During World War II, Lloyd P. George faced the toughest question of his life. The struggle for its answer came not on a battlefield but in a crowded hallway at Ft. McClellan Military Base in Alabama.

Pearl Harbor had been bombed Dec. 7, 1941, while Elder George was a missionary in the Southern States Mission. He was allowed to complete his mission, but immediately after his release in 1942 he entered the Army Air Corps.He was close to being accepted for pilot training, having passed tests for physical fitness and intellectual ability. The only test that remained was for emotional stability.

He and a dozen other candidates reported for their final evaluation. Sitting in a hallway, each young man filled out a questionnaire. While the others quickly answered their questions, Lloyd George was stuck on the very first one: "Have you ever stuttered or stammered?"

So much depended on his answer. Before his mission, he had stuttered so badly he could not say his name. His father and mother, Preal and Artemisia George, and his brother and two sisters had never really heard him speak. He was unable to bless the sacrament, offer prayers or give talks in the Kanosh Ward in central Utah. Some of the most prominent speech teachers and therapists throughout the western United States had been unable to help.

However, after a few months on his mission, he began speaking without stuttering. By the time he had completed his mission, he was preaching the gospel with force, giving motivating and inspiring talks and bearing a strong, clear testimony.

"I had an hour to decide how to answer the question," recalled Elder George, referring to the military experience. "I thought, `I can lie. No one will ever know I stuttered for 19 years because I can now speak as well as anyone else.'

"I knew if I told the truth, I would run the very distinct possibility of being washed out of pilot training and would be sent back to the infantry.

"Four of us applicants were taken into a room together. We faced four psychologists at a long table. We were told to remove our shoes, I guess to make us feel more intimidated, or to put us under more stress."

After completing the questionnaire, the applicants put their papers on the table. Lloyd George's was the first one picked up. A psychologist looked at the answer to the first question, leveled his gaze on the young applicant, and asked, "Have you ever stuttered or stammered?" The reply was an immediate, "Yes, sir."

His paper went back onto the table. The psychologists questioned the other applicants, and then dismissed them. He was left alone with the four interviewers. One of them, in a voice that could be described as accusatory, said, "You have marked here that you have stammered and stuttered." He responded, "Yes, sir."

The psychologist said, "Repeat after me: `Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. . . .' "

Although nervous, the applicant repeated the tongue twister, not missing one syllable. The psychologist flipped the questionnaire into the pile with the others, and, with a wave of the hand, dismissed him.

Lloyd George had told the truth. Against the odds, he was accepted for pilot training.

"That was a lesson, a testimony to me: `Tell the truth. Be honest,' " said Elder George, who was sustained Oct. 1 to the First Quorum of the Seventy. Now 68, the silver-haired General Authority said his real-life experience may benefit young people who are faced with similar challenges.

"I have often thought about that question and wondered what would have happened had I gone the other route. If I had lied, I probably would have been accepted, but I would not have felt good about myself. I told the truth. I wasn't hiding anything. I felt good."

He not only became a pilot, but also a pilot trainer.

After the war ended, he returned to the tranquility of home and family. His father had once been a rancher, but after an accident, he had begun working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"I have always loved nature, working close to the soil and with animals," said Elder George. "I decided I wanted to be a rancher."

Strong and healthy, the 6-foot-tall former pilot struggled to put together his own ranching operation, demonstrating one of his most dominant personality traits - patience. He started out with one cow and a parcel of land near Kanosh, located 170 miles south of Salt Lake City. He bought pasture land several miles away. It took him two years to get a dozen head of cattle, and another 10 to 20 years to buy the adjoining land that he eventually turned into a successful ranch.

He loved being a rancher, particularly riding his horse in the mountains where his cattle had summer pasture, and the desert where they spent the winter months.

"Nature," said Elder George, "is created and controlled by a Supreme Being. Things don't just happen. The Lord created this earth, as the scriptures indicate, for our joy and pleasure, knowing we would have the buffetings and temptations of the adversary here. But then He has created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy. How often does one have the chance to see the sun come up in the mornings, or see the beautiful sunsets? How often does one get to see the beautiful fall flowers? I don't know the names of flowers, but I enjoy them."

In addition to the ranch, he and his wife, Leola Stott George, also had a mercantile store in Kanosh. While their children - two daughters and a son - had opportunities to work on the ranch and in the store, they were permitted to choose their own career paths.

Elder George's son, Richard Lloyd George, who had ranked No. 1 in the nation in the javelin, represented the United States in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Richard, who had a great interest in high school athletics, had no desire to become a rancher. He remembers how Elder George supported him in his own interests, and attended his many sporting events. "Having a father who understood that baseballs were as important was bulls has been a tremendous blessing to me," said Richard, who received a master of business administration degree from Harvard and is now a partner in a consulting and management business.

Their eldest daughter, JoAnn (Mrs. Edward Red), earned master's degrees in English and French, and now lives in Provo, Utah. Their other daughter, Janet (Mrs. Lynn Finlinson), received a degree in child development and family education; she lives in Dallas, Texas. Elder and Sister George have 20 grandchildren.

Before Elder and Sister George retired from their ranch in 1979. He served as a regional representative for three and a half years, stake president for nine years, and a bishop for 10 years. He also was a branch president on the Piute Indian reservation near Kanosh. Since his service on the reservation, Elder George and his family have always regarded the Piutes as "our beloved neighbors."

Elder George was called to preside over the Arizona Tempe Mission from 1984-87. Since their mission, they have made their home in Orem, Utah, where they are members of the Orem 19th Ward, Orem Utah Sharon Stake. At the time he was called as a General Authority, he was working as a real estate broker.