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Lowell Tom Perry (b. August 5, 1922) is a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having become a member of that body in 1974. Born in Logan, Utah, Perry is a World War II veteran and graduate of Utah State University. He had a career in the retail business, which was spent in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a fan of the Boston Red Sox, even throwing out the first pitch at a game on May 8, 2004. Having served the LDS Church as a stake president in Boston, Perry first became a general authority by serving in the position of Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1972. When a vacancy among the Twelve Apostles was created by the death of Church President Harold B. Lee and Spencer W. Kimball's moving from the position of President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to that of church president, Perry was chosen as the first new apostle of Kimball's administration, sustained to the Quorum on April 6, 1974 and ordained to the office of [apostle on April 11, 1974. Today, Perry ranks after only church president Gordon B. Hinckley, Quorum president Thomas S. Monson and Acting Quorum president Boyd K. Packer in apostolic seniority. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Perry is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. In 2004, Perry was asked by Hinckley to serve as the area president of the Europe Central Area of the church, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, a position normally held by a member of the seventy, making Perry one of the most senior officials of the church ever to be stationed away from Salt Lake City. While serving in this capacity, Perry initiated a more proactive institute program that emphasized meeting the social and intellectual needs of young single adult church members.
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