monument in Springville, Utah made by Dallin just three weeks before President Oaks was born and subsequently named him after the artist.
He has two siblings.
His dad died of tuberculosis when President Oaks was only 7 years old.
He started working at age 11 to help provide for his family.
President Oaks’ mom was overcome by her grief and responsibilities so President Oaks and his siblings lived with their grandparents for a time.
He thought he was the “dumbest boy in the world” when he was younger because he had a lot of problems in school after his dad died and he moved in with his grandparents. At the time he didn’t realize it was because of his grief.
He later graduated from BYU with high honors and furthered his education at the University of Chicago Law School.
President Oaks was the eighth president of Brigham Young University where he oversaw the start of the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
He was sustained as an Apostle on April 7, 1984, but due to his judicial commitments, he was not ordained until May 3, 1984.
He met his wife while announcing high school basketball games as a college freshman.