Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sustained 11 new General Authority Seventies during the Saturday morning session of the Church’s 194th Annual General Conference on Saturday, April 6.
The new leaders are:
- Elder David L. Buckner
- Elder Gregorio E. Casillas
- Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante
- Elder I. Raymond Egbo
- Elder D. Martin Goury
- Elder Karl D. Hirst
- Elder Christopher H. Kim
- Elder Sandino Roman
- Elder Steven D. Shumway
- Elder Michael B. Strong
- Elder Sergio R. Vargas
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, presented the new General Authority Seventies, along with the sustainings of the Church’s general authorities and general officers. A new Sunday School general presidency was also sustained.
Following is a brief look at each new General Authority Seventy. A more in-depth profile on each will appear in coming weeks.
Elder David L. Buckner
At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Buckner was serving as a member of the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area. His previous Church service includes as a full-time missionary in the Ecuador Guayaquil Mission, bishopric counselor, stake Young Men president, high councilor, bishop and stake president.
Elder Buckner received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Brigham Young University in 1988 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Durham University in 1991. He also received a Master’s of International Relations degree from BYU in 1995 and a Juris Doctorate degree from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1996. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1998 and president of Bottom Line Training and Consulting Inc. since 1999.
David Lamar Buckner was born in Ogden, Utah, on Sept. 27, 1963. He married Jennifer Romney Jackson in 1990; they are the parents of five children. Elder and Sister Buckner reside in New York City, New York.
Elder Gregorio E. Casillas
Prior to his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Casillas had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the México Area. He previously has served as a full-time missionary in the México Tampico Mission, bishop, stake president, ward Young Men president and president of the México México City South Mission, from 2018 to 2021.
Elder Casillas received a degree in civil engineering from the Autonomous University of Baja California in 2023 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Xochicalco University in 2024. He has worked as a project manager for several construction firms and for the Church as a temple engineer. He currently works for the Church as an area temple facilities manager.
Gregorio Enrique Casillas Bueno was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on Aug. 26, 1975. He married Alma Angelina Obeso Gonzalez in 1999; they are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Casillas reside in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante
At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Cavalcante was serving as president of the Brazil Rio de Janeiro South Mission, having started in 2021. Since joining the Church in 1991, his previous callings have included full-time missionary in the Brazil Recife South Mission, bishopric counselor, bishop, stake president and Area Seventy.
Elder Cavalcante received a postgraduate degree in administrative law from the Federal University of Ceará in 1997. From 1997 until 2005, he was an attorney for Procuradoria Geral do Município. Since 1999, he has worked as an attorney and managing partner of Barreto Cavalcante Advogados.
Aroldo Barreto Cavalcante Filho was born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, on Nov. 22, 1970. He married Christiana Ramalho Bezerra in 2002; they are the parents of four children. Elder and Sister Cavalcante reside in Recife, Brazil.
Elder I. Raymond Egbo
When called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Egbo was serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Africa West Area. His previous Church callings include full-time missionary in the Nigeria Lagos Mission, stake presidency counselor, high councilor and president of the Nigeria Calabar Mission, from 2009 to 2012.
Elder Egbo received an associate degree in education from Cross River College of Education in 1998, a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography and regional planning from the University of Calabar in 2002 and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Cumbria in 2022. He began working for the Church in 2002 as an institute director; since then, he has worked in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion in a variety of positions, including coordinator, country director and area director.
Idyo Ryamon Egdo was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, on June 25, 1974. He married Comfort Ikip Ese in 2003; they are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Egbo reside in Abuja, Nigeria.
Elder D. Martin Goury
When sustained as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Goury was serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Africa West Area. He has previously served in the Church as an elders quorum president, bishopric counselor, branch president, bishop and president of the Benin Cotonou Mission, from 2017 to 2020.
Elder Goury received a Bachelor of Science degree in teaching from CAFOP de Man in 1988 and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from London South Bank University in 1997. He was worked as a primary school teacher, a design engineer for Flexitalic Ltd., a senior project manager and deputy project director for Cameron, a general manager of Nigeria operations for OneSubsea Services and country operations manager for Schlumberger. Most recently, he has worked for the Church as a leader and member support coordinator.
