A new Young Women general presidency and a change in counselors in the Young Men general presidency were presented and sustained by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, April 1.
Presented by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, the leaders joined five new General Authority Seventies also sustained during the Saturday afternoon session of the Church’s 193rd Annual General Conference.
The new Young Women leaders will begin their service on Aug. 1; the changes in the Young Men presidency are effective immediately, President Oaks said.
The new Young Women general presidency, effective Aug. 1, 2023, is:
- President Emily Belle Freeman
- Sister Tamara Wood Runia, first counselor
- Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor
Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon and her counselors, Sister Michelle D. Craig and Sister Rebecca L. Craven, who were sustained in April 2018 and were formally released Saturday, April 1, with an acknowledgment of appreciation, will complete their service as the Young Women general presidency on July 31.
What we know about the new General Young Women General Presidency
President Emily Belle Freeman was raised in Utah and is a well-known Latter-day Saint author of books that testify of Jesus Christ and God in her everyday life, she says. Along with being an author, she is a speaker known for her podcast about the church’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide and at a the popular event Time Out for Women. She and her husband have five children.
Sister Tamara W. Runia, who grew up in California, is an active participant in the community and has served in multiple stake callings, such as her stake’s scripture class instructor, stake Young Women president, and counselor in the stake Relief Society presidency. She has seven children with her husband.
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and served a full-time mission in the Argentina Resistencia Mission during her youth, Throughout her life, she has been with the young people of the church as an advisor for a young single adult Spanish-speaking ward. She also taught early morning seminary. With her husband, she served in the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission from 2009 to 2012, and the couple has two daughters together.
The changes in the Young Men presidency will be:
- Stephen J. Lund will remain the president.
- Bradley Ray Wilcox as First Counselor (formerly Second Counselor)
- Michael T. Nelson as Second Counselor.
The former first counselor, Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, was called to be a General Authority Seventy on Saturday.The former first counselor, Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, was called to be a General Authority Seventy on Saturday.
What we know about the new Young Men General Presidency counselors
President Steven J. Lund He received an undergraduate degree in communications and a law degree, both from Brigham Young University. Steven J. Lund’s past Church assignments have included service as a full-time missionary in the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission, mission president in the Georgia Atlanta Mission, Area Seventy, coordinator of the Provo City Center Temple Dedication Committee and member of the Young Men general board. He worked as an attorney before becoming president and CEO of a large Utah-based cosmetics company. He is currently its executive chairman of the board of directors. He is also a former regent of the Utah System of Higher Education. He and his wife have four children.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox was born in Provo,. He has been a professor of Brigham Young University’s Ancient Scripture department and is author of two books — “His Grace is Sufficient” and “The Continuous Atonement.” He served as a full-time missionary in the Chile Vina del Mar Mission, and later served in the callings of bishop, mission president of the Chile Santiago East Mission and counselor in a young single adult stake presidency. He and his wife have four children.
Brother Michael T. Nelson is from Salt Lake City, He served a mission in his youth in the Chile Santiago Mission and later with his wife in the California San Bernardino Mission. He’s worked as a chief financial officer and studied communications at BYU and the University of Utah. He and his wife have nine children together.