facebook-pixel

LDS Church reorganizes Young Women presidency, calls 8 new general authority Seventies

(Courtesy of the LDS Church) President Bonnie H. Cordon (center), first counselor Michelle D. Craig (left) and second counselor Becky Craven were appointed Saturday, March 31, 2018, to the Young Women presidency — which oversees the church program for girls ages 12 to 17.

(Courtesy of the LDS Church) President Bonnie H. Cordon (center), first counselor Michelle D. Craig (left) and second counselor Becky Craven were appointed Saturday, March 31, 2018, to the Young Women presidency — which oversees the church program for girls ages 12 to 17.

The LDS Church on Saturday called a new Young Women general presidency, replaced a counselor in its Primary general presidency, called eight new general authority Seventies and 55 new area Seventies.

Appointed to the Young Women presidency — which oversees the church program for girls ages 12 to 17 — are President Bonnie H. Cordon, first counselor Michelle D. Craig and second counselor Becky Craven.

Cordon had been serving as first counselor in the Primary presidency, which oversees the faith’s children’s organization. She served with her husband, Derek, as he presided over the Brazil Curitiba Mission. She has also served in various callings in the Primary, Young Women and Relief Society organizations. She served a full-time mission in the Portugal Lisbon Mission.

Replacing Cordon as the first counselor in the Primary general presidency is Lisa Harkness.

Named as new members of the presidency of the Seventy were Elders Carl B. Cook and Robert C. Gay, who had already been serving as general authority Seventies.

Appointed as new general authority Seventies were Elders Steven R. Bangerter, Matthew L. Carpenter, Jack N. Gerard, Mathias Held, David P. Homer, Kyle S. McKay, Juan Pablo Villar and Takashi Wada.

President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the governing First Presidency, noted the wide global roots of top LDS leaders now.

“We now have 116 general authorities, nearly 40 percent of them were born outside the United States in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, South Korea, Guatemala, Argentina, Italy, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Peru, South Africa, American Samoa, England, Puerto Rico, Australia, Venezuela, Kenya, the Philippines, Portugal, Fiji, China, Japan, Chile, Columbia and France.”

Support free news for Utah

sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.

Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.

You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.