Three new Mormon leaders give first remarks to church members

By The Associated Press

Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015 | 5:43 p.m.

The three new leaders of the Mormon church's top governing body that sets policy gave their first remarks to members Sunday.

Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson and Dale G. Renlund spoke at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' conference in Salt Lake City. The new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were welcomed by church president Thomas S. Monson, who called them dedicated and well-qualified.

Rasband, a former CEO of a chemical corporation, said his new call comes from Christ.

"I am overwhelmed and shaken to my very core to consider the import and significance of those words so tenderly spoken by our loving prophet" Rasband said.

He also spoke of how Jesus Christ teaches others and looks past their ethnicity, rank and circumstances, the Salt Lake Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/1FNVXyY).

Stevenson, co-founder of an exercise equipment manufacturing company, said he felt "a tsunami of indescribable emotion" and some initial feelings of inadequacy when asked to serve.

"I received a distinct impression which both chastened and comforted me: to focus not on what I can't do, but rather on what I can do," Stevenson said.

Renlund, a retired cardiologist, vowed to see others as children of God and give them care.

"This calling is not about me," he said. "It's about the Lord, his work and Heavenly Father's children."

Their appointments — announced Saturday at the conference — surprised many outside religious scholars who speculated that the Utah-based faith would choose at least one new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from a country outside the U.S., perhaps from Latin America or Africa.

That would have been a symbol and recognition of the expanding global reach of a religion that has more than half of its 15 million members outside the United States.

The announcements marked a rare moment in church history. It had been six years since a new quorum member was chosen, and more than a decade since the leadership council had two openings. The last time there were three openings at the same time was in 1906.

Quorum members serve until they die, and three recent deaths created the unprecedented void. Modeled after Jesus Christ's apostles, the group serves under the church president and his two counselors.

The new members of the quorum are the 98th, 99th and 100th members of the governing body since the religion was formed in 1830.