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LDS Apostle David B. Haight, who died Saturday at 97, was remembered this afternoon as a wise and charming man who reached across religious, political and economic boundaries to touch the lives of millions but never forgot his roots in Oakley, Idaho.
Haight was the oldest man ever to serve as an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More than 3,000 LDS faithful as well as political leaders such as Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett attended the funeral in the LDS Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Haight was the second member of the church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles to die within 10 days. The funeral of Apostle Neal A. Maxwell was held in the Tabernacle on July 27.
"I know it's warm in the Tabernacle," LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley told the sweltering crowd, fanning themselves with their programs. "I'd like to suggest to the keeper of heavenly invitations that there be a deferment to a cooler season."
The six speakers were Haight's son Robert Haight and son-in-law Jon Huntsman, Sr; Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Boyd K. Packer; and First Presidency members Thomas S. Monson, James E. Faust and Hinckley.
The famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir, again dressed in black and white, performed three hymns of life and death: "O Divine Redeemer," "How Great the Wisdom and the Love," and "The Morning Breaks."
Haight was buried at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery in Salt Lake City, where Jon M. Huntsman Jr, oldest grandson and Republican nominee for governor, dedicated the grave.