This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Three Brigham Young University graduates — all hailing from the American West — were named Saturday as the new general presidency for the Primary, the faith's organization for children under age 12.
The president, Joy D. Jones, has been serving on the Primary's all-women board for six years. An Oregon native, she has a degree in home and family sciences from LDS Church-owned BYU. She and her husband, Robert B. Jones, have five children and 13 grandchildren.
Jones chose as her first counselor Jean B. Bingham, another member of the Primary general board. Reared in Provo, Bingham received a master's degree in education from BYU and, with husband Bruce, has two children.
The second counselor is Bonnie H. Cordon, who also has a BYU degree in education and is fluent in Portuguese. As a young woman, Cordon was a full-time missionary in the Portugal Lisbon Mission. Decades later, she served with her husband, Derek, overseeing the church's Brazil Curitiba Mission. Together they have four children.
This trio replaces the outgoing Primary general presidency of Rosemary M. Wixom, with counselors Cheryl A. Esplin and Mary R. Durham.
In addition to those positions, 11 new general authority Seventies were added Saturday — six Americans and five from outside the United States.
Twitter: @religiongal