Gary Evan Stevenson (born August 6, 1955) is an American religious leader and former businessman who is a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). He served previously as the church's Presiding Bishop and was the fourteenth man to serve in that position. He has been a general authority of the church since 2008. Stevenson was appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 2015. Currently, he is the twelfth most senior apostle in the church. Stevenson was born in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, and was raised primarily in the state's

Cache Valley Cache Valley is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley i ...

area. Stevenson was an

LDS Church missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

in the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in the mid-1970s."Elder Gary E. Stevenson"
'' Liahona'', November 2015. After this, he attended the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

(USU). Prior to his call as a general authority, Stevenson worked as the chief operating officer of ICON Health & Fitness. He has also served on the

Marriott School of Management The Marriott School of Business is the business school of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1891 and renamed i ...

National Advisory Council and the Utah State University Foundation Board.

LDS Church service

In the LDS Church, Stevenson has served as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and a counselor in a

stake presidency A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

. He served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Japan

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Mission from 2004 to 2007. Stevenson became a member of the LDS Church's

First Quorum of the Seventy First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

at the April 2008 general conference. During his time in the Seventy, Stevenson served both as a counselor and as president of the church's Asia North

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

, based in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. On March 31, 2012, he was released from the

and sustained as the church's Presiding Bishop. Stevenson was released as presiding bishop six days after he was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve and was succeeded by

Gérald Caussé Gérald Jean Caussé (born 20 May 1963) has been the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 9 October 2015. He is the fifteenth man to serve in this position. He has been a general authority of th ...

. In October 2015, he was sustained as an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

and member of the Quorum of the Twelve. As an apostle, he is accepted by the church as a

prophet, seer and revelator Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

. He was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve along with Ronald A. Rasband and

Dale G. Renlund Dale Gunnar Renlund (born November 13, 1952) is an American religious leader and former cardiologist who serves in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He has been a general authority ...

, filling vacancies created by the 2015 deaths of

L. Tom Perry Lowell Tom Perry (August 5, 1922 – May 30, 2015) was an American businessman and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1974 until his deat ...

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jes ...

and

Richard G. Scott Richard Gordon Scott (November 7, 1928 – September 22, 2015) was an American scientist and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Scott was b ...

. This was the first time since 1906 that three new apostles were sustained. They are the 98th, 99th and 100th members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the church's history. Stevenson is currently assigned over the church's southeast Africa area, comprising the countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Madagascar and Seychelles.

Personal life

Stevenson married Lesa Jean Higley in the

Idaho Falls Idaho Temple The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (formerly the Idaho Falls Temple) is the tenth constructed and eighth operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho, it was the church's first temple b ...

and have four sons. He met his wife while attending USU.

Additional reading

*''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is ...

'', June 28, 2008, p. 7
"Elder Gary E. Stevenson"
'' Liahona'', May 2008, p. 138
"Bishop Gary E. Stevenson"
'' Liahona'', May 2012. * Robert D. Hales
"Elder Gary E. Stevenson: An Understanding Heart"
'' Liahona'', June 2016.

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Gary E. Stevenson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Gary E. 1955 births American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Japan Living people Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah Utah State University alumni 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries Apostles (LDS Church)