{
Group Members: Jonathan Subaitani, Sarah Alice
Gerhardt, Brittony Schmitt, Josh Pixton, & Sheena Duff
{
Elder Richard G. Scott
•
Born November 7, 1928 in Pocatello,
Idaho. He is currently 85 years old.
At the age of 5, he moved with his
parents to Washington D.C. In his early
years, Elder Scott remembers his parents
encouraging he and his brothers to
explore—”to tinker with mechanical
things, discover how they worked, build
them, and repair them. His parents even
trusted the boys to fix the family car.”
This may have been the beginning of his
lifetime passion for science.
Although he grew up in a home with a non-member father and a less active
mother, they taught their children integrity, moral character, and high
principles.
“One time, as a joke, we put a caboose whistle on
the exhaust manifold of that car!”
In high school, Richard G. Scott was
a class president. He also played
clarinet in the band, and was drum
major for the marching band. Some
jobs he worked to save money for
college were: cutting down trees,
washing dishes, and cooking for the
Utah Forest Service; spending a
summer on an oyster boat off Long
Island, and repairing railroad cars
for Union Pacific.
Richard G. Scott attended George Washington University in Washington D.C. as a
mechanical engineer, and completed post-graduate work in nuclear engineering at
Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Also in college he enjoyed playing clarinet and saxophone in a jazz band.
Later, he received an honorary Doctor of Christian Service degree from Brigham
Young University in 2008.
Shortly before Richard G. Scott graduated from George Washington University,
he met Jeanene Watkins and they began a courtship. She told him that she only
wanted to marry a returned missionary in the temple. Up until that point he had
not thought about going on a mission but that motivated him. He saw his Bishop
and soon after was on his way to serving a successful, full-time mission in
Uruguay.
“The Lord placed a
bombshell in my little
world: Jeanene
Watkins.”
On July 16, 1953, two weeks after Elder
Scott returned from his mission in Uruguay,
and after her return from the Northwestern
States Mission he and Jeanene Watkins
were married in the Manti Temple.
“There’s a bird feeder in the backyard, and when the
family eats out on the patio, there’s always at least one
pair of binoculars at the table.”
Elder Scott and Jeanene had seven children. They enjoyed time together as a family.
Some family interests included: jazz music, collecting and listening to South
American folk music, and bird watching. Elder Scott was also a family fix it man
around the house as he took care of the plumbing, the electricity, car repairs, etc. He
also built a deck for their house and designed and built additional rooms on the
other home they lived in.
Elder Scott’s beloved wife, Jeanene, passed away May 15, 1995. They were married
for 42 years. He speaks of her often during his talks, especially the closeness he
feels to her through the veil.
He said, while giving a fireside on September 12, 2010, “What to me has become a
vitally important part of remembering the blessings that come from the temple is that I
love my wife more each day…my precious wife, Jeanene, even when afflicted with an
aggressive terminal disease, consistently found joy in life.”
“Our seven children are bound to us by the sacred ordinances of the temple. Now, Jeanene,
and two of our children are beyond the veil. They provide a powerful motivation for each
remaining member of our family to live so that together we can receive all of the eternal
blessings promised in the temple.”
“I know that as I continue to live worthily I
will have the privilege of being with my
beautiful wife, whom I love with all my heart,
and with those children who are with her on
the other side of the veil, because of the
opportunities made possible through the
eternal ordinances that were performed in the
Manti Temple.”
“Think of the long
view of life, not just
what's going to
happen today or
tomorrow. Don't give
up what you most
want in life for
something you think
you want now.”
Richard G. Scott holding his first grandchild.
From 1953 to 1965 Elder Scott served on the immediate staff of Admiral Hyman
Rickover, directing the development of nuclear fuel for a wide variety of naval
and land based power plants. It was his first job after his mission working on
the design of the nuclear reactor for the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered
submarine. Later, he worked as a private consultant for nuclear power
companies.
The Nautilus Submarine
From 1965 to 1969, Elder Scott presided over the Argentina
North Mission in Cordoba, Argentina.
He served in the Stake Presidency of his Stake in Washington
D.C. and then served as a regional representative in the
Uruguay, Paraguay, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and
Washington, D.C. areas until his call as a Seventy.
Elder Scott was called to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 2,
1977. For a year he served as managing director in the Priesthood Department, then
as executive administrator in Mexico and Central America. He and his family lived
in Mexico City for three of his six years in that assignment. He also served in the
Presidency of that Quorum until he was called as an Apostle.
President Ezra Taft Benson—“with tenderness and love and great understanding
that I will never forget”, called Richard G. Scott to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
He was sustained an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on
October 1, 1988.
“Our Heavenly Father did not put us on
earth to fail but to succeed gloriously.”
Elder Scott, throughout the years, has been doing watercolor paintings that were
shown off at Deseret Book for the world to see. Forty years ago, Elder Richard G.
