SALT LAKE CITY — The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced six General Authority Seventies and 36 Area Seventies at the Saturday afternoon session of the 187th Annual General Conference.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, named Taylor G. Godoy, Joni L. Koch, Adilson de Paula Parrella, John C. Pingree Jr., Brian K. Taylor and Taniela B. Wakolo as General Authority Seventies. Elders Godoy and Pingree were released as Area Seventies.

The new leaders come from various international backgrounds, from South America to the United States to the South Pacific.

Elder Godoy comes to the new assignment after serving as a member of the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the South America Northwest Area. He was born in Lima, Peru, in 1968. He married Carol Tatiana Pacheco Agostinelli in May 1994, and the couple has two children. He has made a living as a dentist and worked in LDS Church Seminaries and Institutes.

Elder Koch has served as president of the Mozambique Maputo Mission. Born in Brazil in 1962, he earned a degree in statistics from BYU in the early 1990s and has worked in several management positions during his career. He and his wife, Liliane Michele Ludwig, are the parents of two children.

Elder Parrella, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, joined the church in 1971. Among many leadership callings, he served a mission in the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission and later as the president of the Brazil Belo Horizonte Mission. His education includes degrees in communications and business administration. He and his wife, Elaine Finholdt, are the parents of five children.

Elder Taylor has served as president of the Texas Dallas Mission. He graduated from BYU and co-founded a software company serving public safety and homeland security agencies. The Ogden, Utah, native married Jill Featherstone in 1987 and they have seven children.

Elder Wakolo, a native of Fiji, comes to his new calling after serving as president of the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. He joined the church in 1994. In addition to earning a bachelor's and master's degree's, Elder Wakolo has made a living as a seminary teacher and worked as service center manager at the Church’s Fiji Service Center. He and his wife, Anita Herberta Moimoi, are the parents of two children.

Elder Pingree has served as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah Salt Lake City Area. He studied English and political science at the University of Utah and received a master's of business administration at Harvard Business School. He has held several executive positions in biotechnology, healthcare and medical humanitarian organizations. Elder Pingree has also served in a number of church leadership positions, including president of the Texas Houston Mission. He and his wife, Anne Pugsley, are the parents of five children.

The 36 Area Seventies are as follows:

Luis R. Arbizú, 52, Mejicanos, El Salvador; David A. Benalcázar, 44, Quito, Ecuador; Berne S. Broadbent, 62, South Jordan, Utah; David L. Buckner, 53, New York, New York; L. Todd Budge, 57, Sandy, Utah; Luciano Cascardi, 53, São Paulo, Brazil; Ting Tsung Chang, 59, East District, Taiwan; Pablo H. Chavez, 40, Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Raymond A. Cutler, 64, Bountiful, Utah; Fernando P. Del Carpio, 41, Tacna, Peru; José L. Del Guerso, 57, Itapema, Brazil; Aleksandr A. Drachyov, 40, Novosibirsk, Russia; I. Raymond Egbo, 42, Accra, Ghana; Carlos R. Fusco Jr., 50, São Paulo, Brazil; Jorge A. García, 62, Tijuana, Mexico; Gary F. Gessel, 64, Tacoma, Washington; Guillermo I. Guardia, 50, San Cristóbal, Venezuela; Marcel Guei, 42, Cocody, Cote d'Ivoire; José Hernández, 49, San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Karl D. Hirst, 45, Brixworth, England; Ren S. Johnson, 60, Reno, Nevada; Jay B. Jones, 63, Fairview, Texas; Anthony M. Kaku, 54, Cape Coast, Ghana; Paul N. Lekias, 49, Padbury, Australia; John A. McCune, 53, Springville, Utah; Tomas S. Merdegia Jr., 62, Calamba City, Philippines; Artur J. Miranda, 46, Sandton, South Africa; Elie K. Monga, 50, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; Juan C. Pozo, 57, La Paz, Bolivia; Anthony Quaisie, 47, Accra, Ghana; James R. Rasband, 54, Provo, Utah; Carlos G. Revillo Jr., 51, Plaridel, Philippines; Martin C. Rios, 41, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Johnny F. Ruiz, 52, La Chorrera, Panama; K. Roy Tunnicliffe, 48, York, England; Moisés Villanueva, 50, Oaxaca, Mexico.

General Authority Seventies serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, in area presidencies and in other headquarters administrative functions, under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They travel, teach and support members around the world, while Area Seventies are typically limited to where they serve.