General Authorities and General Officers

First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

One of eight children (and a twin to a sister), Bishop Davies expresses deep gratitude for a father and mother who not only loved and nurtured their children, but also helped them appreciate the blessings and values of work. Weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, washing the stairs, and picking fruit helped put future work and life challenges into a better perspective. “As a young teenager, having the best-cut lawn in our neighborhood brought joy to me and I learned an important lesson: that a little extra effort can make a real difference in almost everything we do.”

Bishop Dean M. Davies, was named the first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 9, 2015. Prior to this assignment, he served as second counselor to Bishop Gary E. Stevenson since March 31, 2012.

Bishop Davies has been employed by the Church since July 1995 and has filled various assignments.  Most recently he was managing director of the Special Projects Department, with responsibility for special-purpose real estate, temple design, and temple construction.

Previous to Church employment, Bishop Davies was employed by High Industries, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and by Bechtel Investments, Inc., of San Francisco, California, where he specialized in the identification, acquisition, development, and management of investment properties. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics at Brigham Young University and has completed advanced executive programs at Stanford and Northwestern Universities.

Bishop Davies has served the Church as a mission president, mission president’s counselor, stake president, stake president’s counselor, stake executive secretary, high councilor, in several bishoprics, and as a full-time missionary in the Uruguay/Paraguay Mission.

Dean Myron Davies was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 5, 1951. He married Darla James on June 20, 1973, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have five children and seventeen grandchildren.

General conference talks

All General Conference talks by Dean M. Davies