Sterling W. Sill

Sterling W. Sill was an emeritus general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was sustained as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 6, 1954 and served there until October 1, 1976, when the position was abolished. On the same day he was sustained as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and served in that position until he was granted emeritus status on December 31, 1978.

Sill was born on March 31, 1903, in Layton, Utah, and worked long hours on his family’s farm. He studied at both Utah State University and the University of Utah and although he was never able to complete a degree, he continued to education himself through voracious reading. He became a successful life insurance executive, prominent businessman, orator, and author. He also served on the University of Utah Board of Regents for eleven years, including four years as the chairman. In 1953 he was recognized with an honorary doctor of laws degree and in 1983 he was honored as a distinguished alumnus. He also served on the board of directors of the Deseret News Publishing Company as well as with other civic organizations.

In the 1950s, he became the speaker on KSL radio’s “Sunday Evening from Temple Square.” Over the span of seventeen years he gave hundreds of talks that were carried on hundreds of radio stations. He was a prolific author, having written almost fifty books, with titles such as The Upward Reach, The Law of the Harvest, The Way of Success, The Quest for Excellence, The Power of Believing, The Law of Success, That Ye May Have Life, How to Personally Profit From the Laws of Success, and Power, Principles, and Promises.

In 1960 he received the Carnegie Hero Medal for saving a drowning thirteen-year-old boy.

He died on May 25, 1994. He and his wife, Doris, were the parents of three children.