Five News Items From Saturday’s General Conference Sessions A Christ-focused Saturday at the 193rd Annual General Conference was also chock full of news. 1. The church has 17 million members Convert baptisms rose 26% in 2022, and the church had 17,002,461 members as of the year’s end on Dec. 31, according to a statistical report released during the Saturday afternoon session. 2. Elder and Sister Holland have COVID-19 but gave a Twitter message “Pat and I love being with you at general conference,” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, we both tested positive for Covid and are not able to attend this weekend. We will be watching together, hand-in-hand, at home. Like you, I express my gratitude for the Savior this Palm Sunday weekend.” 3. The Tabernacle Choir had international members For the first time, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square welcomed singers from outside the United States to sing at general conference. The 10 special choir members traveled from Brazil, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines and Taiwan to participate. Choir members usually must live within a 100-mile radius of Salt Lake City. 4. A new Young Women general presidency A new Young Women general presidency was named, effective Aug. 1. The outgoing presidency is President Bonnie H. Cordon and her counselors, Michelle D. Craig and Becky Craven, will serve until then. The new presidency is: President Emily Belle Freeman, co-host of the “Don’t Miss This” scripture study podcast, author of a dozen books and a former teacher in the Church Education System. She and her husband Greg have five children. Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor, who served with her husband, Scott, a former BYU basketball player, as leaders of the Australia Sydney Mission. She has 20 years on the board of the Food & Care Coalition in Provo and is the mother of seven children. Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor, was serving on the Relief Society advisory council, is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, returned missionary and former leader with her husband, Alin, of the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission. She has two children. 5. Other new leaders Five new General Authority Seventies were named, including one from France and one from England. They are: Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, who comes from the Young Men presidency. He served as a mission president in the Dominican Republic with his wife, Jayne Lillian Joslin. Elder Robert M. Daines, who is the associate dean for Global Programs at Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance. Elder J. Kimo Esplin, is a Utah Area Seventy and former mission president in Japan with his wife, Kaye. He is executive vice president of strategy and investment at Huntsman Corp. and chief financial officer for Huntsman Advanced Materials. Elder Christophe G. Giraud-Carrier, a native of Lyon, France, who was serving as president of a young single adult stake in Provo, Utah. He is the former president of the France Lyon Mission. Elder Alan T. Phillips, a native of Kent, England, has served in the Seventh Quorum of the Seventy since 2016 and in the Europe North Area Presidency for the past year. He previously worked as the academic director of the Brigham Young University London Centre. The Young Men general presidency had one change, because Elder Corbitt was called as a General Authority Seventy. Brother Bradley R. Wilcox moved from second to first counselor, and a new second counselor was called: Brother Michael T. Nelson of Salt Lake City is the chief financial officer of a Utah-based company and former president of the California San Bernardino Mission. He and his wife Barbara have nine children. Also, at Thursday’s leadership session of conference, church leaders announced 61 new Area Seventies and the upcoming release of 50 Area Seventies. |
