During a solemn assembly today in the Conference Center, members of the LDS Church are expected to sustain a new First Presidency and a new apostle as part of the faith's 178th Annual General Conference.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were not surprised on Feb. 4, when President Thomas S. Monson was named the church's top leader, but the announcement of who his counselors would be held some suspense, as does the expected naming of a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve during the opening session at 10 a.m.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's call as second counselor in the First Presidency marked the first time a native German has been called as a member of the faith's ruling quorum, focusing some attention on his conversion and church experience in Europe, where a majority of the church's first converts were gained in the 19th century.

And while many of the faith's current general authorities have European ancestry, LDS missionaries serving there today have far less success in finding converts than their counterparts in Central and South America, where chapels, stake centers and temples have sprouted readily during the past half-century.

Yet there are signs of some future potential for a "second harvest" of LDS conversion in Europe, according to Armand Mauss, emeritus professor of sociology and religious studies at Washington State University, who has long examined the practices of Latter-day Saints.

Writing in the inaugural issue of the new British Journal of Mormon Studies, Mauss wonders, "Can There Be a 'Second Harvest'?: Controlling the Cost of Latter-day Saint Membership in Europe," as the title for his article.

It opens with references to comments by three LDS general authorities to a future wave of conversion in Europe, including a statement by President Gordon B. Hinckley and later published in the Ensign magazine in July 2000.

While visiting a mission conference as an apostle, then-Elder Hinckley addressed two Swedish missionaries who were finishing their service. "Let me say a few words to you that I want you to take home to Sweden." Then he lifted a glass of water and pointed to it.

"Sweden has for many years been like this glass of water — not much action. In the middle 1800s when the first missionaries came to Sweden, thousands of people joined the church. It was a great and mighty harvest. When you go home, I want you to tell the members that there will be a new harvest, a second harvest in Sweden, that will bring thousands of Swedes into the church."

Mauss then outlines the current "costs of (LDS) membership" for Europeans, who face challenges their American counterparts likely haven't encountered to the same degree.