President Emily Belle Freeman

Young Women General President

Many people may already be familiar with Emily Belle Freeman as a speaker, author, podcaster, and teacher. But for those who don’t know her—and even for those who do—President Freeman hopes the first thing they know about her is that she has a deep and abiding belief in Jesus Christ.

“It is through personal experiences with Him that I have come to know Heavenly Father and have come to experience revelation,” said President Freeman. “That has been the defining factor in my life—that lifelong companionship with Him.”

As she began her work as an author and podcaster, she asked herself what she wanted to focus on. The answer was to testify of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

She was born on December 31, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, while her father, McKinley McVichie Oswald, attended Harvard University. President Freeman said her mother, Leslie James Oswald, was one in a line of women “with a lot of energy and a lot of love.”

President Freeman, the oldest of six children, grew up in Sandy, Utah. Her life changed during her senior year of high school when her parents were called to lead the California Ventura Mission. She and her siblings took part in every mission, zone, and stake conference with their parents. After high school, she left California to study at Brigham Young University.

When Gregory Garth Freeman, who served in the California Ventura Mission, returned home to Bountiful, Utah, his mission leaders asked him to go watch their daughter at one of her speaking engagements in Utah. Emily and Gregory started dating soon afterward and were married in December 1989 in the Los Angeles California Temple. They have five children.

President Freeman has written more than a dozen books and spoken at a variety of conferences, workshops, and gatherings. She taught for many years in the Church Educational System and has served as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and as a ward Young Women and Relief Society president.