David S. King

David S. King was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1963, and again from 1965 to 1967, a time when civil rights legislation was being debated and the U. S. space program was beginning.

He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate after his first two terms. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Madagascar and Mauritius for three years. He was appointed by U.S. president Jimmy Carter as director of the World Bank.

After his service in Congress, he served as a bishop in Kensington, Maryland, for The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints. At that time, leaders of the Church selected a site for the Washington D.C. Temple. He later served for three years as president of the temple.

King was second assistant to Elbert R. Curtis, ninth general superintendent of the Church’s Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association.

Fluent in French, he also presided over the Haiti Port-au-Prince mission and served as stake patriarch for the Washington D.C. stake and the District of Columbia district. He also wrote a book about temples he entitled Come to the House of the Lord (2000).

He was born on June 20, 1917. His father, William H. King, served two-terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (from Utah) and four terms as U. S. senator. David King held a degree from the University of Utah. He graduated from Georgetown University Law School and served as a clerk for Justice Howard M. Stephens of the United States Court of Appeals in 1943. He taught commercial law at Intermountain Business College. From 1944 to 1946 he served as counsel to the Utah Tax Commission. He also worked as a lawyer specializing in international trade.

King died on May 5, 2009. He and his wife, Rosalie, were the parents of eight children.