Elder Daniel H. Ludlow dies at age 84
Published: Monday, Feb. 16, 2009
Elder Daniel H. Ludlow, 84, former director of the Correlation Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; college professor; and editor of the "Encyclopedia of Mormonism" died Feb. 14, 2009, at his home in Provo of causes incident to age.
Elder Ludlow had served as director of the Correlation Department for 15 years.
He had also taught at BYU-Hawaii campus; worked as director of Teacher Support Services for the Church Education System; served on the Scriptures Publication Committee of the LDS Church; and had been the editor-in-chief of the "Encyclopedia of Mormonism," published by Macmillan Publishers.
He founded and served as the first director of the BYU Semester Abroad in Israel and the Faculty Study Tour of the Lands of the Scriptures. He had directed many tours to Israel (often including nearby countries), Central America, Mexico and conducted numerous church history tours.
Elder Ludlow had served in many leadership positions, including branch president; member of a bishopric; on four high councils and two stake presidencies; regional representative of the Twelve; president of Australia Perth Mission; and an ordained temple worker.
He was also author of several books -- including a series of scripture references -- numerous magazine articles, and chapters in various church manuals.
Born March 17, 1924, to Daniel and Wilma Hansen Ludlow in Benjamin he married Luene Leifson on June 10, 1942, in the Salt Lake Temple. The couple had one son and seven daughters.
He attended public schools in Benjamin, Goshen, and Spanish Fork. He also attended Utah State University where he was elected student-body president twice (1942 and 1946); Indiana University, where he earned a masters degree; and Columbia University, where he received his doctorate.
Elder Ludlow taught at Utah State University from 1947-52 and Brigham Young University from 1955-72, where he served as dean of Religious Instruction and director of Institute of Mormon Studies.
He received an honorary doctorate degree from BYU in 1995. He authored several books, numerous magazine articles, and chapters in church manuals.
Sports, gardening, playing games with the family, golfing, fishing, camping, genealogy and traveling were his hobbies, along with a great love of learning and teaching.
Friends may call on Tuesday from 5-8 p.m., at the Provo Walker Mortuary, 85 E. 300 South, Provo.
Memorial services will be Wednesday at 11 a.m., in the LDS church at 2400 N. 1060 East, Provo. Friends may also call there, from 9-10:30 a.m., prior to services.
Interment in Benjamin Cemetery.
Obit: Ludlow's legacy includes massive Encyclopedia of Mormonism
By Peggy Fletcher Stack
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted:02/19/2009 11:24:12 AM MST
Daniel H. Ludlow's career may have been launched while diagramming sentences in a freshman English class at Utah State University.
It was there Ludlow learned to be scrupulous about words, sentences and paragraphs, a skill that would follow him through decades of work at the helm of the LDS Church's extensive effort to correlate all its published materials into a consistent whole. In that capacity, Ludlow approved every word that went out from LDS Church headquarters from 1973 to 1988.
Ludlow's attention to detail also helped him manage the giant Encyclopedia of Mormonism project, which became the definitive work on Mormonism in many quarters outside the faith. He also supervised the production of an edition of the King James Bible with annotations linking it to LDS scriptures.
Ludlow, a talented writer, editor, and teacher, died Feb. 14 at age 84 in Provo of causes incident to age.
He earned an undergraduate degree in English from Utah State University, a master's degree from Indiana University in visual aids and communication, and a doctorate from Columbia University. He then ended up teaching religion at Brigham Young University and later worked directly for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at its Salt Lake City headquarters.
"His encyclopedic mind, editorial skills and a personality that didn't have to be in the limelight allowed him to work behind the scenes, making an editorial decision with the confidence that it was doctrinally and grammatically the best," his son, Victor L. Ludlow, said Wednesday. "Anything that was published in the Ensign magazine, church manuals, curriculum materials and letters from the First Presidency all had to go through him."
To find him in a crowd, Ludlow's children and grandchildren would look for the man carrying two suitcases -- a heavy one filled with material to read, the other mostly empty. By the next morning, his load had shifted.
"My father read voraciously," Victor Ludlow said. "And he read with exactness."
The son said his father likely considered the four-volume Mormon encyclopedia, produced by Macmillan Publishing, as his greatest work.
Typically, an encyclopedia project takes a dozen to 25 years to complete, using the work of 30 to 40 scholars. As editor-in-chief of the Mormon volumes, Ludlow harnessed the creative energy of 750 authors and completed the project in five years.
"It got excellent reviews as far as quality and readability," Victor Ludlow said.
