SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Thousands of Latter-day Saints gathered in Salt Lake City on Tuesday to celebrate the life of a man who had been a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and an inspiration to members of the Church throughout the world.
President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, died at home in the early morning hours of Aug. 10, surrounded by his family. President Faust served in the First Presidency with President Gordon B. Hinckley and First Counselor Thomas S. Monson for more than 12 years.
He was laid to rest in private cemetery services Tuesday afternoon, following a public funeral in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
President Hinckley, who presided and conducted the funeral, said President Faust’s death “brings to a close a chapter in Church history” after 35 years of service. “His leadership reached across borders into the hearts and homes of people around the world.”
Although he had served prominently in public roles over his 87 years, President Faust was also tenderly remembered for the roles he played in private life as a father, husband, grandfather, and great-grandfather. His wife, Ruth, sat with their five children and many of their posterity of 25 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. A son, Bishop Marcus Faust, spoke, and a daughter, Janna Ruth Coombs, gave the benediction.
Elder Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve (all of whom were seated on the stand) gave the invocation. The Tabernacle Choir and organist John Longhurst provided music.
Modest sprays of summer flowers adorned the area where the casket sat, notably ones with banners saying “Father” and “Grandfather,” “Quorum of the Twelve,” and a chrysanthemum-laden “Y” from Brigham Young University. (The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Church Missionary Fund or Perpetual Education Fund at lds.org/faust).
Role Model
Thousands who viewed President Faust as a friend, father figure and role model filled the Tabernacle and overflow areas in the Assembly Hall and Conference Center on a warm August afternoon to pay their respects to their friend and leader. The services were broadcast live and via satellite.
Many waiting in standby lines outside the Tabernacle before the funeral echoed the sentiments of Himal Rathnakumara, a BYU student from Sri Lanka, who said, “I’ve listened to and read his talks, and I’ve been touched by his thoughts.”
Tim Kwok, a Church member in Hong Kong who was in Utah to take a daughter to Snow College, felt it a blessing that his family was here and could attend the funeral. “He was intelligent, very loving, and kind,” he said of President Faust. “It is sad to see him go. We wanted to be here in a last tribute to him.”
More than one person mentioned President Faust’s memorable talk about forgiveness at the recent April Conference. Virginia Liad, a Filipina living in San Jose, California, attended the funeral with her children, who are students at the University of Utah. “I was moved by that speech,” she said.
Her Royal Highness Nanasi Tukuhao, of Tonga, is not a member of the Church but came to pay her respects, as LDS chapels are located on her family’s estate.
Members of the Family
As the first speaker, son Marcus Faust expressed “deep appreciation to Saints all over the world who have offered condolences” to the family. “We welcome all of you as members of the Faust family,” he said, and followed with his testimony that through temple ordinances, “we will be reunited as a family.”
He said that serving members of the Church has been his dad’s “greatest joy.” But in October 1972, on the eve of his being sustained as a general authority, James E. Faust called a special family council and acknowledged to his family that “I will never be released as a husband, father, and grandfather.”
“The Church, the gospel, missions, family — they’re all one and the same, the interwoven fabric of our lives,” his son told those in attendance.
Marcus Faust also recalled a special family vacation they went on with their father and mother just after the Jerusalem Center opened. The experience became the inspiration for the words President Faust penned to “This is the Christ.” The song was performed by the choir at the funeral’s close.
Glimpse of Grandeur
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, representing the brethren in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, described “aspects of character” that may give “a glimpse of the grandeur of the man.” He spoke of President Faust’s love for his wife, Ruth, and their family and thanked them for their example of marriage.
He mentioned President Faust’s work in law, the bar association, and the state legislature before his call as a general authority, calling his “ability to suspend judgment and his remarkable wisdom” “a gift of the Spirit.”
“He was particularly sensitive to the human issues” that any action the Church took might affect, said Elder Holland.
Paraphrasing Alma 48:17, he declared that the verse would be fitting:
Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto James Esdras Faust, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power of the hearts of the children of men.
President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, called President Faust “one of a kind,” with an insightful mind, keen intellect, and gentle spirit. “Jim knew the Lord, and the Lord knew Jim,” he said of his longtime friend. He called President Faust “a man of experience, a man of wisdom, a man of faith, a man of prayer, but most of all, a man of God” who served Him to the end of his mortal life.
Also recognizing the close relationship in their marriage, President Monson said, “Jim and Ruth each helped the other. They were partners in life and will be partners throughout all eternity.” He told the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, “He’s on a heavenly mission” and said they could all take heart in the scripture from 3 John: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
Sharp and Strong
President Hinckley, who began his association with President Faust 50 years ago when they were in two different stakes and working on a joint project, said the man had been sharp and strong when they first met. Back problems and illness gradually took their toll, requiring President Faust to use a wheelchair and speak from a seated position. President Hinckley elicited chuckles when he said, “He could maneuver that Jazzy like a Yellow Cab Taxi driver!”
He said his second counselor “had the mind of a lawyer and the compassion of a church leader.” A former missionary in Brazil and recipient of a rarely-given award as an honorary citizen of Brazil, President Faust had eagerly looked forward to the dedication of the Curitiba Temple there next year.
“His rapid decline in health surprised all of us,” said President Hinckley.
He called President Faust’s talk on forgiveness a “masterpiece” and his faith in the Restored Gospel “unflagging.” “I am confident that his passing has been one of peace and love and light,” he said.
President Faust’s testimony was felt anew with the choir’s singing of “This is the Christ,” for which he had written the words.
As the organ softly intoned “Be Still, My Soul” and the family rose to exit the Tabernacle, sons, daughters and their spouses bent down to kiss Ruth in her wheelchair. Then all followed behind the casket to cars waiting outside the Tabernacle doors. The procession made its way to private graveside services in Holladay Memorial Park.
Spiritual Experience
Outside the Tabernacle, people were talking about the services as they left. Sister Magdalena Vasquez, a Temple Square missionary from Chile, was there with her companion, Sister Lipena Laufiso, from Australia. During the funeral, they had been seated in a special section of the balcony with other sisters serving on Temple Square, many of them from countries outside the U.S.A.
Sister Vasquez, who had never before seen so many general authorities at such a close distance, said she felt peaceful at the funeral and “I felt the knowledge that the life after this one is real.”
Two young mothers were taking their young children on a stroll through Temple Square after witnessing the funeral via screens in the Conference Center.
“What a beloved leader and wonderful man he was,” said Stephanie Zahlmann, who was in town from Oregon for a sibling’s wedding. “We’re thrilled to be able to have the kids participate,” she said. “It was very important to bring them here to feel the Spirit.”
Her friend Kari Orantes, who lives in Tooele, Utah, said the thing that stood out for her from the funeral was “how many friends President Faust had had, for so long, and what a wonderful family man he was.” Even with his service in the Church, she said, “he took time for his family.”
