During the Saturday morning session of the April 2025 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, members sustained 16 new General Authority Seventies. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, led the sustainings.
Following is a brief look at the new leaders, who have ties to countries around the world. A more in-depth profile on each will appear in coming weeks.
Elder John D. Amos
In 2020, Elder John D. Amos received a life-changing calling to become a mission president for the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission. Many things in his life required change because of the call, but Elder and Sister Amos gracefully accepted the assignment with faith.
“The decision and the commitment were already made a long time ago,” said Elder Amos. “When the Lord calls, we just answer.”
John D. Amos was born on Nov. 2, 1961, in Lafayette, Louisiana, to John N. Amos Sr. and Dorothy Victorian Amos. He met his future wife, Michelle Evette Wright, through classes they took together in college, sharing a major in electrical engineering.
Michelle, already a member of the Church, invited John to a church dance on their first date. After that, he started learning more about the Church and the Savior’s central role in the restored gospel.
“Everything is about Jesus Christ,” he said. “He is the center of all things.”
Elder Amos and Michelle Wright were married June 9, 1990, in the Atlanta Georgia Temple. They have three children and six grandchildren.
Elder Amos has earned degrees in electrical and nuclear engineering. During his career, he served in the United States Navy, worked at Siemens Energy Inc., and taught at the University of Central Florida.
His previous Church callings include Area Seventy (North America Southeast Area), mission president, stake presidency counselor, bishop, bishopric counselor, ward Sunday School president, ward executive secretary, high priests group leader and Nursery leader.
— Zoey Diede
Elder Ronald M. Barcellos
At 12 years old, Elder Ronald M. Barcellos read the Book of Mormon for the first time. When he finished reading it, he approached the seminary teacher in his ward and asked if he could start attending seminary classes.
“I attended seminary from age 12 to 18 because I just loved being there and listening to the stories of the Bible and the Book of Mormon,” he said. “I have always felt this love for the gospel, and I just always felt it was true.”
Serving a mission later solidified his faith, and he vowed to always prioritize the gospel in his life.
“Stay close to [Heavenly Father], honor your covenants, and His plans for you will materialize.”
Ronald Maldonado Barcellos was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 4, 1975, to Sérgio Barcellos Silveira and Marcia Maldonado Barcellos Silveira. He married Karin Spat Albino Barcellos Silveira in the São Paulo Brazil Temple on Dec. 4, 1999. They are the parents of three children.
Elder Barcellos studied business administration at São Marcos University. His professional career included working for several companies in sales and marketing roles and as an entrepreneur. He co-founded several businesses, including GreenMile, LLC, where he was chief executive officer for several years.
Elder Barcellos recently concluded his service as mission president in the Portugal Lisbon Mission. He has also served as a stake presidency counselor, high councilor, stake Young Men president, bishop, bishopric counselor, high priests group leader, elders quorum president and seminary teacher.
— Jon Ryan Jensen
Elder Steven C. Barlow
One of the most poignant experiences Elder Steven C. Barlow has had with the Holy Ghost was the “undeniable impression from heaven that [he] needed to marry Christina Evans.” They were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1991 and have five children.
Elder and Sister Barlow served as mission leaders in Ecuador from 2017 to 2020, including at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, many missionaries returned home, while other missionaries were reassigned to the Barlows’ mission. Elder and Sister Barlow witnessed the hand of the Lord directing those missionary efforts.
“We put our trust in the Lord,” he recalled. “There were times when we didn’t know what was going to happen the next day. We remained flexible and ready. We were prayerful, and it all worked out.”
This experience reinforced lessons he had been taught earlier that the Lord is in charge and can always be trusted.
Elder Barlow received a bachelor’s degree in health education from the University of Utah in 1993. He has worked as an executive in data analytics and quality improvements in health care. At the time of his call, Elder Barlow was serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area.
Elder Steven Chad Barlow was born in Bountiful, Utah, on Jan. 1, 1969, to Jon Kay Barlow and Becky Christensen Barlow. He was “raised by amazingly devoted, faithful parents” who taught him the gospel from an early age.
— Michelle Dennis Christensen
Elder Kevin G. Brown
When Kevin Brown was 12 years old, a sister missionary challenged him to read the Book of Mormon. So, every morning he would pray, read and pray again. With each prayer, he asked Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was true.
