Other03 April, 20261 min read
Church Sustains Eight New Seventies, Tai Joins Presidency; Seven Given Emeritus
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Eight new General Authority Seventies sustained at the April 2026 General Conference. Benjamin M. Z. Tai named to the Presidency of the Seventy.
General Authority Changes
The Church sustained eight new General Authority Seventies at the 196th Annual General Conference.
Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai was called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, replacing S. Mark Palmer.
Seven current Seventies were given emeritus status effective August 1.
Tai, a 53-year-old Hong Kong native, has served as a General Authority since 2019 and was President of the Asia Area.
The new Seventies include Christian C. Chigbundu of Nigeria, who was serving as a mission president.
Primary Presidency
The Church sustained a new Primary General Presidency of three women.
Rosemary K. Chibota will serve as president, with Nina M. Garfield as first counselor and Theresa A. Collins as second.
Chibota is of Malawian origin and was raised in Zimbabwe.
Garfield was born in Japan and joined the Church in high school.
The new presidency will begin service on August 1.
Missionary and Leadership Experience
Elder Tai has served as Assistant Executive Director of the Missionary Department. He was President of the Asia Area at the time of his call. He holds a bachelor's degree from BYU and an MBA from UCLA.
Professionally, he has experience in investment banking and real estate development. He and his wife are parents to six children.