New General Authority Seventies and Sunday School General Presidency Called at the April 2024 General Conference

At the opening session of the April 2024 general conference, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced 11 new General Authority Seventies and a new Sunday School General Presidency.

These are the new General Authority Seventies:

• David L. Buckner
• Gregorio E. Casillas
• Aroldo B. Cavalcante
• I. Raymond Egbo
• D. Martin Goury
• Karl D. Hirst
• Christopher H. Kim
• Sandino Roman
• Steven D. Shumway
• Michael B. Strong
• Sergio R. Vargas

And this is the new Sunday School General Presidency (effective August 1, 2024):

• Paul V. Johnson (President)
• Chad H Webb (First Counselor)
• Gabriel W. Reid (Second Counselor)

Downloadable SOTs & B-roll

President Oaks also announced that eight General Authority Seventies (Elders Ian S. Ardern, Shayne M. Bowen, Paul V. Johnson, S. Gifford Nielsen, Brent H. Nielson, Adrián Ochoa, Gary B. Sabin, and Evan A. Schmutz) will be released and receive emeritus status on August 1, 2024. Elder Carlos A. Godoy was released from his service in the Presidency of the Seventy, effective August 1, 2024. Elders Marcus B. Nash (effective immediately) and Michael T. Ringwood, Arnulfo Valenzuela and Edward Dube (effective August 1, 2024) were sustained as new members of the Presidency of the Seventy.

A brief biography of each new leader is below.

New Members of the Presidency of the Seventy

Elder Marcus B. Nash

Elder Nash is from Seattle, Washington. He and his wife, Shelley, are the parents of five children. Elder Nash graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and earned a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He was a partner in a major Seattle law firm at the time of his call as a Seventy in 2006.

Elder Michael T. Ringwood

Elder Ringwood is from Provo, Utah. He and his wife, Rosalie, are the parents of five children. Elder Ringwood graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Brigham Young University in 1983. He is currently serving at Church headquarters as Executive Director of the Priesthood and Family Department and as a member of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council. He is also a member of the Church Board of Education.

Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela

Elder Valenzuela is from Chihuahua, Mexico. He and his wife, Silvia, are parents of three children. Elder Valenzuela received degrees in administration and business administration. In 1981 he began working for Honeywell de Mexico as building services commercial manager. In 1989 he became marketing director and vice president for Sweda de Mexico. In 2003 he was made regional director for Durman de Mexico and later national marketing director.

Elder Edward Dube

Elder Dube is from Chiramanzu, Zimbabwe. He and his wife, Naume, are the parents of four children. Elder Dube received a diploma in education in 1992 from Zimbabwe D.E. College and studied entrepreneurship at the University of South Africa in 2003. He has worked in many positions for the Church Educational System in Africa for over 15 years.

New General Authority Seventies

Elder David L. Buckner

Elder Buckner is from Ogden, Utah, and currently lives in New York, New York. He and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of five children. A Brigham Young University law school graduate, Elder Buckner has been a professor at Columbia University since 1998 and president of Bottom Line Training and Consulting, Inc. since 1999. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Gregorio E. Casillas

Elder Casillas is from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He and his wife, Alma, have three children. Elder Casillas has a Master of Business Administration from Xochicalco University. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy and working for the Church as an Area Temples Facilities manager.

Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante

Elder Cavalcante resides in Recife, Brazil. He and his wife, Christiana, are parents of four children. He received a postgraduate degree in administrative law from the Federal University of Ceará. Most recently he has worked as an attorney and managing partner of Barreto Cavalcante Advogados. At the time of his call, he was serving as president of the Brazil Rio de Janeiro South Mission.

Elder I. Raymond Egbo

Elder Egbo lives in Abuja, Nigeria. He and his wife, Comfort, have three children. He has degrees in education, geography, regional planning and business administration from three universities. He has worked in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion in a variety of positions, including coordinator, country director and area director. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Third Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder D. Martin Goury

Elder Goury was born and raised in Côte d'Ivoire. He and his wife, Ruth, have four children. Elder Goury has degrees in teaching and mechanical engineering. He was country operations manager for Schlumberger. Most recently, he worked for the Church as a leader and member support coordinator. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Third Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Karl D. Hirst

Elder Hirst lives in Bolsover, England. He and his wife, Claire, are parents of six children. Elder Hirst has a bachelor of law degree from Lancaster University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Alliance Manchester Business School. Since 1997 he has worked as a barrister. At the time of his call, he was serving as a For the Strength of Youth session director.

Elder Christopher H. Kim

Elder Kim lives in Seoul, Korea. He and his wife, Seongmi, have four children. Elder Kim has a degree in sociology and a Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University. Since 2005, he has worked for Unicity International Inc. in a variety of positions, recently as president of global markets. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Sandino Roman

Elder Roman lives in Toluca, Mexico. He and his wife, Guadalupe, have four children. Elder Roman has degrees in computer systems, business administration and operations management from three universities. He has worked as a marketing manager for Johnson & Johnson and for the Church as the manager of the Mexico Area Support Services Office. At the time of his call, he was serving as president of the Ecuador Quito North Mission.

Elder Steven D. Shumway

Elder Shumway lives in Pinetop, Arizona. He and his wife, Heidi, have four children. Elder Shumway graduated from Brigham Young University in chemical engineering. He worked for Exxon Chemical Company in Houston, Texas, from 1996 to 1998. Since 1998, he has been president and CEO of Whiting Brothers Investment Companies. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Eleventh Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Michael B. Strong

Elder Strong lives in Centerville, Utah. He and his wife, Cristin, have six children. Elder Strong graduated in microbiology from Brigham Young University and received a medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He worked as a physician and the chief medical information officer for the University of Utah. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Twelfth Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Sergio R. Vargas

Elder Vargas lives in Frutillar, Chile. He and his wife, Andrea, have three children. Elder Vargas has degrees in marine resources and business administration from three universities, as well as a certificate in sustainable business strategy from Harvard Business School. He most recently worked as production and operational manager for Ventisqueros, a member of the German Schörghuber Corporate Group. At the time of his call, he was serving in the Ninth Quorum of the Seventy.

Sunday School General Presidency

Paul V. Johnson (President)

President Johnson is originally from Gainesville, Florida. He and his wife, Jill, have nine children. He obtained three degrees from Brigham Young University and a doctor of education degree from Utah State University. He has served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2005. He served in both the Chile Area and Europe Area Presidencies. He also served as the Commissioner of the Church Educational System for nine years. Since 2021, he has been serving in the Presidency of the Seventy.

Chad H Webb (First Counselor)

Brother Webb was raised in southeastern Idaho and currently lives in Layton, Utah. He and his wife, Kristi, have six children. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Since 2008, he has served as administrator of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. Brother Webb was recently released as a stake president.

Gabriel W. Reid (Second Counselor)

Brother Reid was born in Pago Pago, American Samoa. He and his wife, Heather, have four children. Brother Reid played football for Brigham Young University and in the National Football League. He also owned a construction and environmental construction management company. Brother Reid is currently serving as president of the Australia Sydney Mission.