He recalls that one morning while praying, he “didn’t even have to ask the question. The Lord’s answer came in such a profound way.” He felt the Lord tell him: “I know you, and I love you. You are my son.”
Immediately, the Holy Ghost confirmed to him: “This is God’s truth. The Book of Mormon is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet.” This experience changed his life.
Elder Brown credits the influence of that sister missionary and others for where he is now. From a young age, he was influenced by members of the Church who helped him — from his district president to Primary teachers, from young missionaries to senior missionaries, and especially his wife, Sister Nadine Brown, who has had the biggest impact of all aside from the Lord.
Kevin George Brown was born on May 18, 1976, in Manchester, Jamaica, to Desmond Holness and Patsy Williams Brissett. He married Nadine Lezanne Carter in 1999. They have five children.
Elder Brown received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Technology, Jamaica, in 2008.
He received a master’s degree in governance and public policy from the University of the West Indies in 2012. Since 2001 he has worked for the Church’s Seminaries and Institutes of Religion.
At the time of his call, Elder Brown was serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area.
— Michelle Dennis Christensen
Elder B. Corey Cuvelier
When Elder B. Corey Cuvelier announced he was leaving his job to become a mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his colleagues asked, “Are you crazy?”
Elder Cuvelier said his colleagues struggled to understand why he would step away from his flourishing career for three years. But their questions were opportunities, he said, “to share why we do what we do and why we believe what we believe and in whom we believe. That’s Jesus Christ.”
Brian Corey Cuvelier was born Jan. 12, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, where he was adopted and raised. His father, Heinz Joachim Cuvelier, was a police officer; his mother, JoAnn Leslie Jarnecke Cuvelier, kept the home. He is the oldest of four children.
As a young missionary, Elder Cuvelier served in the Brazil São Paulo South Mission. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1994 with a degree in public relations and joined Shell Oil Co. in 1996, where he worked across various North America business units.
Elder Cuvelier married Wendi Sue Manwaring on July 18, 1992, in the Los Angeles California Temple. They are the parents of four boys. The Cuveliers served as mission leaders in the Brazil Curitiba South Mission from 2016 to 2019 and now live in Katy, Texas.
Previously, Elder Cuvelier served as an Area Seventy in the North America Southwest Area, stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, bishop, bishopric counselor and ward Young Men president.
— Kaitlyn Bancroft
Elder Michael Cziesla
Elder Michael Cziesla remembers the struggles of 2017 very well. On a Tuesday in January, he lost his employment with an international law firm when the company declared insolvency. The next day his home was flooded when a water line broke. Burglars ransacked his house the third day trying to take the family’s valuables. In a few days, his life turned upside down.
“I smiled that Sunday as usual as I sat on the stand as stake president,” he said. “No one knew what was going on. But inside I was grieving terribly. I was in a very dark place.”
After the meeting, a quiet, gentle man in the ward asked him what was wrong. “He simply listened, and then he hugged me,” Elder Cziesla said. “I felt the Lord embracing me, that He knew my plight, that all would be right.”
Michael Cziesla was born to Armin Ludwig and Irmtraut Hanna in Neumünster, Germany, on July 26, 1972. He grew up in Schleswig-Holstein and later served in the Utah Ogden Mission. His wife, Margret Anne Rauh, served in the Temple Square Mission. They married in the Frankfurt Germany Temple on April 4, 1997. At the time of his call, they lived with their five children in Griesheim, Germany, where they have enjoyed wandering through the forests and vacationing on an island in Denmark.
Elder Cziesla earned a law degree from the University of Mainz in 2000. He completed his law career as senior corporate partner at McDermott Will & Emery.
Prior to his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Cziesla served as an Area Seventy in the Europe Central Area, interim mission president in the Germany Frankfurt Mission, stake president, high councilor and bishopric counselor.
— Shaun D. Stahle
Elder James E. Evanson
Elder James Eugene Evanson grew up on a sugar beet farm in the small village of Barnwell east of Lethbridge, Alberta.
A descendant of faithful pioneer stock, Elder Evanson was raised in a home where “the gospel was taught and lived,” he said.
