The calling of five new members of the First Quorum of the Seventy was announced during the opening day of conference, Saturday, April 3.
Three of the new members of the First Quorum were previously serving in the Second Quorum of the Seventy and two were called as new General Authorities.Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy called to the First Quorum of the Seventy are Elder F. Melvin Hammond, Elder Kenneth Johnson and Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen.
Called as new General Authorities to serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy are Neil L. Andersen of Tampa, Fla., and D. Todd Christofferson of Charlotte, N.C.
Biographies of the new members of the First Quorum are:
Elder Hammond, 59, has served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy since April 1989. He is currently first counselor in the Mexico South Area presidency, having previously served as a counselor in the Mexico Area presidency. Prior to his call to full-time Church service, he was president of the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission. He has also served as a stake president, bishop, temple worker and Sunday School teacher.
He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from BYU, and at the time of his call to be a General Authority he was a professor of religion at Ricks College. He had also served eight terms in the Idaho State Legislature and was minority leader for three terms. Elder Hammond and his wife, Bonnie Sellers Hammond, have six children.
Elder Johnson, 52, was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in March 1990. He is serving as first counselor in the Europe North Area presidency. He earlier served as a regional representative, stake president and counselor in a stake presidency, bishop's counselor, district missionary and Sunday School teacher.
He is a native of Norwich, England, and a graduate of Norwich City College. He did graduate work with the City and Guilds of London Institute of Printing, after which he became a college instructor. He served from 1964 until 1990 with a British insurance brokerage firm and was a partner at the time of his call to full-time Church service. He and his wife, Pamela Wilson Johnson, have one child.
Elder Mickelsen, 57, was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in March 1990. He is president of the South America South Area. Prior to his call to be a General Authority, he served as president of the Colombia Cali Mission, as a regional representative, stake president and bishop.
He attended Ricks College and is a graduate of BYU. He was an independent farmer and potato shipper in Idaho before his full-time Church service. He also served on a hospital board and in several farm associations.
Elder Mickelsen and his wife, Jeanine Andersen Mickelsen, are parents of nine children.
Elder Andersen, 41, has been serving as vice president of Morton Plant Health System in Clearwater, Fla. He is a former owner and president of an advertising agency in Tampa, Fla., and earlier was a partner in another Tampa ad agency for seven years.
The new General Authority was born in Logan, Utah, but was raised in Pocatello, Idaho. He is a graduate of BYU and earned a master of business administration degree from Harvard. He had recently been serving as president of the Tampa Florida Stake. He earlier served as president of the France Bordeaux Mission and has also been a stake president's counselor and high councilor. As a young man, he served as a missionary in France. He and his wife, Kathy Sue Williams Andersen, are parents of four children.
Elder Christofferson, 48, is associate general counsel of Nation's Bank Corp., in Charlotte, N.C. He earlier was senior vice president and general counsel for Sovran Bank of Tennessee in Nashville. Prior to that he practiced law in Washington, D.C., after serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica in Washington.
The Pleasant Grove, Utah, native earned his bachelor's degree from BYU and his law degree from Duke University. He has most recently been serving as a regional representative. He previously was president of the Franklin Tennessee Stake and has also served as a stake president's counselor, high councilor and bishop. As a young man he served as a missionary in Argentina. He and his wife, Katherine Thelma Jacob Christofferson, are parents of five children.
