Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, in 1897. He was ordained as an apostle in 1941, when he was 43 years old, and later served as a counselor to Harold B. Lee and Spencer W. Kimball. He died in 1988 at age 90.
In an article about Elder Romney's life, Elder Harold B. Lee shared this story about his friend's integrity and commitment to the Lord:
"In the political field where so much pressure is exerted on men to compromise ideals and principles for expediency, party workers early learned to admire Marion G. Romney's intense loyalty to his own conscience as well as to the advice of his Church leaders ... even though it frequently brought him into sharp conflict with the leaders of his own political party.
"On one such occasion, when church leaders in a tersely-worded editorial had denounced the trends of the political administration then in power, he confided in me something which it might be well if all loyal Church members in public life could emulate: 'When I read that editorial,' he told me, 'I knew what I should do -- but that wasn't enough. I knew that I must feel right about following the counsel of the Church leaders and know that they were right. That took a whole night on my knees to accomplish.'
"I submit in that statement the difference between 'intelligent' and 'blind' obedience".
"Marion G. Romney, while never disloyal to authority over him, could never be rightfully accused of being 'blindly obedient.'"
(See "Marion G. Romney," in Improvement Era, Oct. 1962, p. 742)