Marion Duff Hanks (1921–2011) was one of the most beloved and influential leaders of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the twentieth century, serving as a general authority (senior leader) for forty years. He was also a leader of national import. As a recognized expert on the needs of
youth, five US presidents appointed him to their President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Hanks also served as an executive leader of Rotary International and the Boy Scouts of America.
Author Richard Hanks draws on previously un-available primary sources—journals, correspondence, notebooks, and recordings—to share this first and only authorized biography of his father. Hanks traces his father’s influence as he advocated for numerous changes in the institutional church, including humanitarian efforts, refugee relief services, missionary community service, a focus on mercy for the sinner, and a churchwide emphasis on “coming unto Christ.” A Renaissance man, Duff Hanks felt comfortable mingling with presidents and world leaders and speaking from pulpits and podiums to huge audiences and on television. But he found his greatest joy in assisting the individual, encouraging each in their personal search for happiness. Once, when asked about his goals, he replied, “My strongest desire is to qualify to be a friend of Christ.”
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Richard D. Hanks is an author and retired senior business executive, having served at several of the
largest multinational companies in the world, including Marriott, PepsiCo, and Price Waterhouse.
Also a successful serial entrepreneur, he was named by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year in
2010. Rich obtained his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and his MBA from
Northwestern University and taught as an adjunct professor at Cornell for ten years. He has served as a
board director of profit and nonprofit organizations and as an in-demand public speaker and well-
regarded lecturer at many universities.
Rich and his wife, Liz, raised their family in Texas, Maryland, and Utah, and now reside in Salt
Lake City. He is active in his faith, having served as a missionary in Scotland, a youth leader, a bishop, and a mission president in Alabama. Rich loves being with his family, and in his spare time enjoys sports
and woodworking. He adores his wife, Liz, loves their three terrific children and their spouses, and
spoils his eleven grandchildren.
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