Elder J. Devn Cornish

Of the Seventy

Elder John Devn Cornish knows that every member and every calling in the Church is important.

“It is important to remember when considering callings in the Church that it doesn’t matter where we sit on the plane—it matters that we’re on the plane,” he says. “Being a part of the work matters eternally. Which position we occupy is of very little importance.”

From his call to serve in the Guatemala–El Salvador Mission to his most recent call to the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Cornish has been engaged in fulfilling his Church callings, including ward Young Men president, elders quorum president, ward executive secretary, high priests group leader, high councilor, bishop, stake president, president of the Dominican Republic Santiago Mission, and Area Seventy.

Born in April 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, to George and Naomi Cornish, Elder Cornish grew up in Utah, Georgia, and Virginia, USA, before returning to Utah for college.

While living in Provo, he met Elaine Simmons at a young single adult activity. They married in the Manti Utah Temple in August 1973.

While raising six children with his wife, Elder Cornish served in the United States Air Force Medical Corp, earned bachelor’s and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and pursued his residency in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School—Boston Children’s Hospital.

Education and work in Idaho, Texas, California, and Georgia, USA, moved the family a lot over the years, but wherever they were, Elder and Sister Cornish say, they loved serving in the Church.

“The work is growing throughout the world, and it is a great blessing to be able to help serve the Lord’s children wherever they may be,” Elder Cornish says.

This call to the Seventy, “like every calling in the Church, will be another opportunity to be a part of the Lord’s work,” Elder Cornish says. “We are grateful for that privilege.”