Difference between revisions of "Gabriel Reid"

Latest revision as of 19:11, 3 August 2024

Gabriel and Heather Reid

Gabriel W. Reid is a former football tight end and fullback who played for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League in four seasons from 2003 to 2006. He was a sales consultant for two years and CEO at Pure Enviro Management since May 2009.

He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Heather, accepted a call to preside over the Australia Sydney Mission of the Church beginning in July 2021 and concluded his service in July 2024. In the April 2024 general conference, he was sustained as second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, effective August 1, 2024.

Reid was born on May 28, 1977, in Pago Pago, American Samoa, where he played high school football. His brother Spencer Reid also played in the NFL.

Gabe Reid played football at Brigham Young University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Affairs. He had a Latin American Studies minor.

Gabe and Heather Reid are the parents of three daughters and one son. The Deseret News profiled their family decisions since April 2019.

At the end of general conference in April 2019, the family of Gabriel and Heather Reid was watching when President Russell M. Nelson announced a new temple for Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Born and raised in American Samoa before playing football at Brigham Young University and in the NFL, Gabriel W. Reid suddenly had a strong impression to move his family to his homeland. They made preparations to move, even sending a load of possessions to American Samoa and purchasing airfare before COVID-19 prevented them from traveling there last June.

“People asked, ‘Have your plans changed? Are you still thinking about going down?’ But we were committed to going down,” Reid said. “The only person that can change our plans is the same person that told me I needed to go down there in the first place.”

Those plans did change in the form of a mission call as the 43-year-old and his wife have been assigned to preside over the Australia Sydney Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“The Lord is in charge and he had other plans,” Reid said.[1]

Reid added that the plan to move to Samoa prepared his family for this change.

Reid has served as a young men’s president, a bishop, and as the second counselor in a stake presidency. He served as the first counselor in the Provo Utah 1st Stake presidency, a diverse Polynesian stake. He also served as a full-time missionary in the Chile Santiago South Mission (1996-1998).

“Being a member of this stake has probably been one of greatest things that has prepared me to be a mission president,” he said.[2]

Reid speaks Samoan and Spanish in addition to English.

• Church News, "From American Samoa to the NFL to the mission field, Brother Gabriel W. Reid has learned to put God first"