40 years ago today - Apr 5, 1974

Announcement of appointment of David M. Kennedy as First Presidency's "special representative." Kennedy served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1969-70), as U.S. Ambassador-at-large (1970-72), and as U.S. ambassador to NATO (1972-73). As church's first officially designated foreign ambassador, Kennedy's primary mission is to obtain formal recognition of the LDS church and admission of full-time missionaries wherever they are excluded, especially in Communist Europe and the Near East. He is released on Mar. 31, 1990. Rather than appoint new "special representative," First Presidency delegates those responsibilities to area presidencies and mission presidents.