Sunday School, Young Men receive new presidencies

Several leadership changes were announced Saturday afternoon during the 174th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with new presidencies sustained for the faith's Sunday School and Young Men organizations.

In a change of policy, the new auxiliary leaders are not general authorities but are general officers of the church. Since October 1979, the positions were held by general authorities serving as full-time members of the Quorums of the Seventy. But the men sustained on Saturday will continue their employment while serving part time in their positions.

A. Roger Merrill will serve as general president of the Sunday School, with Daniel K. Judd as first counselor and William D. Oswald as second counselor. Charles W. Dahlquist II will lead the Young Men as general president, with Dean R. Burgess as first counselor and Michael A. Neider as second counselor.

Elder John H. Groberg was sustained a new member of the Presidency of the Seventy, replacing Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, who had served there since August 2000 and will return to the Quorums of the Seventy.

Elder Groberg had been serving as first counselor in the Sunday School presidency but was released along with former Sunday School President Merrill J. Bateman and Elder Val R. Christensen, who was second counselor. Those released from the Young Men general presidency were Elders F. Melvin Hammond, Lynn G. Robbins and Donald L. Hallstrom.

All will continue their full-time service to the church in other assignments.

Among other announcements:

Area Authority Seventies

• Thirty-five new Area Authority Seventies were named in Saturday's afternoon conference session. Area Authorities give voluntary LDS Church service within their assigned geographic areas. They are:

Jorge M. Alvarado, 33, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico; Homero S. Amato, 55, Sao Paulo, Brazil; John S. Anderson, 54, Gainesville, Fla.; Jorge D. Arrevillaga, 57, Tapachula, Mexico; A. Venancio Caleira, 41, Setubal, Portugal; Gabriel A. Campos, 56, Villa Alemana, Chile;