Elder Dennis E. Simmons

Of the Seventy

“The Lord has opened every door of any importance in my life,” says Elder Dennis E. Simmons. “Every professional pursuit, every meaningful activity, everything good in my life has been influenced by my gospel training and my testimony.”

Born at home on 27 June 1934 in Beaver Dam, Utah, 13 miles west of Logan, Elder Simmons married Carolyn Thorpe in the Logan Temple on 15 October 1953. After earning a music education degree at Utah State University, he spent two years as athletic officer at an air force base near Livermore, California, and subsequently taught school for two years in Tremonton, Utah. He and his family then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked at the Nevada Test Site. In 1965 the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Elder Simmons earned a law degree at George Washington University and worked as a legislative assistant.

Soon after his return to Las Vegas to practice law, Dennis Simmons was called as a bishop, and in 1977 he was called as a stake president. In 1986 he and his wife returned to Washington, D.C., where Elder Simmons served as the first president of the newly created Washington DC North Mission. “Our mission was the greatest experience of our lives,” he says.

Elder Simmons enjoys vocal music and has led several youth and stake choirs. He is an avid cyclist, on one occasion having pedaled from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas with his son and a Scout group. He and his wife have six children and eight grandchildren.

At the time of his call to the Seventy, Elder Simmons was serving as an Area Authority. “I know that Jesus is the Christ,” he says. “He is aware of us, and he cares for us. I have a sure testimony that President Hinckley is the divinely appointed representative of the Lord on the earth.”