Bonnie H. Cordon

Last updated
Bonnie H. Cordon
15th Young Women General President
March 31, 2018 (2018-03-31) – August 1, 2023 (2023-08-01)
Called by Russell M. Nelson
Predecessor Bonnie L. Oscarson
Successor Emily Belle Freeman
Personal details
BornBonnie Hillam
(1964-03-11) March 11, 1964 (age 60)
Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Education Bachelor's degree
Alma mater Brigham Young University
Spouse(s)
Derek Lane Cordon
​
(m. 1986)​
ParentsHarold Hillam, Carol Rasmussen
Website Bonnie H. Cordon

Bonnie H. Cordon (born March 11, 1964) was the fifteenth general president of the Young Women (YW) organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2018 to 2023. On October 13, 2023, Cordon was announced as the 10th president of Southern Virginia University, effective immediately. [1]

Contents

Cordon was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Harold G. Hillam and Carol Rasmussen and grew up on the family’s 80-acre farm. She attended Brigham Young University (BYU). [2]

LDS Church service

Cordon served as a full-time missionary in the Portugal Lisbon Mission. [3] She served with her husband, Derek, while he was president of the Brazil Curitiba Mission from 2010 to 2013. She has also served in her ward and stake Primary, YW, and Relief Society organizations, and taught early morning seminary.

A new YW general presidency was announced on March 31, 2018, during the church's general conference. Cordon, along with her counselors, Michelle D. Craig and Becky Craven, replaced Bonnie L. Oscarson, Carol F. McConkie, and Neill F. Marriott. [4] At the time of her call as YW General President, Cordon was serving as the first counselor in the Primary General Presidency. [5] As of August 2019, Cordon has spoken once each in the church's General Women's Meeting or general conference, with titles of Trust in the Lord and Lean Not and Becoming a Shepherd.

In her assignment on the LDS Church's Missionary Executive Council, Cordon announced the rule change granting female missionaries permission to wear pants as part of their dress standard. [6] [7] In 2018 she visited Vanuatu in her YW's role. [8] In 2019, she and Lisa L. Harkness, a member of the Primary General Presidency, visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, South Africa, and Mozambique. [9]

While Cordon was serving as the YW General President, the church announced changes to the YW program in October 2019, including the retirement of class names Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel; having local YW presidents reporting directly to the bishop; a new YW theme; there had also been a new activity program to replace Personal Progress announced previously. [10] In 2019, Cordon participated in the first-ever 'Sister-to-Sister' question-and-answer worldwide live event as part of BYU's Women's Conference. [11]

Personal life

Cordon married Derek Lane Cordon on April 25, 1986, in the Salt Lake Temple and they are the parents of four children.

Related Research Articles

The status of women in Mormonism has been a source of public debate since before the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. Various denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement have taken different paths on the subject of women and their role in the church and in society. Views range from the full equal status and ordination of women to the priesthood, as practiced by the Community of Christ, to a patriarchal system practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the ultra-patriarchal plural marriage system practiced by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and other Mormon fundamentalist groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey R. Holland</span> American educator and religious leader (born 1940)

Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth President of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the third most senior apostle in the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell M. Nelson</span> President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Russell Marion Nelson Sr. is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. As church president, Nelson is recognized by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

Julie Bangerter Beck was the fifteenth general president of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2007 to 2012.

Mary Ellen Wood Smoot was the thirteenth Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1997 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine S. Dalton</span>

Elaine Schwartz Dalton was the thirteenth president of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2008 to 2013.

Janette Hales Beckham, commonly known as Janette C. Hales and later, Janette Hales Beckham, was the tenth general president of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1992 to 1997. She was also a member of the Utah State Legislature from 1988 to 1991.

Noel Beldon Reynolds is an American political scientist and an emeritus professor of political science at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he has also served as an associate academic vice president and as director for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). He was a member of the BYU faculty from 1971 to 2011. He has also written widely on the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah</span> LDS Church and its members in Utah

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Utah. Utah has more church members than any other U.S. state or country. The LDS Church is also the largest denomination in Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrit W. Gong</span> Leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, first leader of Asian descent

Gerrit Walter Gong is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 2010 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from October 2015 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. He is the LDS Church's first apostle of Asian descent. Prior to becoming a general authority, he served as assistant to the president of Brigham Young University (BYU) for planning and assessment. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Gong is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the thirteenth most senior apostle in the church.

Rosemary Mix Wixom was the general president of the Primary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2010 to 2016. She was the twelfth general president of the Primary, the organization that is responsible for the instruction of the church's children ages three to eleven.

Linda Kjar Burton was the sixteenth general president of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2012 to 2017.

Patricia Terry Holland was an American educator, writer, and religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a counselor in the church's Young Women General Presidency from 1984 to 1986. From 1980 to 1989, Holland was "first lady" of Brigham Young University (BYU) where her husband, Jeffrey R. Holland, was president of the institution.

Bonnie Lee Green Oscarson was the fourteenth president of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2013 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neill F. Marriott</span>

Evelyn Neill Foote Marriott is an American religious leader and was the second counselor in the general presidency of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2013 to 2018.

Jean Barrus Bingham was the 17th Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 2017 to August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Eubank</span>

Sharon Eubank is the director of Latter-day Saint Charities. She also served as the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 2017 to August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reyna I. Aburto</span> American religious leader

Reyna Isabel Aburto is a Nicaraguan-born American religious leader, language translation specialist, and public speaker. She served as the second counselor to Jean B. Bingham in the Relief Society General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 2017 to August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy D. Jones</span>

Joy Diane Harmon Jones was the 13th Primary general president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2016 to 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "Bonnie H. Cordon named new president of Southern Virginia University". 13 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Green, Rebecca. "LDS Church announces new Primary General Presidency", Fox 13 News, Utah, 2 April 2016. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Three BYU grads to lead Mormon children's Primary organization", The Salt Lake Tribune , Utah, 17 April 2016. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Prescott, Marianne Holman. "Meet the new Young Women general presidency", Deseret News , Utah, 5 April 2018. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Hemingway, Heather. "Mormon Leaders Announce Three Big Changes at Semi-Annual Conference", Houston Chronicle , Utah, 10 April 2016. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  6. ↑ Gander, Kashmira. "Mormon Women Rejoice LDS Church lifts ban on female missionaries wearing pants", Newsweek , 21 December 2018. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "Female Mormon missionaries given option to wear dress slacks", Chicago Sun-Times , 20 December 2018. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Dewsbury, Tessa. "Sister Bonnie H. Cordon Meets with Vanuatu Family", Church News , 15 November 2018. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Eyre, Aubrey. "Why Sisters Harkness, Cordon think Latter-day Saint African women are a powerful force for change", Church News , 6 June 2019. Retrieved on 15 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Hendricks, Hailey. "Changes announced at Latter-day Saint General Conference impacting members locally, worldwide", ABC News , Utah, 7 October 2019. Retrieved on 31 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Weaver, Jennifer. "BYU Women's Conference to include first ever 'Sister-to-Sister' live event", KUTV CBS News , 15 April 2019. Retrieved on 13 March 2020.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by Young Women General President
March 31, 2018 - Current		Succeeded by
Current
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.