Scott became fascinated with a friend's ability to use brushes, watercolor, and paper
to create beauty. Something inside of him said, "Try it," but his more rational self
responded, "You've never had any artistic ability; all you will do is prove that you
can't paint anything."
Fortunately, the desire to try
persisted. He got a few books on
watercolor from the library,
bought an inexpensive set of
paints and a brush, and on a
sheet of ordinary paper tried to
paint a tree, then other objects.
Later lessons enhanced his
understanding and helped him
grow, until now, many years
later; his experiences with
painting have brought great
personal satisfaction.
"Creativity can engender a spirit of gratitude for life and for what
the Lord has woven into your being. Creativity gives a renewal, a
spark of enthusiasm, a zest for life that we all need.” – Elder Scott
Lessons Learned from Richard G. Scott
From Elder Scott we learn to always stand up for our beliefs, even when it will cost us.
An example of this is: “Before his mission, a professor had tried to dissuade him from going; ‘he would be throwing
away a promising career’, the man said. But a few weeks after returning from Uruguay, Richard was invited to be
interviewed by Captain (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover for a job on a top-secret military project involving nuclear
energy.
The interview seemed to go miserably. In response to one question, Richard mentioned his mission. “What mission?”
Captain Rickover demanded. “And what do I care about your mission?”
Richard reacted to that, because his mission had been such a precious time in his life. “Everything I really treasure in
life began to unfold because of that mission,” he says. “So I decided to respond vigorously to every question.”
Then the captain asked, “What was the last book you read?”
“The Book of Mormon,” he responded. And so it went through the rest of the interview.
With all hopes extinguished, Richard got up to leave. “Just a minute,” said the Captain. “I’ve been testing you to see if
you could stand up for what you believe. This is not going to be an easy project. We need people who can work with
confidence.” Richard got the job working on the design of the nuclear reactor for the Nautilus, the first nuclearpowered submarine.” --“I think of the great opportunity he was getting with this interview, he was just off his mission and being offered a
top-secret job; not many people can say that. Yet, when his beliefs were questioned, he answered fearlessly, even
under the impression that he was ruining his chance. No matter what is at stake, Elder Scott teaches us that if the
spirit tells you to testify of truth, you do it!” – Brittony Schmitt
“What this experience taught me was that even when under great pressure it is important to always remember that
we are all representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ at all times and all places, not just when it’s convenient. Elder
Scott did not feel that his beliefs were going to help his chances of getting the position on the project, but despite
what he thought, he was true and faithful to who he was and proudly admitted he was a faithful member of the
church.”
Going the Extra Mile: Example #2
“One summer, Elder Scott applied to the Utah Parks Service and was rejected.
Instead of accepting defeat, he travelled across the country to ask for the job in
person. Upon arriving, he had only three cents to his name. He asked for a position
as desk clerk, bell boy, and dishwasher, all with a negative reply. Desperate for the
job and to have a place to stay as well as food to eat, he offered to wash dishes for
the next two weeks, and said the man did not have to pay him if the work was not
adequate. The man accepted and Elder Scott went to work washing dishes, but
during those two weeks he also helped out in the kitchens when he could. After
showing that he would go the extra mile, Elder Scott was able to keep the job and
by the end of the summer had advanced to number-two cook in the kitchen.”
“Through Elder Scott’s example we see that sometimes doing the minimum
required of us is not enough; sometimes we must go the extra mile. Elder Scott
sacrificed a lot in going to Utah and getting a job on such thin conditions, but he
worked hard and was rewarded for his efforts. If we are to follow his example, may
we work as hard as he did, and with his strong determination.” – Brittony Schmitt
Specific Teachings that Mean Something to Me…
“If you’ve tangled your ordered life into a ball of knots, it has taken time to get it that way. It
is unreasonable to expect to unravel it all at once. Start knot by knot, decision by decision,
and be sure that while you are untying the knots, you don’t let any more get put there
through transgression.” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Finding the Way Back”, General Conference April
1990.)
“I really like the imagery he used in this
example. I enjoy crocheting, and I know
from personal experience that knots can be
very frustrating, especially if you are on a
role and then you have to stop to untie a
massive knot, let alone several massive
knots. Knots halt progression, and you
cannot continue normally until they are
gone. Elder Scott is drawing a comparison
between real knots, and sins or bad habits
that might similarly halt progression in our
lives. Untying knots (repenting of sins and
ceasing bad habits) can be meticulous, and
sometimes if you try to yank and pull them
out you make them worse or create new
ones. Untying knots has to be done with
patience, one knot at a time.”
