Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Bishop Gérald Caussé, presiding bishop of the Church—will visit the Pacific Area this month.
The leaders will be accompanied by their wives, Sister Ruth Renlund, Sister Diane Hallstrom and Sister Valérie Caussé.
The couples will visit Tonga, New Zealand and Australia, meeting with Latter-day Saint leaders, members and missionaries in Nuku’alofa, Auckland, Hamilton and Perth. Bishop and Sister Caussé will also visit Tahiti.
Elder O. Vincent Haleck, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen and Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Church’s Pacific Area Presidency—accompanied by their wives: Sister Peggy Haleck; Sister Wendy Nielsen; and Sister Deborah Cardon—will host the visitors.
Elder Dale G. Renlund was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at the time of his call, to which he was called on April 4, 2009. He previously served as president of the Africa Southeast Area.
After receiving B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Utah, Elder Renlund received further medical and research training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was a Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah and the Medical Director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals (UTAH) Cardiac Transplant Program.
Elder Renlund has served in numerous church callings including full-time missionary in Sweden, stake president, bishop, and Area Seventy.
Elder Renlund was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in November 1952. He married Ruth Lybbert in 1977. They are the parents of one daughter.
Elder Donald L. Hallstrom was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 1, 2000. At the time of his call, he was serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America West Area. He was named a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on April 4, 2009.
From 2005 to 2009, Elder Hallstrom was a member of the Asia Area Presidency, headquartered in Hong Kong, and concluded that service as the Area President. From 2000 to 2003, he was in the Asia North Area, residing in Tokyo, Japan, and also serving as the Area President. Additionally, he served as Executive Director of the Church Audiovisual Department and as a member of the Young Men General Presidency.
Elder Hallstrom graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. At the time of his call to full-time Church service in 2000, he was president of the Hallstrom Group, Inc., a real estate consulting organization based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has held various professional designations and certifications and also served as an expert witness in state and federal courts.
Elder Hallstrom has served on various boards, including the executive board of the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the President’s Roundtable of Brigham Young University–Hawaii. He was also vice chairman of Hawaii Reserves, Inc., which manages non-ecclesiastical Church real estate in Hawaii. Additionally, he also has served on the National Advisory Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Elder Hallstrom has served the Church as a full-time missionary in England, elders quorum president, stake high councilor, bishop, stake president, and regional representative. He was called as an Area Authority in 1995 and as an Area Seventy in 1997.
Elder Hallstrom was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 27, 1949. He married Diane Clifton in July 1972. They are the parents of four children.
Bishop Gérald Caussé was serving as a General Authority Seventy and as a counselor in the Europe Area Presidency when he accepted the call to be a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric at the April 2012 general conference. In October 2015, he became the 15th presiding bishop in the Church's history.
He is the third presiding bishop born outside the United States and the first for whom English is a second language.
Bishop Caussé received a master’s degree in business from ESSEC in 1987. His career has been in the food industry, where he has worked with several supermarket chains and food distribution companies. At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, he was the general manager of Pomona, a food distribution company in France.
His Church service includes elders quorum president, bishop’s counselor, stake president’s counselor, stake president and Area Seventy.
Gérald Caussé was born in Bordeaux, France on May 20, 1963. He married Valérie Lucienne Babin in August 1986. They are the parents of five children.