New apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints named

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KIFI) - Elder Patrick Kearon is the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was called on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, and ordained later that day by President Russell M. Nelson and the other members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"The call to the holy apostleship is one of witness to the world of the divinity of the Lord Jesus the Christ,” said President Russell M. Nelson, at the time of his call to serve in that capacity in 1984.

In addition to their primary responsibility to be special witnesses of the name of Christ throughout the world, these Apostles have significant administrative responsibilities in overseeing the operation and development of a global Church. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the second-highest presiding body in the government of the Church. They serve under the direction of the First Presidency, which includes the Church President and two counselors.

Elder Kearon, who has served as the senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2020, fills the vacancy created by the death of President M. Russell Ballard, who passed away on Sunday, November 12, 2023. The British and Irish national has been a General Authority Seventy since April 3, 2010. 

“This sacred call is so very daunting and humbling to me,” Elder Kearon said. “I will need to place all my trust in the Savior as I seek to become what He needs me to be and share my witness of His love and light. The abundance and grace of Jesus Christ have brought immense joy into my life, as well as healing balm in times of trial. I love Him. I will strive to serve Him to the best of my ability.”

Elder Kearon, 62, was raised in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, where his father worked in the defense industry. At age 10, he attended boarding school in England while his parents remained in Saudi Arabia. The significant trial of that separation fostered lasting insights and sensitivities that have come to mark his ministry.

“Of course in so many ways we are all far from home,” Elder Kearon once taught Brigham Young University students. “The metaphor here with our eternal home is clear. … Our Eternal Father has not let any of us leave home, leave His presence, without the opportunity to access His love and His guidance — every day of our lives.”

In his adult life, Elder Kearon lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United States in a range of industries, including running his own communication consultancy.

Elder Kearon first came to an understanding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he lived in California with a Latter-day Saint family. He said they “lived a joyful existence founded on service.” A few years later he met missionaries on the street in London and was eventually baptized on Christmas Eve 1987.

Two years after his baptism, Elder Kearon met Jennifer Hulme, a student at Brigham Young University in Provo. She was visiting London on a six-month study abroad. The couple married in the Oakland California Temple in 1991 and then lived in England for 19 years before relocating to Utah when he was called as a General Authority Seventy. They have four children: Sean (who died in infancy), Elizabeth, Susannah, and Emma.

Before his call as a General Authority, Elder Kearon’s Church assignments included Area Seventy, stake president, and branch president.

Elder Kearon will be sustained at the April 2024 general conference.