Elder L. Tom Perry was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and started radiation treatment on April 24,2015. Despite still being under medical care, he continued to do Church business and receive visitors, according to the Mormon Newsroom.
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve was hospitalized for five nights from April 23 to the 28 due to gastrointestinal bleeding, and left the hospital to rest at home on April 28, according to Deseret News.
Joel Campbell, a senior missionary on campus at BYU–Hawaii, said he was “saddened by the news they have these problems. But we know that they are in the Lord’s hands and I’m sure there are prayers of all the saints around the world for them.”
Both these apostles have done much for the church. Elder Perry is the oldest of the apostles at age 92, serving for 41 years, according to Deseret News. Last year, Elder Perry accompanied President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, at the Vatican interfaith summit on marriage in November.
He spoke in the April 2015 General Conference, and he has been a spokesperson for the Church when new legislation was presented in Utah to protect LGBT rights and balance religious freedom, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Elder Perry was born in Logan, Utah on August 5, 1922. Before he was an apostle, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II after finishing two years as a missionary in the Northern States Mission, reported Deseret News. He became an internal auditor, and climbed to executive positions in retail that took him to both ends of the United States before being called to the Quorum of the Twelve at 50 years of age, said Deseret News.
Elder Scott was born November 7, 1928 in Pocatello, Idaho. Before he became an apostle for the Church, he worked as a nuclear engineer for naval and land-based power plants and later as a private consultant for nuclear engineering. He has been serving in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since October 1, 1988. He did not speak at the General Conference in April due to health problems, but has otherwise spoken to Church members about faith, families, and other subjects. He is an artist and has paintings on display in Salt Lake City.
"It’s a good thing the Lord's with us. I guess we think this doesn't happen to our prophets and apostles all the time, but it does," said Linda Campbell, senior missionary and wife to Brother Campbell.
Matthew Medonich, a senior from Arizona studying hospitality and tourism management, said, “They got called to served. They’ve served. They’ve done their job. They’re doing it still. They’ve done some good out here. They’re still doing it and they’ll still do it from the hospital bed. They’ll still spread the good news and do some good, and they’re not worried about it.”