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David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 –
January 18, 1970) was the ninth President of the
Church (Mormonism)|President of Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church"; see
also Mormon), serving from 1951 until his death in
1970. Ordained an Apostle (Mormonism)|Apostle and
member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in
1906, he was a General Authority for nearly
sixty-four years, longer than anyone else in LDS
Church history. McKay also lived to be the oldest
president in the history of the Church as of 2004.
 In 2005, members of the LDS church will study the
life and teachings of David O. McKay as part of
their priesthood and relief society classes.

== Early life ==

The third child of David McKay and Jennette Evans
McKay, David O. McKay was born on his father's
farm in Huntsville, Utah about 10 miles east of
Ogden, Utah|Ogden. McKay's father was a
Scotland|Scottish immigrant and was called on a
two-year Missionary#LDS missionaries|mission to
Scotland in 1880 after David O. McKay's two older
sisters died. Thus, McKay took responsibilities
early to help his mother.

McKay graduated from the University of Utah in
1897 as valedictorian and class president.
Immediately afterward he was called on a mission
to Great Britain. Like his father, he presided
over the Scottish district.

Upon his return in fall 1899, McKay taught at the
LDS Weber Stake (Mormonism)|stake academy and
became School principal|principal in 1902. He
married Emma Ray Riggs in the Salt Lake Temple on
January 2, 1901. McKay planned a career of
directing education until 1906.

In 1905 Elders John Whittaker Taylor|John W.
Taylor and Matthias F. Cowley resigned from the
quorum due to disagreement over the manifesto
forbidding polygamy. In early 1906, Elder Marriner
W. Merrill passed away. With three vacancies in
the quorum, David O. McKay, George F. Richards,
and Orson F. Whitney were called in the April
General Conference of 1906. David O. McKay who was
only 32 at the time.

Elder McKay stayed active in education. He
continued serving as principal of the academy
until 1908, and served on the Weber school's board
of trustees until 1922 and on the University of
Utah's board of regents from 1921 to 1922.

== Influence on Education ==
Within LDS Church leadership, McKay maintained his
focus on education. As superintendent of LDS
Sunday school from 1918 to 1934, he built LDS
"seminary" buildings by public high schools
throughout the state of Utah. Adjacent seminary
buildings allowed students to take LDS religious 
courses along with their secular high school
education. McKay also transferred three LDS
colleges to the state of Utah in the 1920s: Snow
College, Weber State University and Dixie College.
He guided the remaining LDS school in Utah,
Brigham Young University into a full four-year
university.

Interestingly, the State of Utah underfunded the
institutions and in 1953 the governor, J. Bracken
Lee, offered to give them back to the LDS Church.
McKay, then president of the Church said he'd
accept them, but the proposal failed on voter
referendum.

Besides church education, McKay stressed
Missionary#LDS missionaries|missionary work, and
travelled Europe extensively. Memorably, he
promoted the motto "every member a missionary."
McKay even set a goal that every member should
convert one new member each year.

Heber J. Grant chose McKay to serve as Second
Counselor in the First Presidency in 1934. He
served in the presidency under Church Presidents
Heber J. Grant and George Albert Smith until 1951.
In 1950 he became President of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, that is, the most senior Apostle.
He then succeeded President Smith on the latter's
death, and was ordained on April 9, 1951.

In honor of his years of dedicated service as an
educator, the Brigham Young University School of
Education was named the McKay School of Education.

== As President of the Church ==

At 77 years, McKay would be president of the
Church for 19 years until his death. In this
period, the number of members and Stake
(Mormonism)|stakes in the church nearly tripled,
from 1.1 million to 2.8 million, and 184 to 500
respectively (as of 2004, there are about 12
million members and 2650 stakes).

McKay was outspoken in his opposition to
communism, which he saw as philosophically opposed
to faith given its Atheism|atheist underpinnings.
Furthermore, communist nations forbid
proselytizing of LDS Church.

Under McKay's administration, the Church's stance
on Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints|blacks holding the priesthood
was softened. Beginning in the mid-1950s, members
of suspected African decent no longer needed prove
their lineage was not African. Instead the church
allowed dark-skinned members to hold the
Priesthood (Mormonism)|priesthood unless it was
provable they were African. This policy made
proselytizing and priesthood ordination much
easier in South America and other racially mixed
areas like South Africa. Blacks of verifiable
African decent (including most in the US) were not
allowed to hold the priesthood until after McKay's
death in 1978, under Spencer W. Kimball.

Under the auspices of the First Presidency, the
LDS Church spearheaded "Priesthood Correlation
Program" in 1961. By the 1970s priesthood quorums
directed women-led organizations like the Relief
Society at all levels. Such organization became
known as auxiliaries. Mormon Feminism|feminists
like Sonia Johnson found the emphasis on
Priesthood Correlation to be sexist, a means to
put the entire church under
patriarchal|Patriarchy. Nonetheless, priesthood
correlation continues to be a feature of the LDS
Church.

David O. McKay kept a steady pace of travel until
he entered his 90s. His deteriorating health even
required the then-unprecedented measure of
appointing an additional councilor to the first
presidency because the leaders were too infirm to
preside. On January 18, 1970 he died at age 96. As
of 2004, this is the longest any President of the
Church (Mormonism)|president of the LDS church has
lived.

== External links ==
*http://education.byu.edu David O. McKay School of
Education at Brigham Young University
*http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/daily/history/
people/mckay_david_eom.htm David O. McKay - copy
of article from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.
*http://ilovefreedom.com/quotations/David_O_McKay.
htm David O. McKay  Champion of Freedom -
patriotic quotes of David O. McKay.

start box
succession box |
  title= President of the Church
(Mormonism)|President of the LDS Church |
  years= April 9, 1951–January 18, 1970  |
  before= George Albert Smith |
  after= Joseph Fielding Smith

succession box |
  title= President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles|President of the 
Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles |
  years= August 8, 1950–April 9, 1951 |
  before= George F. Richards |
  after= Joseph Fielding Smith

series box |
 title= Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
 years= April 9, 1906–April 9, 1951 |
 before= Orson F. Whitney |
 after= Anthony W. Ivins 

end box