President and Sister Faust to Be Honored with Leader-Servant Award Sunday

Ashley Henderson · November 06, 2008

Southern Virginia University will posthumously honor President James E. Faust, former second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Ruth Wright, with the Leader-Servant Award at a special fireside Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Stoddard Activities Center.

The Leader-Servant Award is the highest honor bestowed by Southern Virginia and is given to recognize the contributions of a respected leader-servant. The Faust family, including each of their five children, will be in attendance for the historic evening.

“The Leader-Servant Award is given to individuals who give selfless service—are thoughtful and generous,” said Rodney K. Smith, president of Southern Virginia. “A leader-servant is someone who leads by example, governs with love and gives back to his community.”

President and Sister Faust are the university’s sixth recipients of the Leader-Servant Award. They were selected because of their Christlike characters and desire to make the world around them better, President Smith said.

“President Faust epitomizes what it means to be a leader-servant,” President Smith said. “I can think of no better man with a more humble heart that mirrors the attitude of our Savior than President James E. Faust. Clearly, one cannot effectively capture the life and service of President Faust without including his eternal companion.”

President Faust, who died at the age of 87, served as a general authority of the Church for 35 years, including 12 years as a member of the First Presidency. Prior to his call as second counselor in the First Presidency, he served four years as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles before being appointed a member of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy on Oct. 1, 1976.

President Faust was born on July 31, 1920, in Delta, Utah. He participated as a member of the University of Utah track team in 1938 and ran the quarter-mile and mile relays. His college career was interrupted first to serve as a missionary for the Church in Brazil and later by World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Army Air Force and was discharged as a first lieutenant. In 1948 he graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degree. He then began practicing law in Salt Lake City until his appointment as a general authority in 1972.

In 1998 President Faust received a Brazilian national citizenship award—an honor given to only a select few world leaders—and was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Sao Paulo.

Sister Faust was born April 11, 1921, in Salt Lake City. She went to college at the University of Utah, where she became reacquainted with James Faust, a former high school classmate. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 21, 1943, and raised five children together.

Sister Faust served in many Church positions, including ward and stake relief society president, in addition to traveling the world with her husband in his callings. They were among the first official Church representatives to visit the People’s Republic of China.

Sister Faust died on Feb. 10, 2008, at the age of 86. In addition to their five children, they had 25 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren at the time of her death.

Previous Leader-Servant Award Recipients

 Name Date Award Received
 Elder Neal A. Maxwell
  Nov. 11, 2004
 Elder Marion D. Hanks
  April 17, 2005
 Chieko Okazaki
  Oct. 13, 2005
 Glade M. and Kathleen N. Knight      Oct. 30, 2005
 Richard E. & Nancy P. Marriott
  March 25, 2007