Additionally, other assignments may have been effective for a time as well based on whenever it might have been practical to initiate that process. I also wanted to note that there are a couple of minor updates in these assignments from what was announced in the Church News in late May/early June. Minor changes, but still significant.
In the meantime, I also wanted to note that none of the August Church magazines showed any change in the editor and advisers of those magazines. That does not mean nothing has changed. Typically, the assignment of editor rotates every two or three years, while any other assignment changes (including in anticipation of a GA Seventy adviser being granted emeritus status or starting service in an area presidency outside the US) will affect that too. It is not uncommon for such changes not to be effective by the time the August Ensign is printed.
As previously noted, when there is a change in the general auxiliary presidencies, it takes one or two months for any subsequent change in advisers to be noted in the list of advisers on the magazine's information box. So it may take until the September or October magazines are published to see any change there. But I will report on that ASAP once I learn of it.
For now, here is the list of those changes, along with those corrections reported in the August 2017 Ensign. Enjoy, and thanks for your interest and support. Any comments are welcome.
Changes in Area Leadership August 2017
NOTE: Where applicable, I am also noting changes that are
likely in the advisers of the Church magazines in view of these assignments,
which appear in bold type.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: There is one case, noted in italics below,
where the noted changes will likely take place sooner than August 1, in view of
Elder Wong’s call as a mission president.
Presidency of the Seventy:
Elders Donald L. Hallstrom (who has been supervising the
North America Northwest and North America West Areas) and Richard J. Maynes
(who has been supervising the North America Southeast Area) will be released
from the Presidency of the Seventy and, as noted, will take other assignments
at Church headquarters.
Elders Juan A. Uceda and Patrick Kearon will fill the
resulting vacancies in this presidency, with Elder Uceda overseeing the North
America Southeast Area (succeeding Elder Maynes) and Elder Kearon overseeing
the North America Northwest and North America West Areas (succeeding Elder
Hallstrom).
Additionally, in view of his new assignment in the
Presidency, Elder Patrick Kearon will be released as President of the Europe
Area.
NOTE: In the August 2017 Ensign, other changes were noted in the assignments of the
Presidency members; most notably that the previously announced assignments of
Elder Lynn G. Robbins and Elder Juan A. Uceda would be reversed, with Elder
Robbins overseeing the North America Southeast Area, and Elder Uceda taking
Elder Robbins’ former assignment of overseeing the North America Southwest
Area.
General Authority Seventies:
Marcos A. Aidukaitis released as First Counselor and
called as President of the Brazil Area.
Jose L. Alonso released as Second Counselor in the
Central America Area Presidency and called as Second Counselor in the Caribbean
Area Presidency.
Wilford W. Andersen released as the junior administrator
of the Middle East/Africa North Area, and called as the senior administrator
(referred to for the first time as Area President.)
NOTE: While the Church News article on this assignment
(which was published on May 3, 2017) noted this somewhat different title, no
mention of that was subsequently made in the August 2017 Ensign in the article discussing this year’s changes.
Ian S. Ardern called as Second Counselor in the Pacific
Area Presidency.
W. Mark Bassett released as Second Counselor and called
as First Counselor in the Brazil Area Presidency.
Craig A. Cardon released as Second Counselor and called
as First Counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency.
Valeri V. Cordon called as Second Counselor in the
Central America Area Presidency.
Claudio R. M. Costa released as President of the Brazil
Area Presidency.
Joaquin E. Costa called as Second Counselor in the Brazil
Area Presidency.
Massimo De Feo called as Second Counselor in the Europe
Area Presidency.
Kevin R. Duncan released as President of the Central
America Area Presidency.
Stanley G. Ellis released as First Counselor in the
Africa Southeast Area Presidency.
David F. Evans released as Second Counselor and called as
First Counselor in the Asia Area Presidency.
NOTE: Elder Evans
is succeeding Elder Wong, as noted below. It is therefore likely that we will
see this change happen sooner than August, if it has not already taken place.
