Elder S. Mark Palmer

Presidency of the Seventy

Elder S. Mark Palmer will be forever grateful for the joy and hope found in temple service and ordinances. A calling to serve weekly in the Dallas Texas Temple with his wife, Jacqueline, during one of the busiest times of their lives helped Elder Palmer reset his priorities. Serving in the temple taught him sacrifice, planning, and balance and helped him remember his covenants and become a better husband and father. Serving in the temple reminded him of the eternal nature of the family and of a joyful future reunion with departed loved ones, including a sister who passed away at age one.

Serving in the temple also helped Elder Palmer spiritually prepare for future priesthood callings, including as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Palmer, sustained on April 3, 2021, will begin his new responsibilities on August 1, 2021.

Stanley Mark Palmer was born on February 11, 1956, in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, to Kenneth and Jill Palmer. His family joined the Church when he was a child.

After serving a full-time mission in the New Zealand Wellington Mission, he earned a bachelor of commerce degree at the University of Auckland in 1979 and a master of business administration at Brigham Young University in 1982. While living in Provo, Utah, USA, he met a returned missionary named Jacqueline Wood. They were married in 1981 in the Salt Lake Temple. The Palmers have 6 children and 16 grandchildren.

Elder Palmer is president of SMP Ventures, a real estate development company he founded in Austin, Texas, USA. He has served as a bishop, stake president, president of the Washington Spokane Mission (2009–12), interim president of the Australia Sydney South Mission (2014), and Area Seventy.

He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 2, 2016, and currently serves as president of the Africa South Area.