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    19 October 2023 - SALT LAKE CITY
    News Release

    International Government and Religious Leaders Visit Church Headquarters, Meet with the First Presidency

    High-level officials from Ethiopia, Hungary, Mongolia, Mexico, Rwanda, Samoa and Senegal travel to Salt Lake City

    Seven prominent government and religious leaders from around the world visited Utah over the last several weeks to interact with various leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Guests included the President of Hungary; the Prime Minister of Samoa; a cardinal from Rwanda; and ambassadors from Ethiopia, Mexico, Mongolia and Senegal.

       
    Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 / 2
         
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      Rwanda Cardinal

      Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, Archbishop of Kigali, Rwanda, began his visit on Monday, September, 11, 2023, with a tour of the newly renovated St. George Utah Temple.

      “Our visit was warm, open and engaging. We left as friends who love the Savior,” said Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and President of the Utah Area of the Church.

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      Cardinal Kambanda then traveled to Salt Lake City, where he toured Welfare Square and the Humanitarian Center before meeting with Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy.

      Hungarian President

      On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, Hungarian President Katalin Novák met with students and faculty at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where she spoke about family and faith in God.

      “We sometimes tend to forget how important it is to nurture our faith on a daily basis. And for me, for example, that is a very important part of my life,” the mother of three explained.

      Later that afternoon, President Novák met with members of the First Presidency in Salt Lake City.

      Samoan Prime Minister

      On Wednesday, September 27, members of the First Presidency, along with Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, welcomed Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa. 

      Mata’afa also visited Welfare Square and BYU and met with Utah’s lieutenant governor, Deidre Henderson.

      Hon.-Fiame-Naomi-Mataafa,-Prime-Minister-of-Samoa,-visits-Welfare-Square-in-Salt-Lake-City,-Utah,-USA.-28-September-2023.
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      Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa, visits Welfare Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 28, 2023.© 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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      Ethiopian Ambassador

      Mussie Hailu, who is Ambassador to the African Union of Religious Affairs and Regional Director of the United Religion Initiatives for Africa, visited Utah to speak at the International Law and Religion Symposium held at BYU, October 1–4, 2023. He also visited some Church sites in Salt Lake City and attended a session of general conference.

      During his visit, Hailu reunited with Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services for the Church, whom he met in early 2023.

      Mexican Ambassador

      During his visit to Utah on October 12 and 13, His Excellency Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., toured local Church sites in Salt Lake City, met with members of the First Presidency, and spoke at BYU as part of the BYU Ambassador Lecture Series.

      Ambassador Barragán also met with Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

      Mongolian Ambassador

      On October 13, His Excellency Batbayar Ulziidelger, Mongolian ambassador to the U.S., presented Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star, the country’s highest award given to a foreign citizen, to Elder Richard E. Cook, an emeritus General Authority Seventy.

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      His Excellency Batbayar Ulziidelger, Mongolian ambassador to the U.S., presents Elder Richard E. Cook, an emeritus General Authority Seventy, with Mongolia's Order of the Polar Star, the country's highest award given to a foreign citizen, on Friday, October 13, 2023.
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      Elder Cook was recognized at the Hinckley Center at BYU for his impact in Mongolia and for organizing educational funds for hundreds of young adult men and women to receive a higher education at BYU–Hawaii.

      Senegal Ambassador

      On Tuesday, October 17, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, representative to the United Nations in New York from Senegal, met with members of the First Presidency, along with Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

      The ambassador also spent time at BYU and toured local Church sites in Salt Lake City.

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