Research Foundation Honors Elder Maxwell

Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles received the 2002 Legacy of Life Award from the Deseret Foundation’s Heart and Lung Research Foundation at an annual banquet on 18 April.

The award, Elder Maxwell remarked, will “spur me to try to deserve what you’re kind enough to bestow.” He reminded those attending the banquet that “as long as our hearts pump, some of the time they should pulsate because we’re reaching out to others. And as long as there is breath in our lungs, some of that breath should be used to bestow on others deserved commendation and needed encouragement.”

The Heart and Lung Research Foundation annually bestows the Legacy of Life award on a leader with Utah ties who has made significant contributions to the community and to the well-being of mankind. Elder Maxwell was selected because his life achievements have “made the world and the lives of all us dwelling in it better,” said David G. Thomas, chairman of the Foundation’s Community Advisory Council.

Past recipients include, among others, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1998), Utah governor Michael O. Leavitt (1999), Latter-day Saint industrialist Jon M. Huntsman (1994), and Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1993).

Among those attending the awards banquet were President Hinckley; President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency; President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; and Elder Maxwell’s wife, Colleen, and other family members. The program featured a video tribute describing Elder Maxwell’s influence and contributions. Among those taking part in the tribute were President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy.