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LDS Church names new Primary presidency and general authorities

Salt Lake City lawyer takes over the children’s organization. Former BYU football star, BYUtv executive and ex-Deseret News CEO join G.A. ranks.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints named 11 new high-level leaders Saturday — including three women to take the reins of the children’s Primary and eight men as general authority Seventies.

Camille N. Johnson, a Salt Lake City lawyer, is the new Primary general president. Susan H. Porter and Amy Wright are her first and second counselors, respectively.

After Johnson and her husband finished a mission in Peru, she returned to work at the Snow, Christensen & Martineau law firm in Salt Lake City. Born in Pocatello, Johnson has served in several teaching and leadership assignments in her Latter-day Saint congregation. She received English and law degrees from the University of Utah.

Porter has served on the Relief Society general advisory council since 2017 and has had several teaching and leadership assignments in her congregation. Born in Oklahoma and raised in New York, she graduated from church-owned Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and worked as a lab assistant and part-time math teacher.

Wright has been serving on the Young Women general advisory council since 2018. Born in Salt Lake City, she received a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from the U. She worked at Marquette University in the Diederich College of Communications, where she helped facilitate an urban journalism camp for inner-city youths.

Those appointed as general authority Seventies include:

• Sean Douglas, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Huntsman Corp.

• Michael A. Dunn, managing director of BYUtv and BYU Radio. He previously worked as the general manager of KUED (PBS Utah).

• Clark G. Gilbert, president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide. He is the former president of Brigham Young University-Idaho and was CEO of the Deseret News and Deseret Digital Media.

• Patricio M. Giuffra, a native of Valparaíso, Chile. He has degrees from BYU and worked as the general manager for Arcotex SA.

• Alfred Kyungu, a family history manager for the church. He was born in Kamina, Democratic Republic of Congo, where the church growth is booming, and received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Lubumbashi.

• Alvin F. Meredith III, currently the president of the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. He has worked as a Six Sigma Black Belt for GE Capital, consultant for Boston Consulting Group and senior vice president at Asurion.

• Carlos G. Revillo Jr., the church’s welfare and self-reliance manager in the Philippines. He has worked for Procter & Gamble in various management positions in his native Philippines, in the Asia-Pacific region and at its global headquarters in the United States.

• Vaiangina Sikahema, a former professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles after he starred by BYU. A Tongan native, he was a sports and news anchor in Philadelphia and studied broadcasting and communications at BYU.

Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the governing First Presidency, announced the new appointees during the afternoon session of the faith’s annual General Conference.

The latest assignments come after the church named 77 new Area Seventies at a leadership meeting Thursday. This marked the first time that such area leaders were introduced for a sustaining vote in a pre-General Conference leadership meeting.