Elder Kent D. Watson

Of the Seventy

In looking back over his life, Elder Kent Dee Watson has always felt he was a believer and that he always had a testimony, but there was one event that had a profound effect on him.

“The decision I made as a young man to go on a mission has affected all facets of my life,” says Elder Watson, recently called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy.

He received a call to the Southern Far East Mission and served in Taiwan. “As a result of my mission I changed from being a mediocre student to a good student,” he continues. “It was because of my mission that I met my wife. I was introduced to her by a former mission companion. It was because of my mission that I studied Chinese. It was because of my mission that I found a profession in which I had an enjoyable career. It was because of my mission that our family has had the opportunity to live in several cities.”

Elder Watson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University and spent his professional career as a certified public accountant, eventually becoming the chair and CEO of an international accounting firm.

Elder Watson also had the opportunity to return to his mission area with his wife to serve as president of the Taiwan Taichung Mission and interim president of the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission. Working with so many young missionaries has given him confidence in the strength of the youth in the Church.

Elder Watson has served in a number of other Church callings, including as a bishop and a counselor in a stake presidency.

Elder Watson was born in Cedar City, Utah, USA, to Lorenzo Dee Watson and Joyce Watson on May 8, 1943. He married Connie Lingmann on August 23, 1967, in the Salt Lake Temple, and they are the parents of five children.