SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church didn’t go far to select three new members for a top governing body that sets policy and runs the worldwide faith’s business operations — choosing two former business executives and a cardiologist from Utah who had already been serving in lower church leadership positions.
Ronald A. Rasband, 64, is a former CEO of the Huntsman Chemical Corporation. Gary E. Stevenson, 60, was the co-founder of an exercise equipment manufacturing company. Dale G. Renlund, 62, was a cardiologist and directed a cardiac transplant program.
Their appointments — announced Saturday at church conference in Salt Lake City — surprised many outside religious scholars who speculated that the Utah-based faith would choose at least one new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from a country outside the U.S., perhaps from Latin America or Africa.
That would have been a symbol and recognition of the expanding global reach of a religion that has more than half of its 15 million members outside the United States.
Instead, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made safe, solid and comfortable decisions that fit the template for choosing modern apostles in the church, said Patrick Mason, associate professor of religion at Claremont Graduate University in California and Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies.
Although Rasband, Stevenson and Renlund are fine men who will make great leaders, the church missed an opportunity to make an important statement to Latter-day Saints of color or those from other countries, said Ignacio Garcia, a professor of Western and Latino history at Mormon-owned Brigham Young University.
“Saints of color always have to respond to: ‘Why do you belong to that white church?”’ Garcia said. “It becomes harder and harder as we go further into the 21st Century: We still can’t point to a more diversified leadership.”
Mason points out, though, that Renlund and Stevenson have held major leadership positions with the church in foreign countries: Renlund in Africa and Stevenson in Japan. That may suggest that the church felt they could infuse international experience without having members who are from those countries, he said.
The announcements marked a rare moment in church history. It had been six years since a new quorum member was chosen, and more than a decade since the leadership council had two openings. The last time there were three openings at the same time was in 1906.
Quorum members serve until they die, and three recent deaths created the unprecedented void. Modeled after Jesus Christ’s apostles, the group serves under the church president and his two counselors.
After the names new leaders were announced to about 20,000 Mormons in attendance and millions more watching on live broadcasts, the three new leaders spoke briefly and answered a few questions at a news conference.
They said they were each informed of their “callings” separately on Tuesday in meetings with Church President Thomas S. Monson, considered the religion’s prophet. Monson told each that the Lord had chosen them to serve.
