Elder Lowell D. Wood

Of the Seventy

As an employee of the Church’s Welfare Services Department, Lowell D. Wood knew the importance of self-reliance. Now called as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Wood believes everyone can benefit from the principle.

“Working in the welfare services department, I saw lives changed when people grasped the importance of taking responsibility for themselves,” Elder Wood observes.

Elder Wood, born 23 January 1933, learned about self-reliance when he was a boy growing up on a farm in Glenwood, Alberta. After serving a mission in South Africa, he pursued an education at Brigham Young University during the winter, continuing to work on the family ranch during the summer.

Lowell met his future wife, Lorna Cox, while he was living in Provo, Utah, and attending BYU. She was living at home and working as a receptionist in the St. George Temple, 260 miles from Provo. She visited a friend attending BYU, and the friend introduced Lowell and Lorna to each other.

“When I went home to St. George,” recalls Sister Wood, “I told my mother I had found the kind of man I wanted to marry.”

The day the two married, Sister Wood sang “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go,” (Hymns, no. 270) for her fellow temple workers.

“I think that is significant,” Elder Wood says. “That attribute and willingness has always been present in our lives. We have both tried to do what the Lord wanted us to do.”

Doing the Lord’s will has meant that Elder and Sister Wood and their five children have lived in South Africa, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and most recently, the Philippines. Elder Wood has served as branch president, bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, and mission president.

“Serving the Lord tends to inspire you to do better,” Elder Wood says. “You want to be a better example; it uplifts you as you try to uplift and help others.”