Elder Marvin J. Ashton: The Missionary Who Learned That Testimony Comes Quietly (1915–1994)

Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915–1994) served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from December 1971 until his death. The son of Marvin O. Ashton (a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric), he worked his way through the University of Utah and saved $720 to pay for his own mission to Great Britain (1937–39), serving under President Hugh B. Brown. There he learned a lesson about testimony he would share the rest of his life.

As a young missionary he wanted 'that burning testimony others had spoken of.' He read the Book of Mormon and prayed, expecting to 'hear the bells ring and a voice saying, This is true.' Nothing dramatic came. He read it again, and again. 'After finishing it the third time and praying about it, I had the impression, You've known the Church is true all your life. Get off your knees and go to work. That was a distinct impression. I had been seeking a testimony, but I already had it.' He came to understand that testimony is often 'the quiet testimony that is there and just needs the chance to blossom and grow.'

After his mission he married Norma Berntson in the Salt Lake Temple. Before his call to the apostleship he was a Utah state senator and managing director of Church Social Services, where his compassion for the wayward and the afflicted became his hallmark; President Monson said he 'had confidence in the nobility of the human soul.'