Elder Gregorio E. Casillas

General Authority Seventy

Gregorio Enrique Casillas was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on August 26, 1975. He lived there until he served as a full-time missionary in the Mexico Tampico Mission.

He and Alma Angelina Obeso Gonzalez were sealed in the San Diego California Temple in June 1999. They are the parents of three children.

Before the two were married, they lived 100 miles (161 km) apart while he studied in Tijuana, and she studied in Mexicali. In the months before their marriage, they prayed and fasted to know where to live and start their family. Elder Casillas remembers the feeling he had from the Holy Ghost.

“I remember while we were fasting, hearing the Lord say, ‘If your mountain is La Rumorosa [a large mountain located between the two cities], I will take it away,’” Elder Casillas said.

He said the Lord cleared the path for the couple to be in Mexicali when the university there unexpectedly accepted him as a transfer student.

In Mexicali, “we met people we needed to meet. And we served in callings where we needed to serve,” he said.

This experience set a pattern for their life together. “When we put God first, all other things find their place,” Elder Casillas said. “It requires a little bit of faith and a little bit of action, and then the Lord extends His hand to bless us.”

Elder Casillas earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. He also earned a master of business administration from Xochicalco University. He has worked in construction project management and most recently as area temple facilities manager for the Church’s Mexico Area.

Elder Casillas has served as an Area Seventy, mission president over the Mexico Mexico City South Mission, stake president, bishop, high councilor, elders quorum president, and ward Young Men president.