First LDS Asian American and Latin American Apostles - Elder Gong and Elder Soares

This morning, the Church announced two new apostles to replace the two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve: Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares. The announcement of these two apostles is significant as Elder Gong is the first Asian American LDS apostle and Elder Soares is the first Latin American apostle. The call of these two new apostles signals a new area in the growth of the Church as prior to this time, only North Americans and Europeans have served in the Quorum of the Twelve. Thus, this development indicates significant progress in the internationalization of the Church in regards to its highest leadership bodies.

Elder Gong was first called as a General Authority Seventy in 2010 and served in the Presidency of the Seventy from 2015 until his call as an apostle (click here for more church leadership information). He has also served in the Asia Area Presidency. Elder Gong's ancestors immigrated to the United States from southern China, and Elder Gong was born in California from Chinese-American parents. He served a mission in Taiwan (1973-1975) and worked in Beijing as a special assistant to the United States ambassador in 1987 (click here for more biographical information). Elder Gong worked in several positions for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., from 1989-2001, and later worked at Brigham Young University immediately prior to his call as a General Authority Seventy. Elder Gong served in the Asia Area Presidency in Hong Kong from 2011-2015 (click here for more information).

Elder Soares was first called as a General Authority Seventy in 2005 and began to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy in 2013. He served a mission in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission, and served as the president of the Portugal Porto Mission from 2000-2003. He also served in several area presidencies for the Africa Southeast Area and the Brazil Area as a General Authority Seventy. Elder Soares was born in São Paulo, Brazil (click here for more information).