Three members were added to the First Quorum of the Seventy and Elder Merrill J. Bateman, who was called to the quorum previously, was sustained during the Saturday afternoon session of general conference.
Elder Dallas N. Archibald and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who have been serving in the Second Quorum of the Seventy, were sustained to the First Quorum. Elder Bruce C. Hafen, BYU provost, was also sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy.Elder Bateman's call to the First Quorum was announced during a press conference on Nov. 2, 1995, when he was introduced as the new president of BYU.
Elder Bateman, 59, was serving as the Church's Presiding Bishop, a calling he received in April 1994, at the time of his appointment as BYU president. At that time, it was announced that he would also serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy. When first called as a General Authority in June 1992, he served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy, and served as president of the Asia North Area.
Born in Lehi, Utah, Elder Bateman graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in economics. He earned a doctorate in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a member of the BYU faculty as well as dean of the College of Business and the School of Management. He was an executive with Mars Inc. in the United States and England and, just before his call as a General Authority, he directed his own consulting and capital management companies.
He and his wife, Marilyn Scholes Bateman, have seven children.
Elder Archibald, 57, was called to the Second Quorum in June 1992 and is serving as president of the Brazil Area. Previously, he served as second counselor in that presidency. He has also served as a regional representative, mission president, high councilor, Young Men president, and Sunday School teacher, and as a missionary in Uruguay.
A native of Logan, Utah, Elder Archibald earned bachelor's degrees from Weber State University and the American Institute of Foreign Trade, and a master's degree from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management. He spent four years in the U.S. Coast Guard. As an international business executive, he worked three years for Hallmark Cards and in 1971 joined NHC Corporation, an international industrial chemical company. Most recently, he was a group vice president with NHC and was responsible for nine companies in Brazil and two in Chile.
He and his wife, Linda Ritchie Archibald, have one child.
Elder Uchtdorf, 55, has been serving in the Second Quorum since April 1994. He is second counselor in the Europe West Area presidency. He has served as a stake president, high councilor, and stake mission president.
Born in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, Elder Uchtdorf grew up in Zwickau and Frankfurt, Germany. He received his early education in engineering and later studied business administration in Cologne, Germany, and at the International Management Institute in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was an air force pilot and graduated from airline pilot school in Bremen, Germany, in 1965.
He has worked for Lufthansa German Airlines for more than three decades and has held several positions with that company including senior vice president and chief pilot.
He and his wife, Harriet Reich Uchtdorf, have two children.
Elder Hafen, 55, has been the provost at BYU since June 1989 and was the first to fill that position full-time. His Church service has included callings as a regional representative, stake president's counselor, bishop's counselor, Sunday School teacher and missionary in Germany.
A native of St. George, Utah, Elder Hafen graduated from Dixie College and BYU before earning his law degree at the University of Utah. He helped establish the BYU Law School and served as its dean from 1985-1989. Prior to that he was the president of Ricks College.
He and his wife, Marie Kartchner Hafen, have seven children.