President Uchtdorf to speak at BYU-Idaho's commencement

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the second counselor in the First

Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be

the Brigham Young University-Idaho Fall Commencement speaker on Dec.

12. Commencement will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the John W. Hart

Auditorium.

President Uchtdorf was called as the second counselor in the First

Presidency on Feb. 3. Prior to this call, he was sustained as a

member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 2, 2004, and had

served as a general authority since April 1994. He was also called as a

member of the Presidency of the Seventy in August 2002.

 

President Uchtdorf was raised in Zwickau, Germany, where his family

joined the church in 1947. He studied engineering and later continued

his education in business administration in Cologne, Germany, and

international management in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In 1959, President Uchtdorf joined the German air force and received

his pilot wings in Big Spring, Texas, and fighter pilot training in

Phoenix. In 1965, he joined Lufthansa German Airlines and worked

as an airline captain. He completed his career flying the B747. When he

was called as a general authority, he was working as the senior vice

president of flight operations and chief pilot of Lufthansa German

Airlines. He was also chairman of the Flight Operations Committee of

the International Air Transport Association.

President Uchtdorf married his wife, Harriet Reich, on Dec. 14, 1962. They are the parents of two children.

Representing the Church Educational System during graduation will

be Roger G. Christensen. He serves as the assistant to

the commissioner for the CES and secretary to the Church Board of Education and the boards of trustees for BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii and

LDS Business College.  

Complimentary tickets for commencement may be picked up at the Ticket

Office beginning Dec. 8. Each marching graduate is allotted up to three

tickets.

For graduation information, please visit www.byui.edu/graduation. This press release can be seen in its original context at  www.byui.edu.