Eight New Seventies Announced during April 2018 General Conference

• 31 March 2018

Newly called General Authority Seventies are congratulated following the Saturday afternoon session of the 188th Annual General Conference on March 31.

• Print
• Share 
  • E-mail
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency announced the calls of eight General Authority Seventies and 55 Area Seventies during the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2018 general conference.

He also announced that Elder Carl B. Cook and Elder Robert C. Gay will serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, filling the vacancies left by the calls of Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

General Authority Seventies serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, in Area Presidencies, and in other headquarters administrative functions. Under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, they travel frequently to meet with and teach Church leaders, missionaries, and members of the Church in local congregations. They have authority to serve anywhere in the world, while the authority of Area Seventies is generally limited to the area where they serve.

New Members of the Presidency of the Seventy

Elder Carl B. Cook

Elder Carl B. Cook was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2011. Elder Cook received a bachelor of arts from Weber State College in 1981 and a master of business administration from Utah State University in 1982. Prior to his call he worked in commercial real estate development.

Elder Robert C. Gay

Elder Robert C. Gay was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2012. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southeast Area. He recently served at Church headquarters as chairman of the Self-Reliance Services/Perpetual Education Fund Committee with responsibilities for worldwide self-reliance services.

General Authority Seventies

Elder Steven R. Bangerter

Elder Steven R. Bangerter was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018, at age 56. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area.

Elder Bangerter received a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from Arizona State University in 1989. In 1993 he received a juris doctor degree from the Western State University College of Law. He practiced law with Cooksey, Toolen, Gage, Duffy, & Woog from 1993 to 2003. Since that time, he has served as managing partner for Bangerter Frazier & Graff, PC. His legal career has focused on representing churches and other faith-based organizations.

Elder Matthew L. Carpenter

Elder Matthew L. Carpenter was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018, at age 58. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Central Area.

Elder Carpenter received a bachelor of science degree in business management from Brigham Young University in 1983. In 1987 he received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. During his career, he has worked as CEO of Bay View Commercial Financial Group and most recently as managing director of Genesis Financial Services Fund and Foundation Specialty Financing Fund.

Elder Jack N. Gerard

Elder Jack N. Gerard was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018, at age 60. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and Sunday School president. He served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy from 2010 to 2016.

Elder Gerard received a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree, both from George Washington University. During his career, he has worked as president and CEO for several entities, including McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander, Inc.; National Mining Association; America Chemistry Council; and, most recently, American Petroleum Institute.

Elder Mathias Held

Elder Mathias Held was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018, at age 57. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the South America Northwest Area.

Elder Held received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá in 1983. In 1985, he received a master’s degree in business administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He worked for more than 25 years for Daimler AG in different countries such as Germany, Guatemala, Brazil, and most recently in Colombia as general manager of Daimler Colombia. In 2017, he began working as general manager to LED Industrial Group Colombia.

Elder David P. Homer

Elder David P. Homer was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018, at age 56. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Europe Area. He previously served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area from 2013 to 2014.

Elder Homer received a bachelor of science degree in economics from the University of Utah in 1985. In 1987 he received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania. For 31 years he worked at General Mills, Inc., including assignments in the United States, Latin America, Australasia, Canada, and Europe. When he retired, he was CEO of Cereal Partners Worldwide, a global joint venture between General Mills and Nestlé S.A.

Elder Kyle S. McKay

Elder Kyle S. McKay was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of the Church on March 31, 2018, at age 58. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah North Area.

Elder McKay received a bachelor of arts degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1984. In 1987 he received a juris doctor degree from Brigham Young University. From 1987 to 2018, Elder McKay practiced law in Oregon and Utah.

Elder Juan Pablo Villar

Elder Juan Pablo Villar was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on March 31, 2018, at age 48. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Seventh Quorum of the Seventy in the South America South Area.

Elder Villar received a bachelor’s degree in social communications and public relations in 1994 and a master’s degree in marketing in 2002. He also obtained a master of business administration from Brigham Young University in 2007. His work experience includes commercial and marketing positions in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry. He also worked in the mining industry for Orica in 2008, running business improvement programs in Latin America, and most recently working as a senior manager.

Elder Takashi Wada

Elder Takashi Wada was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on March 31, 2018, at age 53. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a Gospel Doctrine teacher.

Elder Wada received a bachelor of arts degree in linguistics in 1990 and a master’s degree in business administration in 1996, both from Brigham Young University. His professional career has included several positions for multinational corporations in the United States and Japan, as well as the position of director for temporal affairs for the Church in the North America West, North America Northwest, and Asia North Areas.

Area Seventies

The following newly called Area Seventies were announced: Richard K. Ahadjie, Alberto A. Álvarez, Duane D. Bell, Glenn Burgess, Víctor R. Calderón, Ariel E. Chaparro, Daniel Córdova, John N. Craig, Michael Cziesla, William H. Davis, Richard J. DeVries, Kylar G. Dominguez, Sean Douglas, Michael A. Dunn, Kenneth J. Firmage, Edgar Flores, Silvio Flores, Saulo G. Franco, Carlos A. Genaro, Mark A. Gilmour, Sergio A. Gómez, Roberto Gonzalez, Virgilio Gonzalez, Spencer R. Griffin, Matthew S. Harding, David J. Harris, Kevin J. Hathaway, Richard Holzapfel, Eustache Ilunga, Okechukwu I. Imo, Peter M. Johnson, Michael D. Jones, Pungwe S. Kongolo, George Kenneth G. Lee, Aretemio C. Maligon, Edgar A. Mantilla, Lincoln P. Martins, Clement M. Matswagothata, Carl R. Maurer, Daniel S. Mehr II, Glen D. Mella, Isaac K. Morrison, Yutaka Nagatomo, Allistair B. Odgers, R. Jeffrey Parker, Victor P. Patrick, Denis E. Pineda, Henrique S. Simplicio, Jeffrey H. Singer, Michael L. Staheli, Djarot Subiantoro, Jeffrey K. Wetzel, Michael S. Wilstead, Helmut Wondra, and David L. Wright.

• Church Leaders