At 10 years old, he read all 16 volumes of the family’s illustrated Book of Mormon and Church history stories and decided to follow Joseph Smith’s example. Sneaking into a grove of trees across the road, he knelt and prayed and received a confirmation from the Spirit that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, the Book of Mormon is true and Jesus Christ is his Savior.
That conviction, received as a little boy, has spurred a lifetime of dedicated service in the Church, including as an Area Seventy, stake president and president of the Utah Orem Mission. At the time of his call, he was serving as a Valiant activity day leader in his ward in Lethbridge.
Elder Evanson was born in Taber, Alberta, on Aug. 16, 1968, one of eight children born to Dale Eugene and Phyllis Tanner Evanson.
After serving a mission in Tempe, Arizona, Elder Evanson married Jody Karil Zobell on Dec. 20, 1989, in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of five children and have 11 grandchildren.
He earned a bachelor’s degree and a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Alberta and worked as a dentist in private practice for 26 years.
— Rachel Sterzer Gibson
Elder Brik V. Eyre
Serving three years as the Arizona Phoenix Mission president was an “unbelievable” experience for Elder Brik V. Eyre.
• Alongside his wife, Sister Susan Eyre, as mission leaders — “when you’re equally yoked with your companion … and so we served side by side.”
• With hundreds of full-time missionaries — “I don’t know that I can even explain the incredible blessing it is to spend every day with authorized representatives of Jesus Christ for three years.”
Elder Brik Vern Eyre was born Jan. 17, 1964, in Logan, Utah, to Vern Bingham Eyre and Emma Rae Anderson Eyre; he has five older sisters. He has ancestors among early members of the Church. Elder Eyre served in the Guatemala Guatemala City Mission and then married Susan Zari Rahimzadeh in the Logan Utah Temple on June 27, 1987. Sister Eyre’s father is of Muslim ancestry and her mother of Latter-day Saint ancestry. The Eyres live in the Park City Utah Stake; they have five adult children.
Elder Eyre earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Utah State University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Tulsa. He has worked in the medical products industry, including for Baxter International as senior vice president and president of the Americas, and most recently as a HemaSource board member.
At the time of his call as a general authority, Elder Eyre was serving as an Area Seventy. He also has been a stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, bishop, Young Men president and early morning seminary teacher.
— David Schneider
Elder Ozani Farias
Praying about challenging decisions became foundational to Elder Ozani Farias from a young age. Elder Farias prayed when he first met the missionaries at age 15. He prayed about serving a mission, education, marriage and employment opportunities.
And even when the path was not clear, he knew what he had to do.
“God always goes first,” he said. “Serve Him first. We have seen big blessings from doing this.”
Following the promptings of the Holy Ghost has never led him and his wife astray, he said.
“I have learned the power of personal revelation. God talks to His children,” he said. “And God has a plan for each individual.”
Ozani Barboza Marques Farias was born in Recife, Brazil, on Oct. 19, 1969, to parents José Osanã Farias and Severina Barbosa Marques. He was sealed to his wife, Sister Giovanna de Medeiros Prata Farias, in the São Paulo Brazil Temple on Jan. 18, 1994. They have three children.
Elder Farias earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Catholic University of Pernambuco, a postgraduate degree in finance from Pernambuco University and an MBA from the Getulio Vargas Foundation. He has worked for the Church in different positions, including financial manager, human resources manager and most recently as the director of temporal affairs for the Brazil Area.
Elder Farias is currently serving as mission president of the Georgia Atlanta Mission. He has also served as a stake presidency counselor, stake clerk, high councilor, bishop, bishopric counselor and Primary teacher.
— Jon Ryan Jensen
Elder Aaron T. Hall
Elder Aaron T. Hall remembers when he and his wife, Sister Kimberly Hall, were set apart as mission leaders, telling Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles their feelings ranged from overwhelmed to excited. Elder Bednar expressed the need to be grateful.
Said Elder Hall: “What he taught us that day has never left my thoughts relating to any calling we receive, which is ‘We are just simply grateful.’ … You wonder how in the world the Lord would have ever chosen you, but we witness that He does. And because we are willing and available, He will make us capable.”
