Oscar W. McConkie Jr.

Oscar Walter McConkie Jr. (May 26, 1926 – November 2, 2020) was an American politician and attorney in Utah and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the president of the Utah State Senate from 1965 to 1966, subsequently becoming the chairman of the law firm of Kirton McConkie.[1] He authored several popular books on Latter-day Saint subjects.

Early life

McConkie was born in Monticello, Utah, to Oscar W. McConkie and Margaret Vivian Redd. He grew up primarily in Salt Lake City, but, as a toddler he lived in Ann Arbor, where his father was completing a law degree at the University of Michigan. Oscar, Sr., was a State District Court judge for many years and was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Utah in 1960.[2] Oscar, Jr.'s older brother, Bruce R. McConkie, became a prominent general authority and author in the LDS Church.

Oscar Jr. studied at the University of New Mexico from 1944 to 1946, where he also played football. He then went to the University of Utah, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1949 in political science and a juris doctorate in 1952. McConkie married Judith Stoddard in the Salt Lake Temple in 1951. They became the parents of eight children.

McConkie served in various LDS Church callings, including as bishop,[3] stake president,[4] mission president in Arizona,[5] and regional representative.[1]

Law and politics

From 1952 to 1967 McConkie was an instructor in business law at Stevens-Henager College. He was the county attorney for Summit County, Utah from 1959 to 1963. Like his father, McConkie became a prominent Utah Democrat, and in 1960, he was the Utah point man for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign.[6]

From 1955 to 1957, McConkie was a member of the Utah House of Representatives. McConkie was elected president of the Utah State Senate during his first term in office. It was the first time a state senator in his initial term was elected president of the senate since the beginning term of the Utah State Senate. In 1956, he ran against William A. Dawson for Utah's 2nd congressional district.[7] He also served very briefly in 1965 and in 1966 as acting governor[8] when both the governor and secretary of state of Utah were not in the state.

McConkie was president of the Salt Lake City School Board[8] and from 1982 to 1984 he was chair of the Utah State Board of Education. He was chair of the Governor's Committee on Education from 1983 to 1985.

McConkie was a senior law partner representing the LDS Church.[9][10] McConkie argued the case that led to a broadening of the clergy-penitent privilege in Utah to include any information that was given by a parishioner to a cleric with the intent of getting spiritual advice. McConkie has been involved in international law, having drafted laws that were enacted in both Jamaica and Mauritius.

McConkie was a key figure in the process of getting official recognition of the LDS Church in Zaire in 1986.[11]

McConkie was named lawyer of the year by the Utah State Bar in 2007.[12]

Death

McConkie died on November 2, 2020, of complications from COVID-19.[13]

Publications
  • McConkie, Oscar W., Jr. (1962). The Kingdom of God: A Study Course for Priests Under 21 and Bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood Over 21 Years Old in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 1963. [Prepared under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric]. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1963). God and Man: A Study Course for Priests Under 21 and Bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood Over 21 years Old in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 1964. Salt Lake City, Utah: Presiding Bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1964). The Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood: A Study Course for the Priests and Aaronic Priesthood-Adults in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 1965. Salt Lake City, Utah: Presiding Bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1975). Angels. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 0-87747-572-5.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1977). Aaronic Priesthood. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 0-87747-631-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1979). She Shall Be Called Woman. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft. ISBN 0-88494-380-1.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1989). "Why the Pearl of Great Price". In H. Donl Peterson; Charles D. Tate Jr. (eds.). The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations from God. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. pp. 1–12. ISBN 0-8849-4683-5.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (1992). "Angels". In Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. pp. 40–42. ISBN 0-87579-924-8.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • —— (2007). "Living Up to Our Patriarchies". In Kent P. Jackson; Andrew C. Skinner (eds.). Witness for the Restoration: Essays in Honor of Robert J. Matthews. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. pp. 281–305. ISBN 978-0-8425-2676-0.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Notes
  1. De Groote, Michael (August 31, 2009). "Robert J. Matthews, key to LDS edition of Bible, dies". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  2. Spangler, Donna Kemp (November 2, 2000). "Energetic Collinwood: Demo likes to join forces to find solutions". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  3. Walch, Victor L. (2005). "My Recollections of Elder Neal A. Maxwell" (PDF). The Religious Educator. 6 (1): 139. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  4. "7 Stakes Are Reorganized". Church News. Deseret News. May 13, 1972. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  5. Young, S. Dilworth (January 1973). "Elder Bruce R. McConkie Of the Council of the Twelve". Ensign: 5. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  6. Walch, Tad (November 22, 2008). "JFK's Utah visits chronicled on Web". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  7. Powell, Allan Kent (1994), "Elections in the State of Utah", in Powell, Allan Kent (ed.), Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0874804256, OCLC 30473917
  8. Thomson, Linda (December 2, 1994). "Student brings fresh insight to school board". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  9. Harris, Jenny Lynn McGee (April 2005). "The Silent Majority: Conservative Perception, Mobilization, and Rhetoric at the Utah State International Women's Year Conference" (masters thesis). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University: 46. Retrieved 2009-09-05. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. Funk, Marianne (March 8, 1994). "Conversations with clergy are privileged". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  11. Taylor, Scott (April 18, 2019). "How 3 members helped the Church be officially recognized in DR Congo". Church News. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. Utah State bar announcement of 2007 award recipients Archived 2011-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Legal giant Oscar McConkie Jr., an LDS Democrat who formed one of Utah's largest law firms, dies at 94 of COVID complications". The Salt Lake Tribune. 3 November 2020.

References
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