Elder Jack N. Gerard

General Authority Seventy

As a boy, Elder Jack N. Gerard woke every day around 5:00 a.m. to help care for the family’s dairy cows. Growing up in a small farming community near Mud Lake, Idaho, USA, taught him not only to work hard and take responsibility but also to recognize the worth of all individuals as children of God.

“Everyone had a role to play and everyone was here for a purpose, regardless of status or stature in life,” said Elder Gerard, who was sustained on March 31, 2018, as a General Authority Seventy. That lesson has been a gift throughout his life.

His career, which has included prominent leadership roles for several entities—such as the National Mining Association, the America Chemistry Council, and, recently, the American Petroleum Institute—has provided him with opportunities to associate with people from all walks of life.

Elder Gerard was born in 1957 to James and Cecil Gasser Gerard. After serving in the Sydney Australia Mission, Elder Gerard attended the University of Idaho, where he received an internship and then a full-time position on the staff of an Idaho congressman.

While working in Washington, D.C., he met Claudette Neff, who was working as a staff assistant to a Utah senator. “She radiated the light of the gospel,” Elder Gerard said of their meeting. The two were married on April 4, 1984, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have eight children and four grandchildren.

Elder Gerard received both a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree from George Washington University.

Elder Gerard has served as a bishop, stake president, Area Seventy, Gospel Doctrine teacher, and Sunday School president.

Elder Gerard said he and his wife share a desire to do the Lord’s will. “As weak mortals, we are committed to whatever the Lord would have us do, and we are humbled and honored … to consecrate our time and efforts to the work of the Lord.”