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SALT LAKE CITY — The First Presidency of the LDS Church, which now has a membership of more than 15.3 million worldwide, announced many changes in leadership during the Saturday afternoon session of the faith's 185th Annual General Conference.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the changes.
The new leaders include five new General Authorities, a new Young Men general presidency, a new counselor in the Primary general presidency and more than 50 Area Seventies.
Elder Kim B. Clark, who has served as president of Brigham Young University-Idaho, was called to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Others also called to the First Quorum of the Seventy include Elder Allen D. Haynie, Elder Von G. Keetch, Elder Hugo Montoya, and Elder Vern P. Stanfill.
Stephen W. Owen will be the new Young Men general president, with Douglas D. Holmes as first counselor and M. Joseph Brough as second counselor.
Sister Mary R. Durham will serve as the second counselor in the Primary general presidency, with the release of Sister Jean A. Stevens, the previous first counselor who was released in order to serve with her husband in the England London Mission. Sister Rosemary M. Wixom will continue to serve as president, with Sister Cheryl A. Esplin now the first counselor after having served as the second counselor.
The 2014 statistical report was shared during the Saturday afternoon session.
- Total LDS Church membership: 15,372,337
- Total number of full-time missionaries serving: 85,147
- Total church service missionaries: 30,404
- Total temples in operation: 144 First Quorum of the SeventyElder Clark, 66, has served as the president of BYU-Idaho since 2005. The former dean of the Harvard Business School also served as a member of the Fifth Quorum in the Idaho Area from 2007-2014.
Elder Haynie, 56, has served as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America West Area. Elder Haynie earned a juris doctorate in law from Brigham Young University and practiced law for 25 years with a firm before starting his own practice in the San Diego California area.
Elder Keetch, 55, another BYU law school graduate, has practiced law at a Salt Lake City law firm for 25 years. He has also been serving in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy.
At the time of his call to the First Quorum of the Seventy, Elder Montoya, 55, was serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Since 1996 he has been an employee of XEROX, working in various capacities. He has also worked as an institute teacher for the Church Educational System.
Elder Stanfill, 57, of Townsend, Mont., has served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Central Area. Elder Stanfill has worked as a rancher, the manager of a portfolio of real estate and financial instruments, and in philanthropic and estate matters, among other opportunities.
Members of the Seventy have responsibility for administering the work of the church throughout the world under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Some of them also have executive responsibilities in a number of church departments. Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy usually serve to age 70.
Young Men General Presidency
President Owen, 57, comes to the Young Men general presidency after serving as the president of the California Arcadia Mission and stake president. He earned a finance degree from the University of Utah.
Holmes, 53, who recently served as president of the Michigan Detroit Mission, has had many leadership positions in his Farmington, Utah, stake. He earned a MBA in finance from BYU and is self-employed as an investor and developer.
Brough, 51, previously served as president of the Guatemala Guatemala City Central Mission. He is a business owner in Brigham City and earned a graduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah.
Under the direction of the First Presidency, the Young Men general presidency oversees the activities of young Mormon men ages 12-18.
Primary General Presidency
Prior to her call to the Primary general presidency, Sister Durham, 61, had served as a member of the Primary general board since 2000. She and her husband, Mark P. Durham, presided over the Japan Tokyo North Mission. Mark Durham was also called as an Area Seventy during the Saturday afternoon session.
Area Seventies
Saturday's announcements included callings for 53 new Area Seventies. Area Seventies give part-time voluntary church service within their assigned geographic areas and support area presidencies in international areas.