Despite having few male role models -- Ludlow senior's father died before he was born and his grandfather died when the boy was 2 -- the gentle scholar was a great husband to his wife, Luene Leifson, and terrific father to his son and eight daughters, Victor Ludlow said. "He was always willing to give his time and his talents to his profession, his church and his family. He was very generous with his resources."
Ludlow routinely paid his daughters a dollar to bake him a loaf of bread, even though he could buy one at the story for a quarter. He also rewarded them financially for collating his class material or mastering a hymn on the piano.
After creating the BYU semester abroad in Israel, Ludlow had a deep love and passion for the Holy Land. He returned again and again, leading tours to the "land of the scriptures."
On his deathbed, Ludlow told his son, "You may bury me wherever you want, but my heart will be in Jerusalem."
Daniel Ludlow loved his family, church, and having fun
By Sharon Haddock
Deseret News
Published: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009
Daniel H. Ludlow was impressive in his work and in his church.
He served as the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints correlation department for 15 years.
He was the editor of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.
He served as the first director of the BYU Semester Abroad in Israel and directed tours to Israel, Mexico and Central America.
He was a regional representative, an ordained temple worker, a branch president and president of the Australia Perth Mission.
He wrote books and taught religion, serving as dean of religious instruction and director of the Institute of Mormon Studies.
But he also had time for fun and games, say his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. (He had eight living children, 42 grandchildren and 64 great-grandchildren at the time of his death Feb. 14, 2009, at the age of 84.)
"He was a game player. He invented games,"said grandson Brandon Pearce. Among those was a version of the game "Sorry."
Ludlow's daughter, Shauna Smith, said her dad's version of the "Sorry" game was crafted out of a piece of linoleum flooring with holes drilled into it and pegs that moved from square to square.
Carolyn Sweeny, his oldest daughter, said the Ludlow version of "Sorry" was called "Dirty" and was displayed at the funeral.
"He always had an amazing sense of humor. He was loving," Smith said. "I remember one time he brought home a calculator, a big expensive thing, and I was using it to do my homework. I tripped on the fireplace and dropped it and, of course, it broke. He just said, 'Well, it was an accident. Forget it,' and that was the end of it."
Sweeny said she remembers quite a different father, though the humor was there.
"They're the spoiled ones," said Sweeny, who explained that for the first five children, the Ludlow parents were busy going to school, trying to make a living and studying. For the later children, life was more relaxed and settled.
"If we ever did anything wrong, he would said, 'OK, I want you to set the punishment,' and that was always worse than what he would have set," Sweeny said.
Ludlow instilled an impressive work ethic in his children, insisting they help weed and mow a big patch of ground near the home. Later, he built a nine-hole miniature golf course on the same ground and let each of the nine children design a hole.
He took the family camping and fishing and climbed ruins as recently as 10 years ago with them.
"We spent most of the summers traveling," said Smith. "We went to Yellowstone every summer. In 1996, he took most of the family to Israel. That was amazing."
Smith said every one of the 42 grandchildren attended the funeral.
"I think that's a huge tribute. My mom is just thrilled," she said. "I think every grandchild felt they could talk to him about anything."
Smith said Ludlow was clear about the rules he expected his children and grandchildren to follow but he never forced their behavior to meet his expectations.
"He just said, 'Here's the rules and you'll be happier if you follow them,'" she said. "He was not a strict disciplinarian at all."
Pearce said he has lots of fond memories of big family gatherings at a cabin in Midway and at second homes in St. George and in California.
"We would sleep on the floors, on the couches, all over the house. It was a big part of our growing up," he said.
"He enjoyed sports. He was a season ticket holder for BYU basketball games, and he followed his alma mater, Indiana University. At the home in St. George, he always played pool and billiards with us."
Smith said that in addition to family, the one thing from which Ludlow derived happiness was his chance to serve as a mission president.
He married his wife, Luene, before he had the opportunity to serve a mission, so it meant a great deal to him to be asked to be the president of the Australia Perth Mission.
"The last thing he said, before he died," said Smith, "was to ask, 'Are (grandsons) Cameron (Asay) and Stefan (Ludlow) still on their missions?'"
When the answer was yes, he relaxed and passed on peacefully.
"I think if they'd been expected home right away, he might have hung on longer (to see them again)," she said.
Sweeny said her father was a lot of fun and would tell a joke with his jowls shaking as he got to the punch line. He was still kidding around at the end of his life.
"We would always ask him, 'Am I your favorite daughter, am I your favorite grandson?' I came in and said, 'Am I your favorite daughter?' He said, 'Yes.' Mom said, 'Am I your favorite wife?' He said, 'For the moment!'"
