'United front'
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Newly sustained Relief Society General President Julie Bangerter Beck declared a "unified front to bless the women and young women of the Church" during a news conference March 31 in Salt Lake City.
With the general presidencies of the Young Women and Relief Society auxiliaries sitting side by side, Sister Beck was introduced to the media as the newest general president of Relief Society. Having been sustained just hours before during the opening session of April general conference, she stood facing the little group of media, family members and friends in the Presidents Room of the historic Relief Society Building. Behind her were the portraits of the previous 15 general presidents, including outgoing General President Bonnie D. Parkin, who was released the same morning.
Sustained with Sister Beck, who was serving as first counselor in the Young Women general presidency at the time of her new calling, were her counselors in the new Relief Society general presidency, Silvia H. Allred and Barbara Thompson.
The reorganized Young Women General Presidency includes Susan W. Tanner, president, with Elaine S. Dalton serving as first counselor and Mary N. Cook, second counselor. Sister Dalton, who was previously second counselor, and Sister Cook were also sustained on Saturday morning.
Released along with Sister Parkin, who had been serving as Relief Society general president since April 2002, were her counselors, Kathleen H. Hughes and Anne C. Pingree.
Julie Bangerter Beck was born in Salt Lake City to Wm. Grant and Geraldine Hamblin Bangerter. When she was child, she moved to Brazil with her parents and 10 brothers and sisters where her father served as mission president. During the news conference, the new Relief Society leader recalled sitting at a dinner table that seated 22 listening to faith-promoting stories of missionaries.
"I grew up with those stories of faith in this restored gospel and those missionaries I still consider to be brothers and sisters and mentors in my life."
A graduate of Dixie College and BYU, Sister Beck was a full-time homemaker at the time of her calling to the Young Women general presidency. She is married to Ramon Paul Beck; they have three children and eight grandchildren.
Sister Beck is also a former member of the Young Women general board and has served as ward Young Women and Primary president, as a counselor in a stake Relief Society presidency and served with her husband in a branch in the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center.
Silvia Henriquez Allred was serving at the time of her calling to the general presidency with her husband, Jeffrey A. Allred, in the Dominican Republic where he currently presides over the Missionary Training Center in that country. A native of El Salvador, she was born to Carlos Florentino Henriquez and Hilda Alvarenga Henriquez. She attended the University of Arizona, BYU and the General Francisco Marzan Institute in El Salvador. She has been a Spanish language instructor at the Missionary Training Center in the Dominican Republic, and a grade school teacher.
She and her husband have served as public affairs missionaries in Madrid, Spain. She also served with her husband when he presided over the Paraguay Asuncion Mission. She is also a former member of the Young Women general board, a stake and ward Relief Society and Primary president, and a full-time missionary in the Central American Mission.
Brother and Sister Allred have eight children.
Barbara Thompson has been working as the executive director of an international assessment center for abused and neglected children. She has directed a number of state-level human and family services departments. She has a bachelor's degree in social work from BYU and a master's degree from the University of Utah.
Serving as the activities chairwoman in her ward at the time of her calling, Sister Thompson, who was born in San Luis Obispo, Calif., to W. Peter and Fern Rymer Thompson, has served as a member of the Relief Society general board, and as a gospel doctrine teacher, ward Young Women president, Laurel adviser, ward Relief Society counselor, Beehive adviser and camp director.
Mary Nielsen Cook was a member of the Young Women general board at the time of her call to the Young Women general Presidency. Born in Salt Lake Citys to Kenneth N. and Fern Nielsen, she has been a special education teacher and administrator and an elementary school principal. She has bachelor's and master's degrees in speech pathology and audiology and an education degree from BYU.
Married to Richard E. Cook, a former member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Sister Cook served with her husband when he served in the Asia Area presidency and when he presided over the Mongolian Mission, where they had previously served as full-time missionaries. She is also a former ward Relief Society president and a counselor in her ward's Primary presidency. She is step-mother to four children and step-grandmother to 17 grandchildren.
E-mail to: julied@desnews.com
