“Elder Patrick Kearon,” Liahona, November 2017
Elder Patrick Kearon
Presidency of the Seventy
While serving as President of the Europe Area, Elder Patrick Kearon witnessed the journey of two million refugees from the war-torn Middle East to safety in Europe. “After looking into their eyes and hearing their stories both of the terror they had fled and of their perilous journey to find refuge, I will never be the same,” he said. “It has been inspiring to witness what Church members from around the world have generously donated to help these individuals and families who have lost so much.”
Elder Kearon, who was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2010, was called to the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2017.
Elder Kearon was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, in July 1961, to Paddy and Patricia Kearon. With his father serving in the British Royal Air Force, Elder Kearon was educated in the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
While investigating the Church, he came upon a scripture in the Book of Mormon that read, “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). “That scripture rang in my ears,” Elder Kearon says. “In those I had met, I saw how our lives can be enormously enriched by following the Savior’s counsel to be of good cheer.” He joined the Church on Christmas Eve of 1987.
He met Jennifer Carole Hulme while she was studying in England with Brigham Young University. They were married in the Oakland California Temple in 1991 and lived in England until his call in 2010. They are the parents of four children.
He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States in various industries, including health care, food, transport, and automotive, and he ran his own communications consultancy. His civic and community involvement has included service on the boards of charities, a school, an enterprise agency, and a college.
Elder Kearon has served in numerous Church callings, including assistant ward clerk, ward Young Men president, counselor in a bishopric, branch president, stake president, and Area Seventy.