The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced changes to two church area presidencies.
These changes, effective immediately, have reorganized the Mexico and United States Southwest area presidencies, and were made as a result of the recent calling of a new Presiding Bishopric, according to a news release published Thursday on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Releases
- Bishop Sean Douglas, who was called last week to serve as second counselor in the church’s recently reorganized Presiding Bishopric, was released from serving as president of the church’s Mexico Area.
- Elder José L. Alonso was released from serving as president of the United States Southwest Area.
- Elder Michael A. Dunn was released from serving as an assistant executive director of the church’s communication department and as a member of the church’s communication and international coordinating committees.
New assignments
In the church’s Mexico Area presidency:
- Elder Moisés Villanueva has been newly called to serve as president, with Elder Alonso as first counselor and Elder Brik V. Eyre as second counselor. Both Elder Villanueva and Elder Eyre had previously been serving in the church’s Mexico Area presidency as first and second counselors, respectively.
From left to right: The new Mexico Area presidency, with Elder José L. Alonso, first counselor; Elder Moises Villanueva, president; and Elder Brik V. Eyre, second counselor. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
In the church’s United States Southwest Area presidency:
- Elder Dunn has been newly called to serve as president, with Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt as first counselor and Elder Steven C. Barlow as second counselor. Both Elder Dunn and Elder Schmitt had previously been serving in the church’s United States Southwest Area presidency as first and second counselors, respectively, with Elder Alonso as president.
Also, both Elder Eyre and Elder Barlow — now serving as second counselors in their respective area presidencies — were called and sustained as General Authority Seventies this April.
From left to right: The new United States Southwest Area presidency, which consists of Elder Jonathan A. Schmitt, first counselor; Elder Michael A. Dunn, president; and Elder Steven C. Barlow, second counselor. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
What is the role of an area presidency?
The Church of Jesus Christ has 24 administrative areas worldwide, each consisting of a General Authority Seventy assigned by the First Presidency to serve as area president and two counselors, who can be General Authority Seventies or Area Seventies.
Of the church’s 24 administrative areas, six cover the United States and the remaining 18 cover other countries. This April, the First Presidency created the church’s 24th area — the Canada Area — from portions of what had been the North America Northeast, North America Central and North America West areas, according to the Church News.
Under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Presidency of the Seventy, each area presidency works to teach and support leaders, missionaries and members of the church in local congregations, as well as temple presidents and matrons.
Area presidencies were first created in the 1980s when church growth made it impractical for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to respond directly to the unique needs of church areas and members worldwide, according to a page on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
See a full list of the First Presidency’s 2025-2026 area leadership assignments here. These became effective Aug. 1, with changes effective Thursday, Nov. 20.
