Elder Theodore M. Burton was born 27 March 1907 in Salt Lake City to Theodore Taylor and Florence Moyle Burton, Theodore Moyle Burton became a professor of organic chemistry at Utah State University in 1943. On 8 October 1960, he was called as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. In October 1976, he became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was given emeritus status on 30 September 1989. Elder Burton died 22 December
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As a youth, Elder Burton became the first Eagle Scout in the Pioneer Stake. From 1927 to 1930, he served a mission in the Swiss-German Mission. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Utah in 1932 and 1934 and worked as an assistant bacteriologist with the Salt Lake Health Department. In 1934, he became technical assistant to the U.S. Treasury Attaché in Vienna, Austria. He held the same post in Berlin in 1937–38.
Elder Burton began his teaching career in 1941 at Carbon College, then joined the faculty of Utah State University in 1943. He completed a Ph.D. at Purdue University in 1951.
In 1957, Elder Burton returned to Europe to preside over the West German Mission. From 1962 to 1964, he served as president of the European Mission. He then served as president of the Genealogical Society of Utah and as managing director of the Church Genealogical Department until April 1978, when he returned to Europe to serve as Area Supervisor for two years.