Jean A. Stevens
| Jean A. Stevens | |
|---|---|
| First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency | |
| April 3, 2010[1] – April 4, 2015 | |
| Called by | Rosemary M. Wixom |
| Predecessor | Margaret S. Lifferth |
| Successor | Cheryl A. Esplin |
| End reason | Husband called as mission president |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean Alldredge November 20, 1951 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Alma mater | University of Utah |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Stevens |
| Children | 5 |
| Parents | Helen Alldredge |
| Website | Jean A. Stevens |
Jean Alldredge Stevens (born November 20, 1951[2] or 1952[3]) was a member of the Primary General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2010 to 2015.[1][3] She served as the first counselor to Primary president Rosemary M. Wixom. In 2013, Stevens made history when she became the first woman to pray in an LDS Church general conference session.[4][5][6]
Jean Alldredge was born into a Latter-day Saint family in Salt Lake City, Utah.[3] While Stevens was a youth, her mother, Helen Alldredge, served as a member of the Primary General Board. She began her college education at Brigham Young University, but later transed to the University of Utah where she earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a teaching certificate.[3] In 1973, she married Mark Stevens in the Salt Lake Temple and they are the parents of five children.[2][3]
After graduating from college, Stevens was a full-time homemaker. In the LDS Church, she has served at a local level as a Relief Society president, Young Women president, counselor in the Primary presidency, and a gospel doctrine teacher.
Stevens was called to be the first counselor in the Primary General Presidency at the church's April 2010 general conference.[3] Stevens had previously been a member of the Primary general board.[3]
On April 6, 2013, Stevens became the first woman to pray in an LDS Church general conference when she offered the benediction in the first session of the church's 183rd Annual General Conference.[4][5][6] In January 2013, a feminist group had launched a letter-writing campaign to LDS Church leaders requesting that Mormon women be invited to pray in general conference, but a church spokesman stated that Stevens had been assigned to pray in the session before the campaign had started.[5]
On April 4, 2015, Stevens was released from the Primary General Presidency due to her husband's call as president of the church's London England Mission.[7] Stevens was succeeded by Cheryl A. Esplin, who had been serving as Wixom's second counselor.
See also
Publications
- Jean A. Stevens, "Become as a Little Child", Liahona, April 2011.
Notes
- 1 2 "Sister Jean A. Stevens". LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- 1 2 Sarah Jane Weaver, "Parents Lessons Prepared Sister Jean Stevens", Church News, August 7, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jean A. Stevens", Liahona, May 2010.
- 1 2 Peggy Fletcher Stack, "First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference", The Salt Lake Tribune, 2013-04-06.
- 1 2 3 David Kelly, "In rare event, woman leads prayer at major Mormon conference", Los Angeles Times, 2013-04-06.
- 1 2 Doug Barry, "Woman Leads Mormons in Prayer for the First Time in Forever", Jezebel, 2013-04-06.
- ↑ New Mission Presidents, Church News, 28 February 2015.
External links
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