“Area Presidency Assignments,” Ensign, August 2018
News of the Church
Area Presidency Assignments
North American Areas Now Overseen by Area Presidencies
The First Presidency has announced that areas in the United States and Canada—previously overseen by members of the Presidency of the Seventy—will be administered by Area Presidencies. This change will be effective August 1.
“The creation of Area Presidencies for the United States and Canada is an important step forward,” said President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It allows these Brethren to focus on the specific needs of each region, providing counsel and direction to regional and local leaders. It also gives the Presidency of the Seventy greater capacity to assist the Quorum of the Twelve in their work and fulfill other assignments.”
United States and Canada
Idaho/North America Central
Wilford W. Andersen
President
S. Gifford Nielsen
First Counselor
Brian K. Taylor
Second Counselor
North America Northeast
Randall K. Bennett
President
Kevin S. Hamilton
First Counselor
Allen D. Haynie
Second Counselor
North America Northwest/West
Kevin W. Pearson
President
Scott D. Whiting
First Counselor
Jörg Klebingat
Second Counselor
North America Southeast
Claudio R. M. Costa
President
Shayne M. Bowen
First Counselor
Vern P. Stanfill
Second Counselor
North America Southwest
Lynn G. Robbins
President
Paul B. Pieper
First Counselor
Adrián Ochoa
Second Counselor
Utah
Craig C. Christensen
President
LeGrand R. Curtis Jr.
First Counselor
Randy D. Funk
Second Counselor
Outside United States and Canada
Africa Southeast
S. Mark Palmer
President
Joseph W. Sitati
First Counselor
Joni L. Koch
Second Counselor
Africa West
Marcus B. Nash
President
Larry S. Kacher
First Counselor
Edward Dube
Second Counselor
Asia
David F. Evans
President
Peter F. Meurs
First Counselor
David P. Homer
Second Counselor
Asia North
Yoon Hwan Choi
President
Kazuhiko Yamashita
First Counselor
Takashi Wada
Second Counselor
Brazil
Marcos A. Aidukaitis
President
W. Mark Bassett
First Counselor
Adilson de Paula Parrella
Second Counselor
Caribbean
Walter F. González
President
Jose L. Alonso
First Counselor
Eduardo Gavarret
Second Counselor
Central America
Juan A. Uceda
President
Jorge F. Zeballos
First Counselor
Valeri V. Cordón
Second Counselor
Europe
Paul V. Johnson
President
Gary B. Sabin
First Counselor
Massimo De Feo
Second Counselor
Europe East
James B. Martino
President
Christoffel Golden
First Counselor
Alexey V. Samaykin*
Second Counselor
Mexico
Arnulfo Valenzuela
President
Rafael E. Pino
First Counselor
John C. Pingree Jr.
Second Counselor
Middle East/Africa North
Administered from Church headquarters
Wilford W. Andersen
Anthony D. Perkins
Pacific
O. Vincent Haleck
President
Ian S. Ardern
First Counselor
K. Brett Nattress
Second Counselor
Philippines
Evan A. Schmutz
President
Michael John U. Teh
First Counselor
Taniela B. Wakolo
Second Counselor
South America Northwest
Enrique R. Falabella
President
Hugo Montoya
First Counselor
Mathias Held
Second Counselor
South America South
Benjamín De Hoyos
President
Mark A. Bragg
First Counselor
Juan Pablo Villar
Second Counselor