During his decade in the governing First Presidency, LDS apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf emerged as Mormonism’s de facto goodwill ambassador to the world.
Now, he officially will lead the Utah-based faith’s global outreach as head of its missionary activities, according to a news release Monday.
Besides that new duty, the popular German will be the LDS Church’s primary contact in Europe and oversee the Correlation Executive Council, which reviews and approves all of the faith’s materials.
In his debut news conference last week as Mormonism’s 17th president, Russell M. Nelson said that Uchtdorf, who was released from the First Presidency and returned to his place in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “has already received major assignments for which he is uniquely qualified.