Representatives of Iceland and Uzbekistan met with the First Presidency — President Russell M. Nelson, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring — this past week. The leaders met in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Ambassador of Iceland
Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Iceland’s ambassador to the United States, met with the First Presidency on Thursday, Jan. 18. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Carl B. Cook, senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy, were also in attendance.
Ellertsdóttir visited Welfare Square earlier that day, and on Friday, Jan. 19, she visited the Provo Missionary Training Center. She later met with President C. Shane Reese of Brigham Young University, where she gave a lecture.
The ambassador traveled to Spanish Fork, Utah, to tour the Icelandic Monument, a memorial honoring Latter-day Saint pioneers who settled there between 1854 and 1914. This monument, dedicated in August 1938, depicts a lighthouse with a Viking ship on top.
Also featured at the memorial are a 1-ton rock brought over from Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, and a wall with the pioneers’ names, both of which were dedicated in June 2005 by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former president of Iceland, attended the 2005 ceremony.
Approximately 400 Latter-day Saints among three congregations currently reside in Iceland.
Permanent representative of Uzbekistan
Ulugbek Lapasov — permanent representative of Uzbekistan to the United Nations — and Uzbekistan First Secretary Otabek Khojimatov met with the First Presidency on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was also present.
During this first trip to Utah, Lapasov visited the Church’s Humanitarian Center and attended a BYU devotional with Elder Bednar. He also met with Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson to discuss Uzbekistan’s history and role in trade and education.
