Jorge F. Zeballos

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Jorge F. Zeballos
First Quorum of the Seventy
5 April 2008 (2008-04-05)
Called by Thomas S. Monson
Personal details
BornJorge Fernando Zeballos
(1955-07-19) 19 July 1955 (age 63)
Ovalle, Chile

Jorge Fernando Zeballos (born 19 July 1955) has been a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2008. He is the first Chilean to be a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and the second Chilean to serve as a general authority of the LDS Church (the first was Eduardo Ayala).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nontrinitarian Christian restorationist church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16 million members and 67,000 full-time volunteer missionaries. In 2012, the National Council of Churches ranked the church as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.5 million members reported by the church, as of January 2018. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

Chile Republic in South America

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a general authority is a member of the highest levels of leadership in the church who has administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church. A general authority's jurisdiction is church-wide, in contrast to the responsibilities of a local authority or an area authority, which relate to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. As a group, the general authorities are often referred to as "the Brethren". As of October 2017, there are 109 general authorities.

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Zeballos was born in Ovalle, Chile. He joined the LDS Church when he was twelve and later served as a missionary for the church in Concepción. [1] Zeballos and his wife, Carmen Gloria Valenzuela, traveled to São Paulo, Brazil to marry in the São Paulo Brazil Temple. [1] They are the parents of five children.

Concepción, Chile City and Commune in Bío Bío, Chile

Concepción is a Chilean city and commune belonging to the metropolitan area of Greater Concepción, it is one of the largest urban conurbations of Chile. It has a significant impact on domestic trade being part of the most heavily industrialized region in the country. Its location is in the called Zona Centro Sur, in the geographic center of the country, and it is the capital of the Concepción Province and Bío Bío Region. It sits about 500 km south of Santiago, the country's capital.

São Paulo Municipality in Brazil

São Paulo is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. The metropolis is an alpha global city and the most populous city in Brazil, the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere, besides being the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. The municipality is also the Earth's 11th largest city proper by population. The city is the capital of the surrounding state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest state in Brazil. It exerts strong international influences in commerce, finance, arts and entertainment. The name of the city honors the Apostle, Saint Paul of Tarsus. The city's metropolitan area, the Greater São Paulo, ranks as the most populous in Brazil and the 12th most populous on Earth. The process of conurbation between the metropolitan areas located around the Greater São Paulo created the São Paulo Macrometropolis, a megalopolis with more than 30 million inhabitants, one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world.

Brazil Federal republic in South America

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Zeballos holds a degree in civil engineering from Federico Santa María Technical University and an MBA from Brigham Young University.

Federico Santa María Technical University Chilean university

The Federico Santa María Technical University (UTFSM) is a Chilean university founded in 1926 in Valparaíso, Chile.

Brigham Young University private research university located in Provo, Utah, United States

Brigham Young University is a private, non-profit research university in Provo, Utah, United States completely owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and run under the auspices of its Church Educational System. Approximately 99 percent of the students are members of the LDS Church and one-third of its U.S. students are from Utah. The university's primary focus is on undergraduate education, but it also has 68 master's and 25 doctoral degree programs.

In his professional life, Zeballos worked as a manager of corporate affairs for a mining company. He managed corporate affairs for Minera Escondida, which was at that point the biggest copper-producing mine in the world. He also managed the church's physical facilities in Chile.

Minera Escondida mine

Minera Escondida is a mining company that operates two open pit copper mines in the Atacama Desert, 170 km southeast of Antofagasta in northern Chile. It is currently the highest producing copper mine in the world. Its 2007 production of 1.483 million tons of the metal was worth US$ 10.12 billion, mainly as metal in concentrate, but some as cathode, and was 9.5% of world output and 26% of Chilean production, according to the US Geological Survey's preliminary estimates of 2007 world mine output.

Copper Chemical element with atomic number 29

Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.

Zeballos has served in a number of assignments in the LDS Church, including bishop, high councilor, stake president, regional representative and area authority.

At the time of his call as a general authority, Zeballos was serving as president of the church's Chile Concepción South Mission. He served as a counselor in the presidency of the church's Chile Area from August 2008 to August 2012. [2] [3] When the church consolidated the Chile Area into the South America South Area in 2012, Zeballos became a counselor in the South America South Area presidency. He served in that assignment from August 2012 to August 2015. [3] [4] In April 2015 Zeballos became the second speaker to speak in Spanish at LDS General Conference. [5]

Mission president

Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on the particular mission, a mission president may also be the presiding priesthood leader of some or all Latter-day Saints within the geographic boundaries of the mission. Mission presidents are ordained high priests of the church.

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area. As of July 2018, there were 407 missions of the LDS Church. On January 2, 2019, the LDS Church announced changes that will close 12 missions through boundary realignments and open up 4 new ones, effective July 1, 2019. When these changes take place, there will be 399 missions of the church.

An area is an administrative unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes and the church as a whole.

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Area Authority in Chile", Ensign , March 1999, pp. 68–69.
  2. News of the Church, Ensign , August 2008, pp. 76-80; see especially pp. 77-78, which features the announcement specific to area leadership changes.
  3. 1 2 2012 Area Leadership Assignments, Church News , 5 May 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. Area Leadership Assignments, 2015, Deseret News , 2 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  5. "Elder Jorge F. Zeballos: If you will be responsible", Daily Universe

References