Difference between revisions of "Julie B. Beck"

Latest revision as of 14:03, 15 October 2021

Julie Bangerter Beck was the Relief Society general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was sustained on March 31, 2007, and served until 2012. She was serving since 2002 as the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency prior to receiving her call to direct the Church's women's service organization.

Born on September 29, 1954, in Granger, Utah to William Grant Bangerter and Geraldine Hamblin, Beck grew up in Utah and in São Paulo, Brazil, where her father served as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ for five years. As a child she learned to speak Portuguese while living there. Beck graduated from Dixie College and Brigham Young University with a degree in family science. On December 28, 1973, she married Ramon P. Beck in the Salt Lake Temple. Beck and her husband have two daughters and one son. They currently reside in Alpine, Utah. For a period of about five years, she and her husband served at the Provo Missionary Training Center.

In October 2002, Beck was asked to be the First Counselor to President Susan W. Tanner in the Young Women general presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ. She served in this capacity until her call in 2007 as the general president of the Relief Society, succeeding Bonnie D. Parkin. Beck was the fifteenth general president of the Relief Society since it was organized in 1842. As Relief Society president, Beck was an ex officio member of the executive committee of the Board of Trustees of the Church Educational System and is a member of the church's Board of Education. Beck was assisted by two counselors, Silvia Henriquez Allred and Barbara Thompson.

Beck's father, William Grant Bangerter, had been a General Authority of the Church since 1975, when he was called as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was also a former member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and the Presidency of the Seventy and had been an emeritus General Authority since 1989 until his death in 2010. She is a niece of Utah's 13th governor, Norman Bangerter, who served from 1985 to 1993.

In recent times, the call to serve as the Relief Society general president has been limited to a term of five years. Sister Beck was released from this calling in April 2012. In August 2012 her former alma mater, Dixie College, announced that it had named her to its board of trustees.[1] Beck was appointed by Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert.

Beck, who was inducted into the Dixie State College Hall of Fame in the area of Public and College Service in 2007, was a performing member of the famed Dixie College Program Bureau, a member of the executive council and marched with the Rebelettes during her time at Dixie. She went on to complete her education at Brigham Young University. As a full-time homemaker, Beck has been active in many educational and community efforts. She has been a leader in parent teacher associations, school district advisory councils, music teacher associations, community celebrations and local politics.

In addition, Beck has served in leadership roles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, most recently as the Church’s Relief Society General President, a role she held for five years until her release this past April. As part of her responsibilities, she was a member of the Church Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of four Church universities; and was on the Executive and General councils for Welfare and the Perpetual Education Fund of the Church. In addition, Beck served on the Church’s Young Women General Board and as First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.

Dixie State College’s Board of Trustees is the institution’s governing board, appointed by the Governor and approved by the Utah State Senate, and acts as a liaison between the college and the community. In addition, the Board of Trustees assists and approves the college’s mission, traditions, strategic planning, policies, budgets, new degree programs and honorary degrees. The Trustees are also involved in alumni relations and fundraising.[2]

Julie B. Beck is the author of Joy in the Covenant (2018, with a foreword by Clayton M. Christensen).

External Links

• General Conference Talks of Julie B. Beck
• Julie Bangerter Beck Biography
• Sister Beck's final general conference address, "The Vision of Prophets regarding Relief Society: Faith, Family, Relief"
• Church News Interview with Sister Beck, "Sister Julie B. Beck talks new book, President Nelson’s Book of Mormon challenge and keeping an eternal focus"