Today the Church announced that Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was assigned to be the new Chair of the Missionary Executive Council and the new Chair of the Correlation Executive Council. Furthermore, Elder Ucthdorf will also be the "primary contact" for the Church's Europe and Europe East Areas. President Russell M. Nelson and President Dallin H. Oaks previously served as the Chair of the Missionary Executive Council. It is unclear who previously served as the Chair for the Correlation Executive Council.
The appointment of Elder Uchtdorf to serve as the chair for these councils is significant and may have implications for future LDS growth. Currently, there are no other apostles who have the personal experience of being born and raised in a country outside of the United States. Moreover, Elder Uchtdoft has extensive experience with church administration in Europe. His career with Lufthansa also provided him with experience meeting people from many areas of the world. Due to this unique background, Elder Uchtdorf likely possesses valuable insight, experience, and talent in regards to heading worldwide LDS missionary operations and the oversight of the publication of LDS materials (which may also include translation efforts). As a result, it will be interesting to see whether his appointment may correspond to changes in the worldwide distribution of missionary resources to better meet regional needs.
The appointment of Elder Uchtdorf to serve as the chair for these councils is significant and may have implications for future LDS growth. Currently, there are no other apostles who have the personal experience of being born and raised in a country outside of the United States. Moreover, Elder Uchtdoft has extensive experience with church administration in Europe. His career with Lufthansa also provided him with experience meeting people from many areas of the world. Due to this unique background, Elder Uchtdorf likely possesses valuable insight, experience, and talent in regards to heading worldwide LDS missionary operations and the oversight of the publication of LDS materials (which may also include translation efforts). As a result, it will be interesting to see whether his appointment may correspond to changes in the worldwide distribution of missionary resources to better meet regional needs.
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Is an Ambae Vanuatu District still possible for this year?
Elder Uchtdorf's unique insights of language will prove useful.
Does that district question mean become a stake or for a new district to be created in Vanuatu?
New district.
Under the Districts list for 2017, Matt has listed "24. Ambae Vanuatu**." I was just wondering if anything became of it.
I would think the possibility of a district on Ambae Island is still possible.
This stems from the fact that Luganville Vanuatu District has 13 branches on 4 main islands. The largest island is Espiritu Santo with a population of about 45,000 and 6 branches:
Banban Branch
Fanafo Branch
Jarailan Branch
Luganville Branch
Palon Branch
Tanavoli Branch
Ambae Island has a population of about 10,000 and 5 branches:
Apopo Branch
Lolotinge Branch
Lovutialao Branch
Navuti Branch
Red Cliff Branch
The other two islands have a single branch named for the island:
Gaua Branch 2500
Mere Lava Branch 650
Given the size of the district and how it is split between islands, one would think that the large district would at some point be split into two districts, each headquartered on one of the two larger islands. The other two branches could potentially go into either district in such a split.
On the other hand, it is possible that the 5 branches on Ambae are tiny (6 branches for 45,000 total population on Espiritu Santo and 5 branches for 10,000 on Ambae) and thus it might take a little time before they are ready to shoulder a district.
As previously indicated by President Nelson, Elder Uchtdorf is very uniquely suited for these new responsibilities. I particularly found it interesting to learn that he will have such a significant role in the Church's missionary and correlation efforts, since he has had experience with crafting policies and announcements relating to those programs of the Church during his time in the First Presidency. I also don't know if any of you were aware of this, but before Elder Uchtdorf received the assignment to oversee the Church in the Europe and Europe East Areas of the Church, Presidents Nelson and Ballard had those responsibilities. To me, the fact that our European-born apostle now has oversight of areas that were previously entrusted to the now-Church President and Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks volumes of the confidence both of them have in Elder Uchtdorf. And having been born in Europe (and, if memory serves, having served for a while in one or two European areas prior to his call to the apostleship), he is in a very unique position indeed to understand the issues facing both the Church and its' members in the two areas. If these assignments are not a testament to how much the Brethren trust Elder Uchtdorf, I don't know what more could be done to demonstrate that.
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