– Brittony Schmitt
Specific Teachings that Mean Something to Me…
“A specific teaching of Elder Scotts’ that I really love is from his talk given in the
April 2011 General Conference titled, “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”. The thing
that I love so much about this talk is that you can see how much he loved and
cherished his late wife Jeanene. One can easily see that she was more important
than anything to him and he goes on in his talk to say, “My precious wife, Jeanene, and
two of our children are beyond the veil. They provide a powerful motivation for each
remaining member of our family to live so that together we will receive all of the eternal
blessings promised in the temple.” The specific teaching that I like is that to have a
happy family we need to make our families or future families our top priority. The
way that we treat them is so crucial to whether or not we will qualify for the
blessings of the spirit in our home. I hope to follow Elder Scott’s example and show
my future family the love, kindness, and support that will allow the spirit’s
guidance in my home. He taught that men must live to be worthy of the priesthood
and use it to lead in family scripture study and family prayer. Lastly, I like how he
said his wife Jeanene found her happiness in service to others. I hope that one day I
may too have a joyously happy family that together strives to be worthy of eternal
blessings.” – Josh Pixton
Teachings of Richard G. Scott that impressed me:
“Similarly, I too cherished the teachings of Richard G. Scott in his talk in April General
Conference 2011 titled: The Eternal Blessings of Marriage.”
 “One thing that always impressed me about Richard G. Scott is how much in love with his
wife he is so to the point that he didn’t feel the need to remarry. In his conference talk he
speaks highly of his wife and their experiences together and times spent on each other while
she was here. One of my favorite parts of his talk is when he tells of their notes they would
write to each other. He said this,
 ‘I learned from my wife the importance of expressions of love. Early in our marriage, often
I would open my scriptures to give a message in a meeting, and I would find an affectionate,
supportive note Jeanene had slipped into the pages. Sometimes they were so tender that I
could hardly talk. Those precious notes from a loving wife were and continue to be a priceless
treasure of comfort and inspiration…
 ‘I remember one day I took some of those little round paper circles that form when you
punch holes in paper, and I wrote on them the numbers 1 to 100. I turned each over and wrote
her a message, one word on each circle. Then I scooped them up and put them in an envelope.
I thought she would get a good laugh.
 ‘When she passed away, I found in her private things how much she appreciated the simple
messages that we shared with each other. I noted that she had carefully pasted every one of
those circles on a piece of paper. She not only kept my notes to her, but she protected them
with plastic coverings as if they were a valuable treasure. There is only one that she didn’t put
with the others. It is still behind the glass in our kitchen clock. It reads, “Jeanene, it is time to
tell you I love you.” It remains there and reminds me of that exceptional daughter of Father in
Heaven.’
 “I love this. To me their relationship as a husband and wife is an ideal example. They made
time for each other and served one another unselfishly. This talk he gave has impacted me
most in my views of marriage.” –Sheena Duff

Personal Experiences with Elder Scott…
“I’ve never met Elder Scott personally, but my father-in-law shared with me a
personal experience he had with Elder Scott. My father-in-law was serving as a
Stake President and was attending a Stake President’s seminar with Elder Scott
and he said it was a marvelous experience. This was his recollection, ‘We had
instruction by Elder Scott to stake presidents at the beginning of an area stake
president's seminar held in Bountiful, Utah, September 1992, in essence, he
said something that has stayed with me: “Now brethren, I urge you in your
note-taking, don't try to write down everything spoken from the pulpit, you
can look that up; rather, write down the impressions that come into your mind.
That is your own personal revelation from God, your own scriptures, which
should guide you in your service to Him as a stake president.”
My father-in-law added, ‘Elder Scott was a superb teacher; so very humble and
yet so very high-tech with his writable iNotebook that projected onto giant
screens. His teachings were crisp clear like a scientist's, and were filled with
discussion. The Spirit flowed freely giving incredible recordable impressions
to his listeners.’
This experience of recording impressions is applicable to everyone. We should
be listening to the still small voice and His counsel to us and begin our own
personal recorded scripture. I really liked this teaching from Elder Scott.“
…continued on next slide…
Personal Experience continued…
“After
my
father-in-law’s
experience, they received a
Christmas card of one of Elder
Scott’s
watercolors.
I’ve
included both a picture of the
watercolor card and the
inscription on the inside.”
- John Subaitani
Elder Scott has a constant theme of the importance of revelation and how
we can communicate with the Lord and how He communicates with us. He
said, “If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want Him to talk to you, read your
scriptures.”
“As you trust Him, seek and follow His will, you will receive blessings that your finite
mind cannot understand here on earth. Your Father in Heaven and His Holy Son know
better than you what brings happiness. They have given you the plan of happiness. As
you understand and follow it, happiness will be your blessing. As you willingly obey,
receive, and honor the ordinances and covenants of that holy plan, you can have the
greatest measure of satisfaction in this life. Yes, even times of overpowering happiness.
You will prepare yourself for an eternity of glorious life with your loved ones who qualify
for that kingdom.”