Elder Carlos E. Asay Eulogized

Elder Carlos E. Asay, an emeritus General Authority, passed away on 10 April 1999 at age 72 due to a heart attack. At the time of his death, he was serving as president of the Salt Lake Temple.

“Carlos Asay’s testimony of the great eternal truth was as certain as the fact that I speak to you today,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley at Elder Asay’s funeral in Temple Square’s Assembly Hall on 13 April. Also speaking at the funeral were President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Dean L. Larsen, an emeritus General Authority.

Born 12 June 1926 in Sutherland, Utah, and reared in Monroe, Utah, Elder Asay served in the U.S. Army during World War II and subsequently attended the University of Utah, where he played on the basketball team that won the National Invitational Tournament in 1947. After receiving a master’s degree from Long Beach State College and a doctorate from the University of Utah, he worked as a teacher and administrator in public schools and later became a professor of education at Brigham Young University and an assistant dean at BYU—Hawaii Campus. He married Colleen Webb on 20 October 1947, and the couple had eight children.

Elder Asay served in the Palestine-Syrian Mission from 1947 to 1950, learning to speak Armenian. He served as a bishop, a member of the Sunday School general board, president of the Texas North Mission from 1970 to 1973, and a regional representative.

He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976. During his years as a General Authority, he served twice in the Presidency of the Seventy; was executive director of the Correlation, Curriculum, and Missionary Departments; and presided over the Europe Area. He received emeritus status on 5 October 1996.