Aaron Tracy Hall was born March 4, 1971, in Provo, Utah, the son of Alan Eugene Hall and Paula Jeanne Nowak Hall. He served as a full-time missionary in the Chile Osorno Mission and married Kimberly Wade Hall on Dec. 28, 1993, in the Logan Utah Temple. They are the parents of four children.
At the time of his call, Elder Hall was serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area. He is a former Texas Houston South Mission president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, stake executive secretary, bishop, elders quorum president and ward Young Men president.
Elder Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in professional sales from Weber State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah. Previously an executive for technology and private equity firms, he most recently was working as a director in the Church’s Missionary Department.
— Scott Taylor
Elder Brian J. Holmes
Elder Brian J. Holmes said he and his wife, Sister Maggie Holmes, are witnesses of the Lord’s promise in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 that He will “go before your face.”
“That is what he has done for us our whole lives,” Elder Holmes said. “As you turn your life over to the Lord, He can make more out of it than we can on our own.”
In his new role as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Holmes hopes he will have opportunities to testify of Jesus Christ’s central role in Heavenly Father’s plan.
“He is the Savior and Redeemer of all of our Heavenly Father’s children,” he said.
Brian John Holmes was born Dec. 5, 1977, in Salt Lake City, one of 12 kids, to Michael H. and Marian R. Holmes. As a young man, he served a mission in Munich, Germany, then married Maggie Wilson in the Salt Lake Temple on March 29, 1999. Elder and Sister Holmes are the parents of six children and live in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Elder Holmes has a bachelor’s degree in political science and Juris Doctor degree, both from Arizona State University. He has worked as vice president of Holmes Homes in Arizona, founded Holmes Law, PLC and more recently worked as general counsel for Charter One, LLC.
At the time of his call as a general authority, Elder Holmes was serving as an Area Seventy in the North America Southwest Area. He has also been stake president, high councilor and bishop.
— Aimee Cobabe
Elder Pedro X. Larreal
In Elder Pedro X. Larreal’s fourth month as a missionary, President Gordon B. Hinckley visited the Caracas Venezuela Mission.
Elder Larreal recalled, “He extended an amazing invitation for us about consecration: ‘If you are focused 100%, I promise your future family will receive blessings.’”
Afterward, the missionary wrote a letter to break up with his girlfriend back home. “I needed to put everything on the altar, because I needed to be more focused.”
He recognizes many blessings looking back — beneficial education, successful employment — sprouting from trust in that apostolic promise.
“When we follow the direction of a prophet, seer and revelator, we will get blessings in our life. I promise.”
Elder Pedro Xavier Larreal Noguera was born July 6, 1976, in Valencia, Venezuela, to Duilio Antonio Larreal Romero and Haydee Maria Noguera De Larreal. He married Sariah Alvarez Campos in the Caracas Venezuela Temple on Aug. 25, 2001. They’re parents to three children.
Elder Larreal earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Simón Rodríguez University, a Master of Science in Education degree from Santa Maria University and an MBA from the BYU Marriott School of Business. He worked as a Seminaries and Institutes of Religion coordinator, Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc. general manager and regional director of Mexico, Central America and Dominican Republic.
Before being called as a Seventy, Elder Larreal was serving as president of the Texas McAllen Mission. He’s served as an Area Seventy in two areas, stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, stake executive secretary and bishop.
— Joel Randall
Elder Clement M. Matswagothata
When Elder Clement Mosiame Matswagothata was a child in Botswana, he would read the Bible out loud to his grandmother. He came across 1 Samuel 3, when God called Samuel as a prophet.
“My natural question was, ‘Does God still do the same thing?’”
That question began his journey of trying to find a God who still spoke. He met Latter-day Saint missionaries at 16 years old, read the Book of Mormon in a few days, and called them at 3 a.m. to tell them he wanted to be baptized.
Later he became the first stake president called in Botswana, then the first Area Seventy and now the first General Authority Seventy.
“I have a deep-rooted testimony that God lives and speaks to us in these final days, and that we live in a day and time when prophets walk the earth,” he said.
Elder Matswagothata was born in Middlepits, Botswana, on Jan. 8, 1980, to Bojotlhe J. and Rachel M. Matswagothata. After serving in the South Africa Cape Town Mission, he met his wife, Sister Novelty Busisiwe Buthelezi, at an area YSA convention. They married Feb. 28, 2004, in the Johannesburg South Africa Temple and have three children.
