Neil Linden Andersen (born August 9, 1951) is an American religious leader and former business executive who serves as 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). He was sustained by church membership 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 ...

on April 4, 2009, during the church's General Conference. At the time of his call to the Twelve, Andersen had been serving as an LDS general authority since 1993, including service in the

Presidency of the Seventy A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

from 2005 to 2009. Currently, he is tenth apostle in order of seniority in the church. Andersen was born in Logan, Utah and raised near Pocatello, Idaho."Getting to know Neil L. Andersen"
''

Provo Herald The ''Daily Herald'' is a daily newspaper that covers news and community events in Utah County, central Utah. Much of the coverage focuses on the Provo-Orem metropolitan area in Utah Valley. The ''Daily Herald'' is owned by Ogden Newspapers. Th ...

'', 24 September 2009. Internet Archive from 4 July 2017. As a young man, he served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the LDS Church. After his mission, he graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) in 1975 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in economics and was elected student body vice president.Lambert, Karen
"Mother of an Apostle: Day special for valley's Kay Andersen"
''The Herald Journal'', Utah, 10 May 2009. Retrieved on 18 February 2020. He later earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from Harvard Business School in 1977. He later lived and worked in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, where he was the vice president of the Morton Plant Health System. While in Tampa, Andersen served in the LDS Church as a

stake president 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 ha ...

LDS Church service

Andersen was

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 ...

of the church's France

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

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 ...

from 1989 to 1992. In 1993, he was called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. As a general authority, he has been the assistant executive director of the Priesthood Department. He has also been in the presidencies of the church's Utah North, Utah South, North America Southwest, North America Northeast, and Europe West

areas 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 or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...

. He also served as president of the Brazil South Area. Andersen was the executive director of the Church Audiovisual Department and managed the development of the film ''The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd'' and supervised the launch of the website Mormon.org. From 1997 to 2001, Andersen was a member of the general presidency of the church's Sunday School. In 2005, Andersen became a member of the

. In this capacity, he directed the affairs of the church in the Idaho

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 or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

and in 2006, he broke ground for the construction of the Twin Falls Idaho Temple. In 2007, Andersen was reassigned to preside over the North America Southwest Area. From August 2008 to April 2009, Andersen was the senior member of the seven-man presidency. On February 14, 2009, he broke ground for the construction of The Gila Valley Arizona Temple, located in Central, Arizona.

Quorum of the Twelve

In April 2009, Andersen was called by church president

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the re ...

to fill the vacancy created in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by the death of

Joseph B. Wirthlin Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (June 11, 1917 – December 1, 2008) was an American businessman, religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was sustained to the ...

the previous year. In July 2013, Andersen attended the

2013 National Scout Jamboree The 2013 National Scout Jamboree (United States) was the 18th national Scout jamboree held by the Boy Scouts of America from July 15, 2013, to July 24, 2013. It was the first national Scout jamboree held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Vir ...

and spoke to the 3,000 LDS Boy Scouts in attendance, one of the larger Sunday services he has attended. On July 1, 2016 Andersen threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

baseball game as part of their long-running 'Mormon Night' tradition. Andersen reaffirmed the LDS Church's stance on marriage in the April 2019 general conference. Andersen remarked, "While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not."

Personal life

Andersen married Kathy Sue Williams in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

on March 20, 1975 while still students at BYU. They are the parents of four children."How old is each member of the LDS First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve?"
''

'', Utah, 5 October 2019. Retrieved on 18 February 2020.

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Neil L. Andersen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Neil L. 1951 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in France Apostles (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Harvard Business School alumni Latter Day Saints from Idaho Living people Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) People from Pocatello, Idaho Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Religious leaders from Idaho Latter Day Saints from Florida