Franklin D. Richards

Who was Franklin D. Richards?

Franklin Dewey Richards was a national commissioner of the United States Federal Housing Administration and a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Richards was born in Ogden, Utah to Charles C. Richards and Louisa L. Peery. He was the youngest of eight children. He was named after his paternal grandfather, who was a member of the LDS Church Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1849 to 1899. Richards was married to Helen Kearnes and was the father of four children.

From 1920 to 1922, Richards was a LDS Church missionary in the church's Eastern States Mission. During his mission, he was the president of the New York, Boston, and Brooklyn Districts of the church.

In 1923, Richards received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Utah. He practiced law in Salt Lake City until being named as the first Utah director of the Federal Housing Administration. In 1947, he became the national commissioner of the FHA in Washington, D.C. Richards resigned this position in 1952 and pursued a career in mortgage banking.

Prior to his call as a general authority in the LDS Church, Richards was the president of the church's Northwestern States Mission.