Dalébé Martin Goury was born in Gagnoa, Côte d’Ivoire, on Jan. 30, 1964. He married Ruth Simone Kennington in 1995; they are the parents of four children. Elder and Sister Goury reside in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Elder Karl D. Hirst
At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Hirst was serving as an FSY session director. His previous Church callings include full-time missionary in the England London South Mission, bishopric counselor, ward and stake Young Men president, bishop, stake president and Area Seventy.
Elder Hirst received a Bachelor of Law degree from Lancaster University in 1996 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Alliance Manchester Business School in 2016. Since 1997, he has worked as a barrister.
Karl Douglas Hirst was born in Bury, Lancashire, United Kingdom, on Feb. 28, 1972. He married Claire Elizabeth Wright in 1993; they are parents of six children. Elder and Sister Hirst reside in Bolsover, England.
Elder Christopher H. Kim
When called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Kim was serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the Asia North Area. He has previously served as a full-time missionary in the Washington Seattle Mission, high counselor, stake presidency counselor and stake president.
Elder Kim received a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology in 1995 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 1997, both from Brigham Young University. He has worked in several executive positions for multinational companies. Since 2005, he has worked for Unicity International Inc. in a variety of positions, recently as president of global markets.
Christopher Hyunsu Kim was born in Daegu, Korea, on Nov. 18, 1965. He married Seongmi Kim in 1991; they are the parents of four children. Elder and Sister Kim reside in Seoul, Korea.
Elder Sandino Roman
At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Roman was serving as president of the Ecuador Quito North Mission. His previous Church callings include full-time missionary in the México Torreón Mission, elders quorum president, bishop, stake presidency counselor, high counselor and Area Seventy.
Sergio Rodrigo Vargas Barría was born in Puerto Varas, Chile, on Nov. 2, 1976. He married Andrea Ana Sánchez Maragaño i 2; they are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Varas reside in Frutillar, Chile.le.e..ersity in 2006, and a Master of Operations Management from OBS Business School in 2022. He has worked as a marketing manager for Johnson & Johnson and for the Church as the manager of thxico Area Support Services Office.
Prometeo Sandino Roman Corral was born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, on Aug. 7, 1973. He married Guadalupe Villanueva Rojas in 1998; they are the parents of four children. Elder and Sister Roman reside in Toluca, Mexico.
Elder Steven D. Shumway
When called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Shumway was serving as a member of the Eleventh Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southwest Area. His previous Church service includes full-missionary in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission, elders quorum president, Young Men president, bishop, stake president and president of the Illinois Chicago Mission, from 2019 to 2022.
Elder Shumway received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University in 1996. 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.
Steven Douglas Shumway was born in Springerville, Arizona, on June 30, 1970. He married Heidi Dawn O’Brien in 1994; they are the parents of four children. Elder and Sister Shumway reside in Pinetop, Arizona.
Elder Michael B. Strong
At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Strong was serving as a member of the Twelfth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah Area. Previously, his Church callings have included full-time missionary in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission, bishop, stake president and president of the Perú Lima Central Mission, from 2018 to 2021.
Elder Strong received a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology and a minor in chemistry from Brigham Young University in 1989 and a medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in 1993. He worked both as a physician and as the chief medical information officer for the University of Utah.
Michael Brent Strong was born in Salt Lake City on Aug. 6, 1965. He married Cristin Connelly in 1987; they are the parents of six children. Elder and Sister Strong reside in Centerville, Utah.
Elder Sergio R. Vargas
When called as a new General Authority Seventy, Elder Vargas was serving as a member of the Ninth Quorum of the Seventy in the South America South Area. His previous Church callings include high councilor, branch president and stake president.
Elder Vargas is an aquaculture engineer and received a Bachelor of Science degree in marine resources from Los Lagos University in 1999 and a diploma in business administration from Austral University in 2002. He also earned a diploma in business administration from the University of Concepción, a certificate in sustainable business strategy from Harvard Business School Online and a certificate in professional skills from Brigham Young University PathwayConnect. He has worked in several positions in the Chilean aquaculture industry, including operations manager assistant, operations deputy manager, farming deputy manager and operations and infrastructure manager, all for Aquachile. He currently works as a production and operational manager for Ventisqueros, a member of the German Schörghuber Corporate Group.
Sergio Rodrigo Vargas Barría was born in Puerto Varas, Chile, on Nov. 2, 1976. He married Andrea Ana Sánchez Maragaño in 2003; they are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Vargas reside in Frutillar, Chile.
