LDS Church Announces Changes in Leadership for the Presidency of the Seventy

On Tuesday, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that they made some changes to the leadership for the Presidency of the Seventy.

L. Whitney Clayton has been called to serve as the senior president of the Quorums of the Seventy, and Gerrit W. Gong has accepted the call to serve as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. 

Elder L. Whitney Clayton

Mormon Newsroom reports that Clayton is filling a vacancy that came from Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Clayton, a Utah native, has previously served as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy since 2008, and has assisted Elder David A. Bednar in overseeing the Africa Southeast and Africa West Areas. 

Clayton served a full-time mission to Peru and is fluent in Spanish. Clayton attended the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, before continuing to the University of the Pacific for a law degree. Clayton and his wife, Kathy Ann Kipp, have seven children and 20 grandchildren. 

Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Gong previously served as president of the Church’s Asia Area up until his call to the Presidency of the Seventy. Mormon Newsroom reports that Gong will continue his service in Asia while his responsibilities are transferred. Gong, whose grandparents were Chinese immigrants, had previously served as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy and the First Quorum of the Seventy.  

Gong attended Brigham Young University where he received a degree in Asian and university studies. He then attended Oxford University where he received a master of philosophy degree and a PhD. Gong served a full-time mission for the Church in Taiwan. Gong and his wife, Susan Lindsay Gong, have four children and three grandchildren.