Elder Michael A. Dunn

General Authority Seventy

Elder Michael A. Dunn’s parents divorced when he was a small child, but as his mother raised him, she instilled in him strong faith and values. After attending a private Episcopal school in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, he transferred to a public high school, where he met members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As his new friends and their parents welcomed him with open arms, Michael desired to learn about the Church. Eventually he decided to meet with the missionaries. Their teachings about the Godhead and Joseph Smith’s First Vision “landed in me with real power,” he said.

Through prayer he knew the gospel was true and was baptized during his senior year of high school. Since then, Elder Dunn has been “nurtured by a string of incredible leaders.”

He also acknowledges the providence of Heavenly Father and the Savior throughout his life. “I’m a believer,” Elder Dunn said. “I’m blessed to be a witness of Jesus Christ and promulgate His life, His goodness, His restored gospel today.”

Michael Austin Dunn was born on March 5, 1958, to Patricia and James R. Dunn in Tucson, Arizona, USA. He grew up in Salt Lake City. After serving a full-time mission in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, he married Linda Virginia Poulson in 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple. They have three children.

Elder Dunn received a bachelor’s degree in mass communication in 1981 and a master’s degree in communication in 2008, both from the University of Utah. He was the general manager of KUED (PBS Utah), president of Dunn Communications Inc., and most recently, managing director of BYUtv and BYU Radio.

Elder Dunn, who was serving as an Area Seventy at the time of his call, has served as a bishop, counselor in a bishopric, stake president, ward Young Men president, high councilor, and mission president of the South Africa Johannesburg Mission from 2014 to 2017.