V. Dallas Merrell

V. Dallas Merrell is a former General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1992 to 1997.

Merrell was born on January 25, 1936 in Basalt, Idaho. He was the oldest son of nine children and learned to work hard on the family farm. He began his studies at Brigham Young University intending to be a farmer, but graduated with degrees in economics and sociology. He continued his studies at BYU and earned a master’s degree in social psychology. He earned a second master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. He worked in Washington, DC, where he ran a consulting firm that concentrated on improving the leadership and management of organizations helped organizations. In 1980 he ran for seat on the United States Senate but was defeated.

As a young man he served a full-time mission to the Great Lakes Mission. He also served as mission president of the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission, regional representative, counselor to a stake president, bishop, and stake missionary.

He and his wife, Karen, were the parents of nine children, one of which passed away.