Primary General President Susan H. Porter was born on July 31, 1955, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and grew up in western New York. She was sustained as the Primary general president in April 2022 general conference and began her service on Aug. 1, 2022.
President Porter married Bruce D. Porter on Feb. 2, 1977, in the Washington D.C. Temple. They have four children. Elder Porter was a General Authority Seventy when he died in 2016.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Brigham Young University and worked as a lab assistant at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a part-time math teacher, a piano teacher and a volunteer with various community organizations.
In honor of President Porter’s birthday today, here are nine of her quotes from the past year.
1. Teaching children in Primary
“As you teach and testify it can go straight to their hearts, and it will have a foundational effect on their lives.”
— Social media post, July 21, 2025
2. ‘God knows them’
“They may feel that there are very few members in their country, maybe they’re the only member at school or at work, but God knows them, He loves them, and they have a very important work to do for Him.”
— Ministry in the Asia Area, May 2025
3. Receiving Christ’s power
“I pray that we may focus on becoming ‘humble followers of Christ’ (2 Nephi 28:14). As we do so, we will receive His power to strengthen us in our weakness and enable us to walk forward with Him, becoming the women of God He knows we can be."
— BYU Women’s Conference, May 1, 2025
4. Move forward filled with hope
“You can move forward filled with hope as you embark on the next phase of your life’s journey, filled with a desire to become the glorious son or daughter of God that He wants to help you to become.”
— BYU–Hawaii commencement, April 18, 2025
5. Being baptized for her great-grandmother
“Heavenly Father and Jesus trusted me, a young girl, to offer her the very sacred gift of baptism. If she accepted that gift, it would open the gate for her to obtain eternal life. Heavenly Father has invited each of you to help in His great work of opening that gate for your family members.”
— RootsTech Global Youth Activity, March 5, 2025
6. The Primary service initiative
“We’re building on their natural, God-given tenderness to those who are suffering. And then we’re helping expand their vision in the community, helping them with counseling together and serving together and becoming leaders. We’re helping them identify that it’s the Spirit, because they are involved in the sacred work of Christ, which is blessing all of His sons and daughters.”
— Church News podcast, Feb. 11, 2025
7. God is mindful of every person
“God will never give up on helping us when we have made covenants. God is mindful of every person. Even a young couple who the only thing they had was a tiny space in a tiny hole in a small home in Accra, Ghana.”
— Provo Missionary Training Center devotional, Nov. 26, 2024
8. ‘God knows and loves you’
“My testimony to you is that God knows you and loves you. I testify that if you open the door to your heart the Savior will come in. He will come with light and joy. And, in that moment, you will realize He loves you perfectly, He knows you perfectly, and He needs you to love others the way He loves you.”
— Devotional at Utah State University, Sept. 22, 2024
9. Teaching in Primary
“When we teach them with love and by the Spirit, the gospel of Jesus Christ can go straight into their hearts and minds with no barriers. Children are open, ready to be taught and become like Jesus.”
— Remarks at BYU Education Week, Aug. 19, 2024