Called as Area Seventies: Nelson Ardila, 48, Santander, Colombia; Jose M. Batalla, 54, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lawrence P. Blunck, 58, Canby, Ore.; Bradford C. Bowen, 63, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Mark A. Bragg, 52, Los Angeles, Calif.; Sergio Luis Carboni, 55, João Pessoa, Brazil; Armando Carreon, 46, San Luis Potosi, Mexico; S. Marc Clay Jr., 61, Syracuse, N.Y.; Z. Dominique Dekaye, 58, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; OsvaldoR. Dias, 41, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Michael M. Dudley, 63, Chesapeake, Va.; Mark P. Durham, 63, Salt Lake City, Utah; James E. Evanson, 46, Lethbridge, Canada; Paschoal F. Fortunato, 48, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Patricio M. Giuffra, 52, Santiago, Chile; Daniel P. Hall, 45, Johannesburg, South Africa; Toru Hayashi, 63, Hiroshima, Japan; Paul F. Hintze, 65, St. Louis, Mo.; J.K. Chukwuemeka Igwe, 47, Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Seung Hoon Koo, 52, Yongin-si, South Korea; Ming-Shun Kuan, 44, Taichung City, Taiwan; Johnny L. Leota, 48, Sydney, Australia; Carlo M. Lezano, 42, Santa Anita, Peru; Joel Martinez, 47, Guadalupe, Mexico; J. Vaun McArthur, 62, Aiken, South Carolina; Kyle S. McKay, 55, Kaysville, Utah; Helamán Montejo, 38, Saltillo, Mexico; A. Fabio Moscoso, 45, Lima, Peru; Michael R. Murray, 59, Redmond, Washington; Norman R. Nemrow, 60, Provo, Utah; S. Mark Palmer, 59, Austin, Texas; Ferdinand P. Pangan, 47, Davao City, Philippines; Jairus C. Perez, 47, Cebu, Philippines; Steven M. Petersen, 58, Farr West, Utah; Wolfgang Pilz, 61, Darmstadt, Germany; Jay D. Pimentel, 61, Oakland, Calif.; John C. Pingree Jr., 48, Salt Lake City, Utah; Edvaldo B. Pinto Jr., 47, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Evan A. Schmutz, 60, Orem, Utah; K. David Scott, 52, Chicago, Ill.; Paul H. Sinclair, 49, Indianapolis, Ind.; Benjamin T. Sinjoux, 62, Papeete, French Polynesia; Rulon F. Stacey, 54, Minneapolis, Minn.; David L. Stapleton, 56, Kennewick, Wash.; Karl M. Tilleman, 54, Phoeniz, Ariz.; William R. Titera, 60, Cleveland, Ohio; Seiji Tokuzawa, 50, Tokyo, Japan; Carlos R. Toledo, 51, Vinhedo, Brazil; Cesar E. Villar, 50, Lima, Peru; Juan Pablo Villar, 45, Santiago, Chile; David T. Warner, 51, Provo, Utah; Gary K. Wilde, 59, Ventura, Calif.; Robert K. William, 43, Bangalore, India.
Releases also were announced for 53 Area Seventies, effective May 1: Juan C. Avila, Philip K. Bussey, René J. Cabrera, Renato Capelletti, Paul D. M. Christensen, Samuel W. Clark, Rogério G. R. Cruz, George R. Donaldson, Ini B. Ekong, Christian H. Fingerle, Craig G. Fisher, Jerryl L. Garns, M. Keith Giddens, Allen D. Haynie, Jui Chang Juan, George M. Keele, Von G. Keetch, Katsumi Kusume, German Laboriel, J. Christopher Lansing, Gustavo Lopez, Dmitry V. Marchenko, Peter F. Meurs, T. Jackson Mkhabela, Hugo Montoya, Valentín F. Nuñez, Hee Keun Oh, Jeffery E. Olson, R. Ingvar Olsson, Norbert K. Ounleu, Robert N. Packer, Nathaniel R. Payne, Cesar A. Perez Jr., Michael J. Reall, Edson D. G. Ribeiro, Brad K. Risenmay, Walter C. Selden, Mozart B. Soares, Carlos Solis, Norland Souza, Vern P. Stanfill, T. Marama Tarati, Kouzou Tashiro, Ruben D. Torres, Omar Villalobos, Jack D. Ward, Alan J. Webb, Gerardo J. Wilhelm and Jim L. Wright. Email: ttoone@deseretnews.com Twitter: tbtoone
