Elder Paul B. Pieper, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will address members and guests of the nine congregations that make up the Churchâ??s Scranton Pennsylvania Stake at a semiannual stake conference Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at 505 Griffin Pond Road, South Abington Township. Accompanying Elder Pieper on the Pennsylvania visit will be Elder W. T. David Murray, an Area Seventy from Toronto. The visiting authorities will bring direction to the local congregations from the religious organizationâ??s worldwide headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, a rare opportunity for Northeastern Pennsylvanians to meet in person members of the churchâ??s leading councils.
Elder Pieperâ??s calling to the First Quorum of the Seventy came in April 2005. He served in the Churchâ??s Europe East Area from 2005-2009 and currently has responsibilities in its Curriculum Department and the Middle East/Africa North. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah and worked with law and management-consulting firms in Washington, D.C., Latin America and the former Soviet Union during his professional career. Prior to his calling to the Churchâ??s leading councils, he served as president of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission.
In his professional life, Elder Murray, long a leader in Canadaâ??s financial-services industry, is the president and CEO of Ontarioâ??s Foothills Capital Corporation.
Elders Pieper and Murray will spend the weekend in Pa., presiding over several conference-related meetings. The cornerstone of the conference will be the two-hour Sunday session, to which the Church invites all interested members of the community. The nine congregations that will assemble for the event are housed in Easton, Honesdale, Montrose, Nazareth, Scranton, Stroudsburg, Susquehanna, Tunkhannock and Wilkes-Barre.