Floyd Marion McDowell was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). McDowell was a member of the church's First Presidency

First Presidency (Community of Christ)

The First Presidency of the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the church's highest-ranking priesthood quorum. It is composed of the president and two counselors, and they preside over the whole church under the principles of "theocratic...

 from 1922 to 1938.

McDowell was born in Excelsior

Excelsior, Richland County, Wisconsin

Excelsior is an unincorporated community located in the town of Richwood, Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. Excelsior is located along County Highway F and Knapp Creek northwest of Blue River.-Notable people:...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. He attended Graceland College from 1907 to 1909, and he later received degrees from Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 (BA, 1911), Clark University

Clark University

Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...

 (MA, 1914), and University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 (Ph.D., 1918). He lived most of his life in Lamoni

Lamoni, Iowa

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,444 people, 818 households, and 428 families residing in the city. The population density was 761.1 people per square mile . There were 904 housing units at an average density of 281.5 per square mile...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, where the RLDS Church headquarters were located.

On 2 October 1922, McDowell was selected as a counselor to RLDS Church president Frederick M. Smith in the church's First Presidency. In April 1938, McDowell's fellow counselor Elbert A. Smith

Elbert A. Smith

Elbert Aoriul Smith was an American leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...

 was released; later that year, McDowell resigned as a member of the First Presidency. Frederick Smith selected Israel A. Smith and Lemuel F. P. Curry to succeed Elbert Smith and McDowell.

After his resignation, McDowell became the RLDS Church's Director of Priesthood Education, a position he held until 1954, when he became a patriarch in the church. From 1922 to 1952, McDowell was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Graceland College.