SALT LAKE CITY — The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the calling of 10 new General Authority Seventies, including the first African-American; 55 Area Seventies; and a new Sunday School Presidency during the Saturday afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference.
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, announced the changes in conducting the sustaining of Church leaders the opening moments of the session.
The new General Authority Seventies sustained are Elder Rubén V. Alliaud, Elder Jorge M. Alvarado, Elder Hans T. Boom, Elder L. Todd Budge, Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, Elder Peter M. Johnson, Elder John A. McCune, Elder James R. Rasband, Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai and Elder Alan R. Walker.
Elder Johnson is the first African-American general authority, according to Church Public Affairs.
Brother Mark L. Pace was sustained as the new Sunday School general president, with Brother Milton Camargo and Brother Jan E. Newman as his counselors. They replace Brother Tad. R. Callister, Brother Devin G. Durrant and Brother Brian K. Ashton, who are the outgoing presidents. Brothers Callister and Durrant have served for five years, with Brother Ashton joining the presidency a year later in 2015.
General Authority Seventies
Elder Alliaud, 53, was serving as an institute teacher, first counselor in the Argentina Missionary Training Center presidency and public affairs director at the time of his call as a general authority. He earned a law degree from the University of Belgrano before starting a career in national civil courts and later specializing in criminal law. More recently, he has worked as an attorney and a managing partner for a law firm.
His church service has included full-time missionary in the Uruguay Montevideo Mission, elders quorum president, counselor in a stake mission presidency, young single adult adviser, counselor in a bishopric, high councilor, bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president, Area Seventy in the South America South Area and president of the Argentina Córdoba Mission. He married Fabiana Bennett in 1992. They are the parents of six children.
Elder Alvarado, 48, has served a high councilor in his local stake. He studied management at the University of Puerto Rico and went on to become a manager for Sam’s Club, a regional manager for Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc., and manager and facilitator for Franklin Covey. In recent years he has worked as an international manager for Self-Reliance Services at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Elder Alvarado served as a full-time missionary in the Tampa Florida Mission, ward mission leader, branch president, district council, mission executive secretary, stake president, Area Seventy in the North America Southeast and Caribbean Areas, president of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission and counselor in a bishopric. He and his wife, Cari Lu Rios, are the parents of three children.
Elder Boom, 55, was serving as a temple ordinance worker for The Hague Netherlands Temple and an institute teacher when called into full-time church leadership. He received a degree in administration from Mavo Hoge Vught before working as secretary to the principal of Markenhage College and recruiter for Franchise Development Benelux. Before his call, he worked as a sales manager for MacLean Agencies.
Elder Boom has served as a full-time missionary in the England London East Mission, counselor in a branch presidency, branch president, stake Young Men president, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president and Area Seventy in the Europe Area. He and his wife, Ariena Johanna Broekzitter, are the parents of three children.
Before his call, Elder Budge, 59, served an Area Seventy and a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah Salt Lake City Area. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from BYU and worked for Bain & Company Japan, Citibank N.A. and GE Capital in both Atlanta and Japan. He went on to become president and chief executive officer of Tokyo Star Bank Limited and chairman of the board before he retired from the bank in 2011. He also served as a member of the board of directors for Hawaiian Airlines.
Elder Budge has served as a full-time missionary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, stake Young Men president, elders quorum president, stake executive secretary, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president and president of the Japan Tokyo Mission. He and his wife, Lori Capener, are the parents of six children.
Elder Giménez, 47, has served as a counselor in a stake presidency. He received an undergraduate degree in accounting and auditing from the University of Santiago, Chile as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chile. He started his career working for the mining industry, then worked in the information technology industry as a finance director for Computer Sciences Corporation in Latin America. He later returned to the mining industry as part of a finance operations team and an administrative manager.
Elder Giménez has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Chile Concepción Mission, high councilor, counselor in a ward Young Men presidency, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president and Area Seventy in the Chile and South America South Areas. He and his wife, Catherine Ivonne Carrazana Zúñiga, are the parents of two children.
Elder Johnson, 52, has served as an Area Seventy and a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southeast Area. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Southern Utah University before going on to earn a doctorate in accounting from Arizona State University. During his career, he has worked as a staff accountant, an associate professor at BYU–Hawaii, assistant professor of accountancy at BYU and associate professor of accountancy at the University of Alabama.
Elder Johnson served as a full-time missionary in the Alabama Birmingham Mission, counselor in a bishopric, ward Young Men president, stake financial clerk, ward mission leader and stake president. He and his wife, Stephanie Lyn Chadwick, are the parents of four children.
Elder McCune, 55, has served as an Area Seventy and a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from BYU and received a Master of Business Administration in finance from UCLA. While working as the senior vice president and a managing director for Capitol Investment Advisors, he was called to serve as a mission president. In 2016, he became donor liaison for principal gifts with LDS Philanthropies.
