During the Saturday afternoon session of general conference on March 31, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, announced the calling of eight new General Authority Seventies, 55 Area Seventies and two new members of the Presidency of the Seventy.
Elder Carl B. Cook and Elder Robert C. Gay will serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, filling the vacancies left by the callings of Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares to the Quourm of the Twelve Apostles.
General Authority Seventies “serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, in area presidencies, and in other headquarters administrative functions,” according to Mormon Newsroom. “Under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, they travel frequently to meet with and teach Church leaders, missionaries and members of the Church in local congregations. They have authority to serve anywhere in the world, while the authority of Area Seventies is generally limited to the area where they serve.”
New Members of the Presidency of the Seventy:
Elder Carl B. Cook
Elder Carl B. Cook was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 2, 2011. Elder Cook received a bachelor of arts from Weber State College in 1981 and a master of business administration from Utah State University in 1982. Prior to his call as a General Authority, he worked in commercial real estate development.
Elder Robert C. Gay
Elder Robert C. Gay was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on March 31, 2012. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southeast Area. He recently served at Church headquarters as chairman of the Self-Reliance Services/Perpetual Education Fund Committee with responsibilities for worldwide self-reliance services.
New General Authority Seventies:
Elder Steven R. Bangerter
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, 56, was serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder Bangerter received a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from Arizona State University in 1989. In 1993, he received a juris doctor degree from the Western State University College of Law. He practiced law with Cooksey, Toolen, Gage, Duffy & Woog from 1993 to 2003. Since that time, he has served as managing partner for Bangerter Frazier & Graff, PC. His legal career has focused on representing churches and other faith-based organizations.
Elder Matthew L. Carpenter
Elder Matthew L. Carpenter, 58, was serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Central Area at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder Carpenter received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Brigham Young University in 1983. In 1987 he received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. During his career, he has worked as CEO of Bay View Commercial Financial Group and most recently as managing director of Genesis Financial Services Fund and Foundation Specialty Financing Fund.
Elder Jack N. Gerard
Elder Jack N. Gerard, 60, was serving as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and Sunday School president at the time of his call as a General Authority. He served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy from 2010 to 2016.
Elder Gerard received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree, both from George Washington University. During his career, he has worked as president and CEO for several entities, including McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander, Inc.; National Mining Association; America Chemistry Council; and most recently, American Petroleum Institute.
Elder Mathias Held
Elder Mathias Held, 57, was serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the South America Northwest Area at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder Held received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá in 1983. In 1985, he received a master’s degree in business administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He worked for more than 25 years for Daimler AG in different countries such as Germany, Guatemala, Brazil and most recently in Colombia as general manager of Daimler Colombia. In 2017, he began working as general manager to LED Industrial Group Colombia.
Elder David P. Homer
Elder David P. Homer, 56, was serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Europe Area, at the time of his call as a General Authority. He previously served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area from 2013 to 2014.
Elder Homer received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Utah in 1985. In 1987, he received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania. For 31 years he worked at General Mills, Inc., including assignments in the United States, Latin America, Australasia, Canada and Europe. When he retired, he was CEO of Cereal Partners Worldwide, a global joint venture between General Mills and Nestlé S.A.
Elder Kyle S. McKay
Elder Kyle S. McKay, 58, was serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah North Area at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder McKay received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1984. In 1987, he received a juris doctor degree from Brigham Young University. From 1987 to 2018, Elder McKay practiced law in Oregon and Utah.
Elder Juan Pablo Villar
Elder Juan Pablo Villar, 48, was serving as a member of the Seventh Quorum of the Seventy in the South America South Area at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder Villar received a bachelor’s degree in social communications and public relations in 1994 and a master’s degree in marketing in 2002. He also obtained a Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University in 2007. His work experience includes commercial and marketing positions in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry. He also worked in the mining industry for Orica in 2008, running business improvement programs in Latin America, and most recently working as a senior manager.
Elder Takashi Wada
Elder Takashi Wada, 53, was serving as a Gospel Doctrine teacher at the time of his call as a General Authority.
Elder Wada received a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics in 1990 and a master’s degree in business administration in 1996, both from Brigham Young University. His professional career has included several positions for multinational corporations in the United States and Japan, as well as the position of director for temporal affairs for the Church in the North America West, Northwest and Asia North Areas.
Area Seventies
Richard K. Ahadjie
Alberto A. Álvarez
Duane D. Bell
Glenn Burgess
Víctor R. Calderón
Ariel E. Chaparro
Daniel Córdova
John N. Craig
Michael Cziesla
William H. Davis
Richard J. DeVries
Kylar G. Dominguez
Sean Douglas
Michael A. Dunn
Kenneth J. Firmage
Edgar Flores
Silvio Flores
Saulo G. Franco
Carlos A. Genaro
Mark A. Gilmour
Sergio A. Gómez
Roberto Gonzalez
Virgilio Gonzalez
Spencer R. Griffin
Matthew S. Harding
David J. Harris
Kevin J. Hathaway
Richard Holzapfel
Eustache Ilunga
Okechukwu I. Imo
Peter M. Johnson
Michael D. Jones
Pungwe S. Kongolo
George Kenneth G. Lee
Aretemio C. Maligon
Edgar A. Mantilla
Lincoln P. Martins
Clement M. Matswagothata
Carl R. Maurer
Daniel S. Mehr II
Glen D. Mella
Isaac K. Morrison
Yutaka Nagatomo
Allistair B. Odgers
R. Jeffrey Parker
Victor P. Patrick
Denis E. Pineda
Henrique S. Simplicio
Jeffrey H. Singer
Michael L. Staheli
Djarot Subiantoro
Jeffrey K. Wetzel
Michael S. Wilstead
Helmut Wondra
David L. Wright
