SALT LAKE CITY — Mormon leader L. Tom Perry, a member of the faith’s highest governing body, has died of cancer. He was 92.
Perry died Saturday surrounded by his family at his Salt Lake City home, church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement.
Perry was diagnosed with cancer in late April after being hospitalized with breathing problems. He began receiving radiation treatment and briefly returned to work as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a group modeled after Jesus Christ’s apostles that serves under the church president and his two counselors.
On May 29, church officials said the cancer had spread aggressively, reaching Perry’s lungs.
Perry was the oldest member of the church’s top 15 leaders and was the quorum’s second-most senior member. He wrote a book in the mid-1990s titled “Living with Enthusiasm.”
Perry spoke regularly at church conferences and was one of four leaders to meet with President Barack Obama during his recent Utah trip.
Perry was in attendance when Mormon leaders and state lawmakers introduced a landmark bill in March that bars discrimination against gay and transgender people while protecting the rights of religious groups and individuals.
A replacement will be chosen by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints president Thomas S. Monson, considered the religion’s prophet. Members of the faith believe those decisions are guided by inspiration from God.
