Spencer J. Palmer was born on October 4, 1927, in Eden, Arizona, and was raised in Thatcher. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ in California. He studied for a time at Eastern Arizona College before he transferred to Brigham Young University and received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. He was then drafted into the US Army and served in Japan. He applied to become a Latter-day Saint chaplain and was assigned to South Korea. He was drawn to the people and felt deep compassion for their rampant poverty and deplorable living conditions.
Brother Palmer had planned to pursue a career in radio broadcasting at the conclusion of his military service, but an experience in September 1954 redirected his path. Elder Harold B. Lee had come to Korea on a Church assignment. After a long discussion, Elder Lee said to Palmer, “I can see that we have a great future in this part of the world. Our problem is that we don’t have people prepared to undertake this work here. I want you to stay close to these Korean people and to the people of Asia. They need us, and they need you.”
Brother Palmer earned a master’s degree in Asian studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1959 and a PhD in history in 1964. He then joined the faculty of BYU as an assistant professor of Korean studies and Oriental religions. In 1965, he was surprised to be called to preside over the Korean Mission of the Church (1965–1968). Church membership grew by 31 percent during his service. He also helped complete the Korean translation of the Book of Mormon and organized the Korean Mission Genealogical Committee. He also secured “regular spots for the Church on Korean TV and radio,” which improved the image of the Church. During that time, he worked closely with Elder Gordon B. Hinckley who was assigned to oversee the operation of the Church in Asia. Palmer would later serve as a regional representative of the Twelve in Southeast Asia, purchase the site for the Seoul Korea Temple, and serve as president of this temple from 1988 to 1990.
At BYU, Brother Palmer was involved in forming the Asian Studies program. He served as director of the Center for International and Area Studies, the predecessor of the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies. He taught world religions and opened the minds of his colleagues. He was the coauthor of the textbook used for BYU’s world religions course and the Church Educational System’s Institute of Religion classrooms. His other publications emphasized the faith and cultures of the world, especially Korea’s. Palmer taught religion classes at the Jerusalem Center in 1980. In 1991, Palmer donated his collection of over 5,000 books on Asian and religious topics to BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library; the collection included about 1,500 rare books in Korean.
Brother Palmer passed away on November 27, 2000 at the age of 73. He and his wife, Shirley Ann Hadley, were the parents of four children.
Source: Wikipedia