Robert C. Gay called as President of the Asia North Area
Presidency.
Christoffel Golden called as First Counselor in the
Europe East Area Presidency.
NOTE: Elder
Golden’s new assignment will necessitate his release as an adviser to the
Church Magazines. Follow-up note (added on 7/20/17): If such a change has
been made, it is not reflected in the August 2017 Ensign.
Paul V. Johnson released as First Counselor in the Europe
Area Presidency and called as the Area President.
Larry S. Kacher released as First Counselor in the Europe
East Area Presidency and called as Second Counselor in the Africa West Area
Presidency.
Larry R. Lawrence released as the senior administrator of
the Middle East/Africa North Area.
NOTE: It is likely
that Elder Lawrence will be granted emeritus status in October, which would
also necessitate his release as an adviser to the Church magazines. Follow-up
note (added on 7/20/17): If such a change has been made, it is not reflected in
the August 2017 Ensign.
Joni L. Koch called as Second Counselor in the Africa
Southeast Area Presidency.
Hugo E. Martinez released as Second Counselor in the
Caribbean Area Presidency.
Peter F. Meurs called as Second Counselor in the Asia
Area Presidency.
NOTE: Elder Meurs
replaces Elder Evans, who is succeeding Elder Wong, as noted below. It is
therefore likely that we will see this change happen sooner than August, if it
has not already taken place.
S. Gifford Nielsen released as First Counselor in the
Pacific Area Presidency.
Adrian Ochoa released as First Counselor and called as
the President of the Central America Area
S. Mark Palmer released as Second Counselor and called as
First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency.
Anthony D. Perkins called as the junior administrator of
the Middle East/Africa North Area (referred to for the first time as the First
Counselor of that area).
NOTE: While the Church News article on this assignment
(which was published on May 3, 2017) noted this somewhat different title, no
mention of that was subsequently made in the August 2017 Ensign in the article discussing this year’s changes.
Gary B. Sabin released as Second Counselor and called as
First Counselor in the Europe Area Presidency.
Vern P. Stanfill released as Second Counselor in the
Africa West Area Presidency.
Scott D. Whiting released as President of the Asia North
Area.
Chi Hong (Sam) Wong released as First Counselor in the
Asia Area Presidency.
NOTE: Elder Wong,
who has been asked to serve as president of the Canada Vancouver Mission
starting in July, has likely already been released from this assignment to
allow him to prepare for this new one.
Jorge F. Zeballos called as First Counselor in the
Central America Area Presidency.
Wow. Impressive. You at minimum should be be a ward historian; I think the Church ought to hire you as a historian, writ large. Have you reached out to them>
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ReplyDeleteNo, I have not, Eduardo. I have always had a vast interest in Church History. For years, I carried around random facts that no one but myself might have cared about. In addition to studying any Church history material that came into my possession, I also spent hours in my childhood poring over old Ensigns in my parents' basement. For a long time, I could recite from memory the apostolic changes that took place in the Kimball and Benson years, note the dates of each death, and the changes that resulted in Church leadership. Over time, my interest branched out to facts and statistics about the current 15 apostles, and to extensive study about temple-related developments and General Conference. My personal laptop is full of such files. I have found my niche as a blogger reporting on these developments. And the Lord recently indicated to me that I should use my writing skills to provide a living for my family. I do enjoy Church history enough to make a career out of it, which may be part of the plan for the future. But for now, my health situation does not afford me the opportunity to consider working full-time outside the home. Writing is something I can do even with my health limits. When I get to a better phase of health, I will be looking into the possibility of additional education (perhaps through BYU-Pathway) and will try to decide more about my future. Maybe that will involve further study that would intellectually and educationally qualify me for such a position. For now, I am content sharing this information with people like you who find it interesting. Thanks for the inquiry and the comment. Good to hear from you, Eduardo! Hope you are well, my friend!
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