Presidency of the Seventy

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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
Tingey Earl C. 199610055 Oct 1996   62 19340611 Jun 1934   Bountiful Utah 4
Andersen Neil L. 200510011 Oct 2005   54 195108099 Aug 1951   Logan Utah 4
Rasband Ronald A. 200510011 Oct 2005   54 195102066 Feb 1951   Salt Lake City Utah 5
Costa Claudio R. M. 200710066 Oct 2007   58 1949030625 Mar 1949   Santos Brazil 4
Snow Steven E. 200710066 Oct 2007   57 1949110623 Nov 1949   St. George Utah 4
Gonzalez Walter F. 200710066 Oct 2007   54 1952110618 Nov 1952   Montevideo Uruguay 4
Clayton L. Whitney 200804055 Apr 2008   58 1950020624 Feb 1950   Salt Lake City Utah 7

Source: Deseret Morning News 2008 Church Almanac, 40-41,43.

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.