Presidency of the Seventy

Historically, seven members of the First Quorum of the Seventy are called to serve as the Presidency of the Seventy. This precedent was broken, however, when Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Second Quorum of the Seventy was sustained to the Presidency to fill the vacancy created by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

They provide direction for the seventies and serve the apostles and president of the Church. The Presidency of the Seventy is unique in that not only are there seven members but all seven hold the keys of presidency. The man with the longest tenure of uninterrupted service is called to preside over the other six.

With the release of all area presidencies in North America, the Presidency of the Seventy are now directly responsible for supervising the Church in North America. The Presidency (as of the April 2008 General Conference) consisted of:

Surname	Given Names	Sustained	Age Sust.	Born	City Born	State/Country	Children
Clayton	L. Whitney	199610055 Apr 2008	58	19340624 Feb 1950	Salt Lake City	Utah	7
Hallstrom	Donald L.	200510011 Oct 2005	54	195108099 Aug 1951	Logan	Utah	4
Maynes	Richard J.	200510011 Oct 2005	54	195102066 Feb 1951	Salt Lake City	Utah	5
Christensen	Craig C.	200710066 Oct 2007	58	1949030625 Mar 1949	Santos	Brazil	4
Soares	Ulisses	200710066 Oct 2007	57	1949110623 Nov 1949	St. George	Utah	4
Robbins	Lynn G.	200710066 Oct 2007	54	1952110618 Nov 1952	Montevideo	Uruguay	4
Gong	Gerrit W.	200804056 Oct 2015	56	1950020623 Dec 1953	Redwood City	CA	4

Source: Deseret Morning News 2008 Church Almanac, 40-41,43; Mormon Newsroom

At the October 2007 General Conference of the Church, Elders Charles Didier, Merrill J. Bateman, and Robert C. Oaks were released. Called in their place were Elders Claudio R.M. Costa, Steven E. Snow, and Walter F. Gonzalez. At the solemn assembly held as part of the April 2008 General Conference, D. Todd Christofferson was released as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy and called to be an apostle. L. Whitney Clayton was called to take Elder Christofferson's place in the Presidency of the Seventy at that time.