Elder McCune has served as a full-time missionary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, ward finance clerk, elders quorum president, counselor in a ward Young Men presidency, counselor in a branch presidency, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president and president of the Utah Provo Mission. He and his wife, Debbra Ellen Kingsbury, are the parents of four children.
Elder Rasband, 56, has served as an Area Seventy and a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Near Eastern studies from BYU and a juris doctor degree in law from Harvard before beginning his career as an attorney with Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington. He joined the faculty of J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 1995 and later served as dean. Most recently he served BYU's academic vice president.
His Church service includes full-time missionary in the Korea Seoul Mission, ward mission leader, ward executive secretary, counselor in an elders quorum presidency, high councilor, bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, ward Young Men president, counselor in a bishopric, stake president, Gospel Doctrine teacher and assistant Scoutmaster. He and his wife, Mary Diane Williams, are the parents of four children.
Elder Tai, 46, was serving as an Area Seventy and a member of the Eighth Quorum of the Seventy in the Asia Area. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science from BYU and a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management. before working in investment banking and real estate development industries.
His Church service includes full-time missionary in the Australia Melbourne Mission, branch president, district executive secretary, Sunday School teacher, counselor in a district presidency and district president. He and his wife, Naomi Toma, are the parents of six children.
Elder Walker, 48, was serving as a gospel doctrine teacher when called. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from BYU and has worked in corporate banking for Citibank and as an area controller for the Church’s Mexico Area. In more recent years he has served as director for temporal affairs in the South America South Area.
His Church service includes full-time missionary in the Tennessee Nashville Mission, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, counselor in the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission presidency, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, president of the México Monterrey East Mission, Area Seventy in the México Area and ward mission leader. He and his wife, Ines Marcela Sulé, are the parents of one child.
Sunday School Presidency
Before his new call as Sunday School president, Brother Pace, 62, was serving as an Area Seventy. Born in Buenos Aires, he earned a degree in economics from the University of Utah and a masters of business administration from Harvard Business School before launching a career in real estate development.
He has served as an a full-time missionary in Spain, elders quorum president, Scoutmaster, bishopric counselor, ward Young Men president, high councilor, bishop and counselor in a stake presidency. He also served as president of the Spain Barcelona Mission from 2012-2015. He and his wife, Anne Marie, are the parents of seven children and 17 grandchildren.
Brother Camargo, who has served as an Area Seventy in Europe and Brazil, currently works as vice president of curriculum at BYU-Pathway Worldwide. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Instituto Militar De Engenharia and a masters of business administration from Brigham Young University.
He has served as a full-time missionary in Portugal, bishop, stake mission president, and elders quorum president. He also served as a mission president and in the presidency of the Brazil Missionary Training Center. He and his wife, Patricia, are the parents of three children and 13 grandchildren.
Brother Newman comes to the Sunday School Presidency after serving as a stake president. He earned a bachelor’s degree in French from BYU before working in the software industry in Utah for more than 30 years. During that time he founded several successful companies. He is a partner with a technology consulting company in Utah. He has served in various church callings, including full-time missionary in Belgium, bishop, stake president, Scoutmaster, ward Young Men president, and temple worker. He also served as president of the Nebraska Omaha Mission. He and his wife, Lucia, are the parents of six children and eight grandchildren.
Members of the Sunday School General Presidency advise on matters regarding the Sunday School, a program all Latter-day Saints age 12 and older are encouraged to participate in twice a month as part of regular weekly worship services.
Area Seventies
The following were called and sustained as Area Seventies: Solomon I. Aliche, Guillermo A. Alvarez, Daren R. Barney, Julius F. Barrientos, James H. Bekker, Kevin G. Brown, Mark S. Bryce, A. Marcos Cabral, Dunstan G. B. T. Chadambuka, Alan C. K. Cheung, Christian C. Chigbundu, Paul N. Clayton, Karim Del Valle, Hiroyuki Domon, Mernard P. Donato, Mark D. Eddy, Zachary F. Evans, Henry J. Eyring, Sapele Fa'alogo Jr., David L. Frischknecht, John J. Gallego, Efraín R. García, Robert Gordon, Mark A. Gottfredson, Thomas Hänni, Michael J. Hess, Glenn M. Holmes, Richard S. Hutchins, Tito Ibañez, Akinori Ito, Jeremy R. Jaggi, Kelly R. Johnson, Christopher Hyunsu Kim, H. Moroni Klein, 'Inoke F. Kupu, Stephen Chee Kong Lai, Victor D. Lattaro, Tarmo Lepp, Itzcoatl Lozano, Kevin J. Lythgoe, Edgar P. Montes, S. Ephraim Msane, Luiz C. D. Queiroz, Ifanomezana Rasolondraibe, Eduardo D. Resek, Tomás G. Román, Ramon E. Sarmiento, Jonathan S. Schmitt, Vai Sikahema, Denelson Silva, Luis Spina, Carlos G. Süffert, Voi R. Taeoalii, Sergio R. Vargas and Markus Zarse
