President Dallin H. Oaks: Defender of Faith and Freedom

Religion Specialist Carole Mikita prepared this preview of her hour-long special, which airs during General Conference on Sunday.

SALT LAKE CITY — President Dallin H. Oaks, now Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has led a remarkable life. He had notable careers in both education and the law before becoming a worldwide religious leader. In an interview the day before President Dallin H. Oaks dedicated the Burley, Idaho Temple on January 11th, he spoke of becoming Church President. “I’m just sustained by the fact that the Lord has prepared me and now called me to do something and I don’t flinch from that responsibility.” President Dallin H. Oaks became the Prophet of more than 17 and a half million Latter-day Saints around the world last October on the passing of President Russell M. Nelson. President Oaks would say that he was prepared as a child for what became a remarkable life. “I remember the goodness of my parents, both my father, who died when I was seven and my mother, who was my life-long teacher.” President Oaks credited the strong women in his life with guiding him and teaching him – his grandmother, his mother, his first wife, June, who died in 1998 and now Sister Kristen Oaks, his second wife. President Oaks has six children, 29 grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren. His children and grandchildren described him as warm, loving and accepting. TruAnn Oaks Boulter, daughter of President Oaks, said, “We were always made to feel that what we had to say was important and that we had a voice.” His grandson Hyrum Oaks said, “Even though he was a judge, by trade previously, he’s one of the least judgmental people you’ll ever meet.” And his granddaughter Laura Dickson said, “He would also come to some of my tennis matches in high school, even though he was extremely busy as a counselor in the First Presidency.” Dallin H. Oaks graduated from the University of Chicago Law school where he taught and became acting dean just four years after graduation. He was named President of Brigham Young University in 1971. Ten years later, he was appointed to Utah's Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, Christine Durham, served with him and they became friends. “He was so well respected, actually, I think it was regarded as an enormous coup that Utah’s Supreme Court could bring people of his stature into the work of the court.” Three years after that, he was called as an Apostle. An important part of his ministry has been religious freedom. In 2022, President Oaks was the keynote speaker at the second annual Notre Dame Religious Freedom Summit in Rome. “I call for a global effort to defend and advance religious freedom of all of the children of God in every nation of the world.” Those men and women Church leaders closest to President Oaks have seen him take on the mantle of Prophet. Elder Gerald Causse served as Presiding Bishop for eleven years, working with President Oaks in that capacity and now as Prophet. “I believe he is the most humble and , at the same time, most powerful person I know. There is something about how power can be expressed by someone so humble.” Join us for "President Dallin H. Oaks, Defender of Faith and Freedom," Sunday, April 5th at noon on KSL-TV and on our ksl+app.

Read more: President Dallin H. Oaks delivers first public address as prophet at BYU

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