Elder Hammonds is married to Sister Elder Debra L. Hammonds.  They have 7 children (5 sons and 2 daughters), 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.  He retired from General Motors Corporation in 1997.

He earned an Associate degree in Accounting from Sinclair Community College in 1968, a BS in Business Administration from Central State University in 1970.  He has taken coursework towards an MBA from the University of Dayton, Moody Bible Institute, and Cincinnati Bible College.  He received an honorary degree from Southwestern College of Business, having served as Chairman of the Accounting Department for 24 years.