Called by Ezra Taft Benson Name Dennis Neuenschwander End reason Honorably released | Called by Gordon B. Hinckley Called by Howard W. Hunter | |
 | ||
End reason Transferred to the First Quorum of the Seventy End reason Granted general authority emeritus status Education Weber State University, Brigham Young University, Syracuse University | ||
Mormon speaker dennis b neuenschwander 178 mormons conferen
Dennis Bramwell Neuenschwander (born October 6, 1939) has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1991. Neuenschwander was a key figure in introducing Mormon missionaries to former Soviet bloc countries in Europe in the early 1990s.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Neuenschwander grew up in Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah. Beginning in 1959, Neuenschwander served as an LDS Church missionary in Finland, where he became fluent in Finnish.
Upon returning to Utah, Neuenschwander earned degrees from Weber State University and Brigham Young University (BYU), and in 1974 earned a Ph.D. in eastern European languages from Syracuse University. He taught Russian language classes at BYU and the University of Utah, and later was hired by the LDS Church's genealogical department, where he was involved in microfilming and translating genealogical records from eastern Europe.
In 1987, Neuenschwander was appointed president of the church's Austria Vienna East Mission, which at the time included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Cyprus. In the early 1990s, Neuenschwander was asked to assist the church in expanding missionary work into Bulgaria, Romania, and parts of the USSR.
In 1991, Neuenschwander was called as a general authority of the church and member of the Second Quorum of Seventy. In 1994, he was transferred to the First Quorum of Seventy. From 2000 to 2004, he was a member of the seven-man Presidency of the Seventy, and he has served in the area presidency of a number of areas of the church, including eastern Europe. Neuenschwander was designated as an emeritus general authority during the church's October 2009 general conference.
On July 13, 2007, Neuenschwander's wife of 44 years, LeAnn Clement, died of cancer in Salt Lake City and was buried in the Centerville Memorial Park in Centerville, Utah. On August 1, 2008, Neuenschwander married Joni Kay Lee in the Salt Lake Temple.