Yoshihiko Kikuchi

Yoshihiko Kikuchi
First Quorum of the Seventy
1 October 1977 (1977-10-01) – 1 October 2011 (2011-10-01)
Called by	Spencer W. Kimball
End reason	Granted general authority emeritus status
Emeritus General Authority
1 October 2011 (2011-10-01)
Called by	Thomas S. Monson
Personal details
Born	(1941-07-25) 25 July 1941 Horoizumi, Hokkaidō, Japan

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Yoshihiko Kikuchi (菊地良彦, Kikuchi Yoshihiko, born 25 July 1941 in Horoizumi, Hokkaidō, Japan) has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1977, and was the first native Asian to be called as a general authority of the LDS Church.

Early life and education

Kikuchi was born in Horoizumi District, Hokkaido. His father, a fisherman, was killed by an American submarine attack only two weeks before Japan's surrender ended World War II. With a reason to hold a grudge against Americans, when contacted by American missionaries of the LDS Church after the war he was initially resistant to having anything to do with them, but was responsive to the message and was baptized at age 16. Three years after his baptism, Kikuchi began service as a missionary in his own country, serving for three and one half years. After his mission service, Kikuchi attended Asia University in Tokyo, studying business psychology, while marrying and beginning his family.

Career

After completing his education, he worked for a cookware firm. Later, he worked as the national sales manager for an international company, and eventually operated his own export import company. During this time, Kikuchi was also continuing to serve in the LDS Church, including president of one of the church's small branches in Tokyo and as the stake president in Tokyo. In 1977, Kikuchi was asked to retire from his secular pursuits to serve as a full-time general authority of the church. He was ordained a seventy and became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at the October 1977 general conference.

After becoming a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, Kikuchi was assigned to run the church in Japan. As area supervisor from 1978 to 1982, Kikuchi promoted rapid proselytizing of local adult converts, especially through baptism, and published graphs in the official Area News that tracked and compared the number of baptisms in each mission. However, as scholar Jiro Numano has noted, these "hasty baptisms" had negative effects on the church, which encountered difficulty integrating large numbers of newly-baptized converts unschooled in doctrine and practice, and on missionaries, who had to deal with apparently contradictory directions from different church leaders about how and whom to baptize.

From 1987 to 1989, Kikuchi served as president of the church's Hawaii Honolulu Mission. In 1987, Kikuchi was a keynote speaker at the first major African-American family history conference sponsored by the LDS Church. From 1994 to 1997, he served as president of the Tokyo Japan Temple. On October 1, 2011, Kikuchi was released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and designated as an emeritus general authority at the church's semi-annual general conference.

Personal life

Kikuchi has been married to Toshiko Koshiya since 1964 and they are the parents of four children.

References

• Larry E. Morris, "Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi: Steadfast amid Change", Liahona, August 1985.
• "Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the First Quorum of the Seventy", Ensign, November 1977.
• Glenn N. Powe. "Yoshihiko Kikuchi" in Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, Arnold K,. Garr, et. al, ed. p. 606.

External links

• Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Yoshihiko Kikuchi

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