He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He has worked in the automotive industry with various car brands, holding several leadership positions, including sales manager, general manager and country manager for Barloworld Motor.
At the time of this call, Elder Matswagothata was serving as a temple ordinance worker in the Johannesburg South Africa Temple and as an area self-reliance specialist.
— Mary Richards
Elder Eduardo F. Ortega
Over years of Church service, Elder Eduardo F. Ortega has learned a valuable lesson. In any calling, as a bishop or ministering brother, “it is easier knowing that we represent the Lord.”
“If we think how He would do it, it’s easier,” he said, citing Jacob 5:71-72 in the Book of Mormon. “I have felt the Lord serving beside me many times, in many callings, because it’s His vineyard, not ours.”
Eduardo Francisco Ortega was born in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, on July 10, 1977, to Fernando Daniel Ortega and Irma Elvira Endstorfer. He married Gabriela Alejandra Cappi Franzia in the Montevideo Uruguay Temple on Sept. 13, 2002. They are the parents of five children and live in Mexico City, Mexico.
Elder Ortega earned a bachelor degree in architecture from John F. Kennedy University, Argentina, in 2008, and a master’s degree from the University of Belgrano in 2016. In 2017, he received a diploma in leadership from Harvard Business School. He worked as a construction project manager, first for SBA Co. and then for Village Roadshow Co. He became a real estate director for American Express Co. in 2014, board member for Arch Royale Projects Ltd. in 2023, and board member for CorNet Global in 2024.
At the time of his General Authority Seventy calling, Elder Ortega was an Area Seventy. He has served in several leadership positions, including stake presidency counselor, bishop, bishopric counselor, elders quorum president, high priest group leader and full-time missionary in the Colombia Cali Mission.
— Trent Toone
Elder Edward B. Rowe
In his career practicing international law, Elder Edward B. Rowe and his family lived at times in areas of the world where they were likely the only members of the Church. They held church services as a family in their home years before the introduction of “Come, Follow Me” curriculum. Their worship was home-centered — complete with Sunday dress and talk assignments.
Elder Rowe recalled realizing “the only teachings that our children would receive about the gospel of Jesus Christ would be from us.”
These experiences united their family and made the gospel of Jesus Christ simple as they helped their children gain a relationship with the Savior. “Those were sacred, special times,” Elder Rowe said.
Edward Butler Rowe was born in Provo, Utah, on April 23, 1967, to Fred A. and Sherrel Rowe. He married Brooke Francis in the Salt Lake Temple on Jan. 3, 1989. They are parents of five children and live in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Elder Rowe earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in public policy and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago. He practiced international law as a partner in various law firms in Washington, D.C., and around the world, and since 2019 was CEO of the Stirling Foundation.
At the time of his General Authority Seventy calling, he was an Area Seventy. He is a former Adriatic North Mission president (2011-2014), bishop, stake Young Men president, elders quorum president, ward mission leader and full-time missionary in the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission.
— Valerie Walton
Elder Wan-Liang Wu
When Elder Wan-Liang Wu was 10, his family moved from Taiwan to Bolivia. It was there his sisters met the missionaries through friends. He began meeting with the missionaries and was baptized at 11.
While it was a challenging time, he’s grateful for his family’s move. “I lost something to have better things in a better way of the Lord.”
Wan-Liang Wu was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec. 22, 1970, the youngest child of Chang Yung Wu and Bao Guey Lin; he has three sisters and a brother.
After his family’s move to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, they moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he was 14. He served in the China Hong Kong Mission and married Marcela Beatriz Castellani on March 17, 1995, in the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple. They have three children.
They owned and managed her family’s grocery store in Buenos Aires. He has worked for the Church since 2007, first in the Meetinghouse Facilities Department and then, in 2016, as the operations and maintenance manager for the South America South Area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in 2014 and a Master of Business Administration from the Universidad del CEMA in Buenos Aires in 2020.
At the time of his call, Elder Wu was serving as the Chile Antofagasta Mission president. He has also been a stake president, stake presidency counselor, bishop, elders quorum president, ward clerk, elders quorum presidency counselor and temple ordinance worker.
— Christine Rappleye
