Mongolian ambassador to U.S. meets with First Presidency at Church headquarters

The ambassador also previously met Elder Neil L. Andersen at the 2024 Festival of Lights in Washington, D.C.

23 Oct 2025, 5:08 p.m. MDT

President Dallin H. Oaks shakes hands with the Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States, His Excellency Batbayar Ulziidelger, in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. — President Dallin H. Oaks shakes hands with the Batbayar Ulziidelger, the Mongolian ambassador to the United States, in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Trent Toone is a reporter for the Church News.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted a visit from the ambassador of Mongolia to the United States at Church headquarters on Oct. 22.

Batbayar Ulziidelger was welcomed by Church President Dallin H. Oaks, and his counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson, at the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City.

Church President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church and his two counselors, President Henry B. Eyring, center right, and President D. Todd Christofferson, right, visit with the Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States, His Excellency Batbayar Ulziidelger, left, in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

News and photos of the meeting were released on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Ambassador Ulziidelger concluded his visit to Utah with a dinner hosted by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The ambassador first met Elder Andersen two years ago and was the honored guest at the commencement ceremony of the Festival of Lights at the Washington D.C. Temple last December where he and Elder Andersen turned the Christmas lights on together.

Be a ‘purveyor of light,’ Elder Andersen invites in Washington, D.C.

At the recommendation of the ambassador, charitable donations from Latter-day Saints were used to purchase and distribute 3,000 Chromebooks for students in the rural areas of Mongolia.

A visit by the Mongolian ambassador to the U.S. to the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ is commemorated at the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. Front row, left to right: President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency; Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger; Church President Dallin H. Oaks; and President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency. Back row, left to right: Elder S. Mark Palmer of the President of the Seventy, Ankhbayar Gangold, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Khos-Erdene Khiimorsan. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“[Ambassador Ulziidelger] said in Ulaanbaatar they could figure out how to learn English, and they have the tools [necessary], but in these provinces, they need help. They need a way to study online,” Elder Andersen said. “They need electronic features. It’s been a great blessing to so many communities. It is filling a real need.”

Elder Andersen recently posted on social media about visiting Mongolia in September.

“The Church has been established. It is being established. The voice of the Lord is going forward, and all those who will hear may hear,” he said in the video.

Less than two weeks after I was called as a general authority in April 1993, Elder Neal A. Maxwell climbed the steps of Zaison Hill and dedicated Mongolia for the preaching of the gospel.

Now, 32 years later, it is a blessing to witness the blessings of the Lord from that… pic.twitter.com/aQrpeQOziO
— Neil L. Andersen (@AndersenNeilL) October 20, 2025

Elder Andersen sees Mongolian members’ joy and excitement for announcements about country’s 1st temple

Missionary work began in Mongolia in 1992 with six missionary couples who taught university and high school classes and privately shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with interested individuals. The first two Mongolian converts — students of these missionaries — were baptized in 1993.

The first branch in Ulaanbaatar was created in 1994.

Church President Dallin H. Oaks visits with Batbayar Ulziidelger, right, the Mongolian ambassador to the U.S, in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Today there are nearly 13,000 Latter-day Saints attending close to 25 congregations in Mongolia.

President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for the Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple on Oct. 1, 2023.

President Dallin H. Oaks shakes hands with Batbayar Ulziidelger, the Mongolian ambassador to the U.S., in the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Batbayar Ulziidelger, the Mongolian ambassador to the United States, opens the Book of Mormon, which was presented to him by Church President Dallin H. Oaks, during a visit to the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints