‘It’s All About Anchoring Yourself to Jesus Christ,’ Says Brother Sean R. Dixon

Brother Sean R. Dixon brings a wealth of personal, professional and ecclesiastical experience and insight as he begins his service as the Second Counselor in the new Young Men General Presidency.

The personal includes having read the Book of Mormon, receiving a growing testimony at the age of 14 and learning to eschew the pangs of youthful perfectionism in favor of focusing on Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

The professional is more than three decades of work in the Church Educational System, specifically as a teacher and administrator in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. And he has shared such service and opportunities with his wife, M’Shelle, who has joined with him as Especially For Youth and For the Strength of Youth session advisers for 20-plus years and taught seminary herself as well.

And the ecclesiastical includes Brother Dixon’s service as a young full-time missionary and later as president of the California Redlands Mission — again alongside Sister Dixon.

Looking to the Lord

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Brother Dixon said he wants to encourage, nurture and strengthen the youth of the Church — as well as their leaders — in helping them look to the Lord.

Mindful of the many voices ranging from peers to social media that compete for attention and can create distractions and confusion, Brother Dixon hopes that youth can learn to listen to the right voices — the Spirit, their parents, their Church leaders — and to trust and follow their guidance.

He expressly singled out the role and blessing of modern-day prophets and apostles. “Prophets lead the youth to Jesus Christ,” he said. “It’s not the Prophet [President Russell M. Nelson] that’s the end goal; it’s the Savior. But the Prophet is faced toward the Savior, and if they follow Him, they’ll be prepared for what they’re going to experience in their lives.”

Sustained in the Saturday morning general session of April 2025 general conference, the new Young Men general presidency — including Brother Dixon — began serving Aug. 1.

Read this related article from the Church News Learn more about the incoming Young Men general presidency

Perfectionism vs. Focusing on the Savior

Born and raised in Provo, Utah, Brother Dixon read the Book of Mormon at age 14. “That was absolutely life-changing; after that, the gospel became real and alive for me,” he said.

With the start of his growing testimony came a bit of perfectionism, thinking that a love for the Lord required him to be perfect, he said. With the help of his dad, he soon recognized the importance of focusing on the Savior instead of himself.

“It took me a little while to learn that,” he said. “But as I got older and began to better understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that perfectionism just sloughed away, and I focused more on growth and progression. If I could have started that a little earlier, it would have saved me some grief.”

Sister Dixon describes herself as having been an anxious, self-conscious teen as well, seeing the same in many young men and young women she interacts with today. “Look to God for your identity and purpose,” is how she would counsel them. “Be patient with yourself. The Lord knows that you’re young, that you’re learning.”

Brother Dixon later served a mission to the Canada Toronto Mission, where he taught in both English and Spanish in a mission headquartered in a metropolitan melting pot. “It was awesome — I have a list of friends I taught from all over the world,” he said.

Getting Lined Up

After his mission, he attended Brigham Young University and met M’Shelle Lundquist on the first day of class while they stood in line at the school’s Traffic Office to purchase on-campus parking permits. Two semesters later, they married on May 14, 1992, in the Salt Lake Temple; they are parents of five children ages 31 to 21.

“Our joke ‘line’ is that while most people today meet others online, we met ‘in line,’” quipped Brother Dixon.

Added Sister Dixon: “We are the only people, I think, that don’t complain about the long lines at BYU.”

CES Work and Mission Leadership

After a bachelor’s degree in family science and a master’s in education, Brother Dixon began what has become a 30-plus-year career in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, first teaching seminary for 18 years in Utah County. Most recently, he served as director of the Utah Valley Institute of Religion for five years before recently being named as the regional director for the Utah South Institute Region, overseeing institutes from Utah County to St. George.

Sister Dixon has also taught seminary, including recently as a substitute teacher over an extended period. “She is, in her own right, a phenomenal teacher,” Brother Dixon said of his wife. “Together, we’ve been equally yoked in our faith, in our love for the youth. We’ve been engaged in the work of the Lord our whole life together.”

He describes her as “vibrant, enthusiastic and outgoing and just oozes with love for people,” adding that he expects that as they travel in ministering and teaching opportunities, “she will be rushing right to the youth.”

From 2016 to 2019, Brother and Sister Dixon led the California Redlands Mission. With about a third of the mission force called as Spanish speakers, President Dixon was able to use the mission language of his youth in teaching and training missionaries and in interactions with the local members and units. They said they consider their time with the missionaries as some of the most transformative years of their lives.

Said Sister Dixon: “It has been the joy of our life. We love the youth of the Church and we believe in them.”

‘Why Us?’

Brother Dixon recalled being “floored” by the new calling, then feeling a mix of being “humbled” and “excited” because of his love for the youth of the Church.

“It was just a big mix of emotions, but I felt a lot of peace come, almost as the Lord assuring me, ‘This is My will, and I am there with you, and you just need to trust in Me.’ So at this point, that’s what we’re doing — we’re just trusting in the Lord and His greatness, that He’ll do His work.”

Sister Dixon admitted she and her husband consider themselves “ordinary in most areas of our lives” and wondered, “How would the Lord know us and our family?” and “Why us?”

Then came the realizations, she said, “that the Lord uses us in different ways than we expect” and that Brother Dixon has plenty to bring to his new calling — specifically education, teaching and training.

“He’s spent his life in the scriptures, both in his callings and in his employment,” she said. “And outside of those, he lives by the word of God.”

She added: “But I think his greatest attribute is just his love and dedication for the youth and young adults of the Church,” she said. “And everything good begins with love.”

Counseling His Younger Self — and the Youth

If he could go back and counsel and encourage his younger self, what would Brother Dixon tell teenage Sean Dixon? And, yes, he knows that such counsel will be consistent with what he will be teaching young men and their leaders in his new leadership calling.

“I would just say that it’s all about anchoring yourself to Jesus Christ through covenants,” he said, adding, “Keep your life focused on Him and His restored gospel. The Book of Mormon will be one of your greatest tools in doing that.

“One key at that age is to begin a relationship with Heavenly Father through prayer, so that your prayers are not about checking a box or going through a routine, but they are more about building a relationship. As you mature, that changes. … What it does is it softens your heart and makes you eagerly responsive to the things the Lord asks you to do.”

Brother Dixon would also counsel youth that there is no better time than right now. “There is great power when we minister to our own peers,” he said. He recalls a time as a missionary when he heard a general authority ask, “Are you the type that walks into a room and says, ‘Here I am’ or ‘There you are’?”

Again, counseling his younger self — and other youth — Brother Dixon said: “I would tell myself: ‘Be a guy who notices people. Look up to God, and look outward to other people, and God will fill your life with so many incredible opportunities.’”

About Brother Sean R. Dixon

Family: Sean Romney Dixon was born May 5, 1970, in Provo, Utah, the son of Donald Romney Dixon and Diane Scott Dixon. He married M’Shelle Lundquist on May 14, 1992, in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of five children.

Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in family science from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix.

Employment: Worked in various assignments in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion for 30 years, including a longtime seminary teacher in Utah County and director of the Utah Valley Institute of Religion; currently the director of the Utah South Institute Region, overseeing institutes from Orem to St. George.

Church service: Was serving as president of the Spanish Fork Utah East Stake at the time of his call. He is a former California Redlands Mission president, stake presidency counselor, bishop, bishopric counselor, ward Young Men president and full-time missionary in the Canada Toronto Mission.