SALT LAKE CITY — SALT LAKE CITY — LDS Church leaders remembered Elder Richard G. Scott as "a cherished friend" and "a sweet and pure man" during funeral services Monday morning at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square.

Church President Thomas S. Monson called Elder Scott "the most faithful servant of our Heavenly Father" and "He taught us lessons of patience, lessons of courage, lessons of faith and lessons of devotion. All those things, Richard G. Scott taught us both in word and in deed."

"Richard, our cherished friend, we have loved you here," he added, then referred to heaven. "We'll love you there."

Elder Scott died Sept. 22 at 86 of causes incident to old age after serving for nearly 27 years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and nearly four decades as a general authority of the faith.

Speakers recalled the way the retired nuclear engineer was defined by the love he had for his late sweetheart Jeanene Scott, by the loss of their two young children and by his deep love for Jesus Christ. As a Mormon apostle, he was called to be a special witness of Jesus on the earth.

"He had a true apostolic witness of Christ as the resurrected Savior," said his son, Michael Scott. "Let me repeat, he had a true apostolic witness of Christ as the resurrected Savior."

President Monson said "he had an insightful mind, a keen intellect and a charitable spirit" while others described legendary compassion, purity and the piercing gaze of "those pure eyes" known to Latter-day Saints worldwide from the 59 talks he gave at the faith's semiannual general conferences since 1977, when he joined the Quorum of the Seventy.

The Twelve now have lost a quarter of their quorum in the past four months — Elder Scott, Elder L. Tom Perry, who died May 30, and President Boyd K. Packer, the quorum president who died July 3. Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has talked about how the reduced numbers strain a quorum leading a global church with 15 million members.

President Monson is expected to call new members to the quorum at the church's scheduled general conference this weekend. One decision was made in July: President Russell M. Nelson, one of the Twelve for 31 years, is the new president of the quorum.

Most memorably Monday, every person who spoke — whether conducting, praying or giving a talk — mentioned the love Elder Scott had for his wife, Jeanene.

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Legendary love

"Mom and Dad's marriage was the stuff of legends," said Michael Scott, who spoke first.

Sister Scott died in May 1995. Elder Scott did not remarry and spoke often of his sweetheart in talks at the church's semiannual general conferences.

"Surely no man ever yearned more for the companionship of a deceased spouse than Richard yearned for Jeanene," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Twelve said in his invocation.

"Oh, how he missed her," President Monson said. "They were true partners in life. They will be partners eternally."

After Elder Scott fell in love with her, she told him she would marry only in an LDS temple to a returned LDS missionary. "Duly motivated," he said, "I served a mission in Uruguay."

The couple later lost two children, one in childbirth, and soon after a 2-year-old son, Richard, to a heart defect. Michael Scott said his father's response was an example of how to face adversity.

"That night he hugged mom, and said to her, 'We do not need to worry because he was born under the covenant. We have the assurance that we will have him with us in the future. Now we have a reason to live extremely well; we have a son who has gone to the Celestial Kingdom because he died before the age of accountability.'"

Mormon children born to parents sealed in the temple are "born in the covenant," added to their parents' "sealing," an ordinance that binds families together forever if faithful. Children who die before the age of 8, when they can understand right from wrong, are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ.

"Instead of bitterness," Michael Scott said of his father, "he had hope. Instead of despair, he strengthened his resolve. Instead of doubt, he exercised faith in Jesus Christ."

When Jeanene died at 65, Michael Scott said his father again was an example.

"He said, 'I love her with all my heart, but I have never complained (to God) because I know it was his will. I've never asked why, but rather, what is it that he wants me to learn from this experience.'"

Elder Christofferson had known the Scotts since serving under them as a young missionary in Argentina, where Elder Scott was a mission president in the 1960s.

"All of us who knew Elder and Sister Scott personally mourned at the long separation that ensued following her death," Elder Christofferson said. "How we rejoice that they are together once more, and not just again but forever."

Piercing, pure gaze

Elder Christofferson said he represented about 600 missionaries who served under Elder Scott in the North Argentine Mission.

"None of us doubted his purity," he said. "Many have commented over the years about Elder Scott's piercing gaze. They felt it in personal interviews and similar settings. Many even felt it through their television sets as he spoke in general conference. We missionaries knew it well. ...

"Although piercing, those pure eyes were not accusatory. Rather, he was searching to know how he could help us."

President Nelson said Elder Scott had a unique personal touch that gained power because "compassion is legendary."

Elder Scott's belief in the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ led him to repeatedly use his conference talks to encourage church members to repent if necessary.

"He felt his errand from the Lord," Elder Christofferson said, "was to administer the healing balm of Christ's grace... With uncommon earnestness, he invited all to seek the Lord through obedience to gospel principles and there find peace, happiness and joy."

Elder Holland in his prayer thanked God "for the privilege of knowing and serving this good and sweet and pure man. Richard exemplified, demonstrated and lived everything he ever taught of the Savior of the world. Savior may have been the word we heard most from his lips."

Debilitating illness

Another defining aspect of Elder Scott's life may have come from his childhood, Michael Scott said. He was reared by a father who was not LDS and a mother who was not actively participating in the faith. His participation was limited to times church leaders reached out to him and brought him to church.

"I don't know who those people were, but I thank them," Michael Scott said with emotion. "Perhaps one reason that dad was so good at reaching out to the one — the less active, the lonely, the discouraged, the downtrodden — was because in that early period of his life, he was the one, the one being reached out to and rescued."

Illness kept Elder Scott from filling assignments throughout 2015. He did not speak at the church's April general conference for the first time since joining the Quorum of the Twelve in October 1988, and in May, the church announced he was unable to attend meetings of the quorum due to "a fading memory incident to age."

Elder Scott spent five nights in the hospital in late April due to internal bleeding caused by a stomach ulcer.

"I saw Elder Scott less frequently in recent months," Elder Christofferson said, "but each time I did, he seemed to have grown more saintly, more pure. His face was almost translucent, radiating a holy countenance."

President Monson visited Elder Scott a final time on the day he died, in his final hours — a visit Michael Scott said he will never forget.

With Michael, President Monson gave Elder Scott a blessing, expressing gratitude for his service, attitude and faith.

Elder Christofferson referred to an interview Elder Scott gave in which he said LDS apostles have an absolute, confirmed certainty in a living God.

"Our Father in Heaven is real," Elder Scott said. "His Son, Jesus Christ, is real. I know that personally, and bear certain witness, because I know the Savior."

Elder Christofferson concluded his talk by saying, "Dear president, Elder, mentor, friend, brother, I humbly append my testimony to yours. I, too, know as you know. God bless your memory."

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