Who is President Dallin H. Oaks? A look back at his life before and during his ministry

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The 18th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been chosen by the Quorum of the Twelve and sustained by the Church membership during the most recent General Conference. President Dallin H. Oaks, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will now assume leadership of the worldwide Church.

President Dallin Harris Oaks has called President Henry B. Eyring, 92, and President D. Todd Christofferson, 80, to serve with him as First and Second Counselors in the First Presidency, the Church’s highest governing body. Jeffrey R. Holland, 84, will serve as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Who is President Oaks?

The now 18th leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was born on August 12, 1932 in Provo, UT. The Church website says Oaks and his late wife, June Dixon Oaks, had six children.

Oaks attended Brigham Young University and got his Bachelor’s degree in accounting before moving on to Law School the University of Chicago. Oaks also served in the Utah National Guard in his early 20s during the height of the Korean War so Oaks never served a full-time Church Mission.

After graduating from UChicago, he practiced law and in 1961, began teaching at UChicago. After that, Oaks came home to Provo to serve as the President of BYU and then the Utah Supreme Court. He received his call to the Quorum of Twelve in 1984 where he has been an apostle ever since.

Oaks’s traditionalist stance

President Dallin H. Oaks is also known for his defense of religious liberty, along his traditionalist views of marriage. Oaks has addressed same-sex marriage on several occasions, dating back to the 1980s.

In 1995, The Church released the statement members now know as “The Family: A Proclamation to the World. In a talk titled “Same Gender Attraction” from the October 1995 General Conference, Oaks spoke about the topic.

“What we call gender was an essential characteristic of our existence prior to our birth,” Oaks said in that talk. “The First Presidency has declared that ‘there is a distinction between [1] immoral thoughts and feelings and [2] participating in either immoral heterosexual or any homosexual behavior.’ Although immoral thoughts are less serious than immoral behavior, such thoughts also need to be resisted and repented of because we know that “our thoughts will also condemn us,” he said later. He also in that talk denounced bashing people for their sexual identity, saying that it was against Church doctrine.

Oaks also gave a talk at BYU addressing the same topic saying the following:

I would like to hear a little more musket fire from this temple of learning, especially on the subject of our fundamental doctrine and policies on the family. Since our members should be defenders of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, as Elder Nelson taught in his [2014] BYU commencement address, we should also expect our teachers to be outspoken on that subject.”

President Dallin H. Oaks, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 2023, he also addressed the topic.

“We will be alert to proposed future state action and legislation as we continue our defense of religious freedom,” Oaks said in a press release from the Church in 2023. He was addressing a crowd of church leaders in Chicago.

After harsh criticism, the Church released a clarifying statement saying the following:

The Respect for Marriage Act did restate same-sex marriage as the law of the land, but that added little because that law was already in effect under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision. The focus of the Church’s efforts was not on same-sex marriage, but on ensuring the act contained the necessary protections for religious freedom.”

The significance of the moment

The new First Presidency is taking over the leadership of the Church after a very heavy time for Church members. The death of President Russell M. Nelson and the violent attack in Michigan, are still front of mind. Oaks has reminded members to mourn with those who mourn.

“We join in prayer for comfort with others around the world who are suffering from similar tragedies. We all seek answers and understanding in the wake of trauma, shock, and grief. We are grateful to all who are reaching out with service, prayers, and words of support during this difficult time,” he said on Sept. 29.