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Sam Penrod and Bruce Lindsay reporting President Thomas S. Monson called two of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' apostles to serve as his counselors. One was expected, the other was not.
Both counselors were selected from the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. One has already served in the First Presidency, and the other brings an international face to top leadership of the worldwide church.
As President Monson entered the room, walking close behind him were President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the two men he chose to serve as his counselors in the new First Presidency of the Church.
"I express my deep gratitude for these two men who will serve as my counselors. They are tireless and innovative workers, completely dedicated to the Lord," President Monson said.
President Eyring became a familiar face in the Church last October when he was called as the second counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley and served alongside President Monson.
"I am humbled and honored to be invited to serve as a counselor to President Monson," President Eyring said. "I look forward with great anticipation to serving with President Monson, to have this opportunity to see his great influence and power go across to bless the Church and the whole world."
He added, "I pledge my whole heart to serve with him, knowing, as I do, his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his power to receive His revelation and know what it is we should do."
President Eyring is 74 years old and has a long history of church service in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and Presiding Bishopric. He is also a former president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho (now known as BYU-Idaho).
As a member of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve for just three and a half years, 67-year-old President Uchtdorf brings with him professional experience as an executive with Lufthansa Airlines and the perspective of a leader outside the United States.
President Monson said, "I might say about President Uchtdorf, he knows every airport in the world, and therefore he has access to every country in this world. He doesn't worry about visas or anything else. He's an international man."
President Uchtdorf was raised in Germany, where his family joined the church in 1947. He would later serve in several positions in the church and was called as a general authority in 1994. He was later sustained as an apostle in October of 2004.
"I tried to put the feelings of the day into two words and I came up with ‘joyfully overwhelmed,'" President Uchtdorf said.
"It is something which is a great honor, and I am very humbled by the call to serve as one of the counselors of President Monson," he added. "President Thomas S. Monson is a man I have known for many, many years. I know of his heart, his soul, his commitment."
With President Uchtdorf now in the First Presidency, there is a vacancy in the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which likely won't be filled until the Church's general conference in April.
