Bishop Merrill J. Bateman was sustained as Presiding Bishop of the Church Saturday afternoon, succeeding Bishop Robert D. Hales, who was called to the Council of the Twelve.
Bishop Bateman, 57, becomes the 12th Presiding Bishop in the history of the Church. Before his called as Presiding Bishop he had served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy since June 1992, and was president of the Asia North Area.Prior to his call to be a General Authority, Bishop Bateman headed his own consulting and capital management companies. He earlier had been dean of the College of Business and the School of Management at BYU. Before joining the BYU faculty, he was an executive with Mars Inc., in England and the United States.
A native of Lehi, Utah, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Utah and a doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bishop Bateman has served as bishop, high councilor, stake president and regional representative. He has also helped lay the foundation for the Church's establishment in Ghana and Nigeria.
He and his wife, Marilyn, are parents of seven children.
