Get to Know the New Sunday School Presidency Sustained in April 2019 Conference
Brother Mark L. Pace (center) is the new Sunday School General President, with Brother Milton Camargo (left) and Brother Jan E. Newman (right) as his counselors.
The First Presidency announced the calling of a new Sunday School General Presidency during the Saturday afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference on April 6.
Brother Mark L. Pace
With an interview set for what would be a call to serve as the Church’s new Sunday School General President, Brother Mark L. Pace offered a prayerful commitment.
Brother Mark L. Pace, Sunday School General President.
“Heavenly Father, whatever Thou wouldst have me do, I’m happy to do it,” he prayed. “Just know that I’m all in.”
Brother Pace says his main desire in his new calling is to bless, support, and encourage members of the Church. “We want to give everything we have,” he said of the new Sunday School General Presidency.
Mark Leonard Pace was born on January 1, 1957, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Lorin Nelson and Marylynn Haymore Pace. At the time, Brother Pace’s father was presiding over the Argentine Mission.
Brother Pace met his future wife, Anne Marie Langeland, while the two were second-grade classmates in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Later, while attending different high schools in the city, they reconnected during a combined seminary activity. They wrote each other for the next few years as she accompanied her family to Norway, where her father presided over the Norway Oslo Mission, and while Brother Pace served in the Spain Madrid Mission. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on November 21, 1978, and are the parents of seven children.
Brother Pace graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah in 1980 and with a master of business administration degree from the Harvard Business School in 1982. After brief employment with Price Waterhouse in New York City, he joined the Boyer Company in Salt Lake City, working in commercial real estate development from 1984 to 2012. Following a three-year assignment as president of the Spain Barcelona Mission, he joined Gardner Company in 2015, doing real estate development.
At the time of his new calling, Brother Pace was serving as an Area Seventy. His previous Church callings include counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop, counselor in a bishopric, elders quorum president, ward Young Men president, and Scoutmaster.
Learn more about Brother Pace.
Brother Milton da Rocha Camargo
Brother Milton da Rocha Camargo, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency
It took nearly a year for Helio da Rocha Camargo, a former minister in another church, to decide to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A short while later, his wife, Nair Belmira da Rocha Camargo, decided to follow her husband’s example and be baptized as well.
At that time, Nair was pregnant with the couple’s son, whom they would name Milton. The Camargos’ unified decision to join the Church would forever bless future generations of their family.
Brother Milton da Rocha Camargo was born on March 10, 1958, in São Paulo, Brazil. Brother Camargo, sustained on April 6, 2019, as First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, says he is blessed to have grown up as a member of the Church.
“The Lord knows us individually,” he says. “His plans for each of us are bigger than we can imagine.”
Brother Camargo met his wife, Patricia, while his father presided over the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission in the late 1970s. The couple married on January 4, 1980, about a year after Brother Camargo returned home from serving as a full-time missionary in the Portugal Lisbon Mission. They have three children.
During the early years of their marriage, the Camargos lived in Rio de Janeiro, where Brother Camargo completed a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Instituto Militar de Engenharia. He later received a master of business administration degree from Brigham Young University.
Throughout his career, Brother Camargo has dedicated his time and energy to educating others. He has worked for several universities, including Laureate Brazil Online Education, Universidad Tecnológica de México, and most recently BYU-Pathway Worldwide as the vice president of curriculum.
Brother Carmargo has served as an Area Seventy, president of the Brazil Porto Alegre South Mission (1997–2000), counselor in the presidency of the Brazil Missionary Training Center (2002–5), bishop, stake mission president, and elders quorum president.
Learn more about Brother Carmago.
Brother Jan E. Newman
Brother Jan E. Newman, Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency
As a young missionary serving in Strasbourg, France, Jan E. Newman had a special spiritual experience that strengthened his testimony and allowed him to feel Heavenly Father’s love. This experience came as he read the prophet Alma’s words in the Book of Mormon about planting the seed of the gospel in our hearts (see Alma 32:28; 33:22–23).
“I read that if you make room for that seed in your heart, it will grow, and you will actually feel these swelling motions,” Brother Newman said. “I remember reading that and the Spirit just testifying to me so strongly that it was true. I felt those swelling motions. I will never forget that as long as I live.”
This and other experiences helped solidify Brother Newman’s testimony of the gospel and prepared him for a lifetime of service as a husband, father, and disciple of Jesus Christ.
Jan Eric Newman was born on April 16, 1960, in Jerome, Idaho, USA, to George Raymond and Dora Walker Newman. He was raised in Overton, Nevada, USA. His father was a convert, and his mother was a multigenerational Latter-day Saint.
He developed a testimony at a young age and served a full-time mission in France and Belgium. Following his mission, Brother Newman earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Brigham Young University. He enjoyed his degree so much that he considered becoming a French teacher but instead chose to pursue a career in the software industry. He worked as a serial entrepreneur for more than 30 years, founding several successful software companies. Currently, he is a partner at SageCreek Partners, a technology consulting company in Alpine, Utah.
Brother Newman married Lucia Price in the Oakland California Temple on August 18, 1984. They are the parents of six children and reside in Elk Ridge, Utah.
Brother Newman has served as a stake president, bishop, ward Young Men president, Scoutmaster, and temple worker. From 2006 to 2009, he served as president of the Nebraska Omaha Mission.
