Of the 37 speakers who gave addresses during the October 2021 general conference, 12 of them had never given a conference address before. Here’s some additional information about these inspired speakers and a link to a summary of each of their messages.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert, General Authority Seventy
Elder Gilbert worked as an assistant professor at Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, served as associate academic vice president of Brigham Young University–Idaho until 2009, then became chief executive officer for Deseret News and Deseret Digital Media. He was named president of Brigham Young University–Idaho in 2015 and also served as the president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Elder Gilbert and his wife, Christine, are the parents of eight children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope”.
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Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, General Authority Seventy
Professionally, Elder Giuffra worked as a purchasing manager for Woodgrain Millwork, sales manager and operations manager for Alvenius Chilena, and general manager for Carbotech Chile. At the time of his call to be a General Authority Seventy, he had been working as general manager for Arcotex SA and serving as a stake young single adult leader. Elder Giuffra is a native of Chile, and he and his wife, Maria, are the parents of four children.
Read a summary of his conference address “A Faithful Search Rewarded”.
Elder Ciro Schmeil, General Authority Seventy
Elder Schmeil was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in 2020 and had been serving as a branch president at the time of his call. His career included director of real estate and vice president for Walmart’s corporate office, chief operating officer of Scopel, general manager of Cia City, and head of real estate for JBS S.A. Elder Schmeil is from Brazil, and he and his wife, Alessandra, are the parents of two children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Faith to Act and Become”.
Sister Susan H. Porter, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
In addition to volunteering with various community and civic organizations, Sister Porter worked as a lab assistant for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and as a part-time math teacher. She and her late husband, Elder Bruce D. Porter, fulfilled Church assignments in Russia in the 1990s and later in the Middle East. Sister Porter and her late husband are the parents of four children.
Read a summary of her conference address “God’s Love: The Most Joyous to the Soul”.
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Elder Moisés Villanueva, General Authority Seventy
Elder Villanueva had been working as the chief executive officer of SERTEXA at the time of his call as a General Authority in 2020. He was also the president of the California Arcadia Mission from 2014 to 2017. Elder Villanueva, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, and his wife, Leticia, are the parents of three children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Favored of the Lord in All My Days”.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency
Brother Wilcox’s professional background is in education, and he is currently a professor in BYU’s Department of Ancient Scripture. He is also the author of The Continuous Atonement, Born to Change the World, and Your Patriarchal Blessing. He was called to the Young Men General Presidency in 2020. Brother Wilcox and his wife, Deborah, have four children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Worthiness is Not Flawlessness”.
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Elder Alfred Kyungu, General Authority Seventy
Professionally, Elder Kyungu worked in several positions for the Democratic Republic of the Congo government, including youth coordinator, private secretary, and administrative councilor. He also worked for the Church as coordinator and regional director for Seminaries and Institutes and served as president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission from 2016 to 2019. Elder Kyungu was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he and his wife, Lucie, are the parents of three children.
Read a summary of his conference address “To Be a Follower of Christ”.
Elder Vai Sikahema, General Authority Seventy
You may recognize Elder Sikahema from his career as a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. Beginning in 2013, he also worked as a sports and news anchor for NBC10 Philadelphia. He was called as a General Authority Seventy in 2021. Elder Sikahema, who was born in Tonga, and his wife, Keala, are the parents of four children.
Read a summary of his conference address “A House of Sequential Order”.
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Elder Michael A. Dunn, General Authority Seventy
From 1995 to 2010, Elder Dunn was president of Dunn Communications, Inc. In 2010 he was named general manager of KUED (PBS Utah). At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2021, he was the managing director of BYUtv and BYU Radio and he served as president of the South Africa Johannesburg Mission from 2014 to 2017. Elder Dunn and his wife, Linda, have three children.
Read a summary of his conference address “One Percent Better”.
Elder Sean Douglas, General Authority Seventy
Elder Douglas’s career includes working as a certified public accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and as division controller, treasurer, vice president of administration, vice president of corporate development, and executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Huntsman Corporation. Elder Douglas and his wife, Patricia, are the parents of four children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Facing Our Spiritual Hurricanes by Believing in Christ”.
Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., General Authority Seventy
Elder Revillo worked for Procter & Gamble for 22 years in various management positions both locally in the Philippines and at their global headquarters in the United States. He also worked as head of quality, food safety, and regulatory affairs in Asia for the Kellogg Company prior to being called as president of the Philippines Quezon City Mission in 2013. Elder Revillo was born in the Philippines, and he and his wife, Marites, have four children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.
Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, General Authority Seventy
Before being called as a General Authority, Elder Meredith worked as a Six Sigma Black Belt for GE Capital, a consultant for Boston Consulting Group, and a senior vice president at Asurion. He then served as president of the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. Elder Meredith and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of six children.
Read a summary of his conference address “Look Down the Road”.
