Jay Edwin Jensen (born February 5, 1942) has been a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) since 1992. He served as a member of the church's

Presidency of the Seventy A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

from 2008 to 2012."Changes in Church leadership"
, '' Church News'', 2008-06-07. Jensen was designated an

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

general authority in the October 2012 general conference.

Biography

Jensen was born in Payson, Utah, and raised in

Mapleton, Utah Mapleton is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,365 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled in 1850, and for a time was known as Un ...

. From 1961 to 1963, Jensen served as an LDS Church

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in the Spanish-American Mission, concentrating on teaching the gospel to Spanish-speakers in the southwestern United States. On the November 1, 1963, Jensen married Lona Lee Child in the Manti Temple and they are the parents of six children. Jensen graduated with

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Spanish and History, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in LDS Church History and Doctrine, and a

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

degrees in Education, all from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). Jensen spent his professional career as a full-time LDS Church employee. He was the director of scripture coordination for the church's Curriculum Department at the time of his call as a general authority. He previously worked for the

Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...

as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

teacher and director of curriculum. Jensen was also the director of training for the church's Missionary Department for a period of time. Jensen has served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, branch president, counselor in the Missionary Training Center presidency, and as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the church's

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

Mission from 1975 to 1978. Jensen was called to the

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jes ...

in 1992 and transferred to the

First Quorum of the Seventy First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in 1995. As a general authority, he has served in a number of

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

presidencies in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, as well as geographical areas covering parts of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 2004, Jensen and Lynn A. Mickelsen, also of the

Seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...

, were appointed to supervise the formation and publication of a Spanish-language LDS edition of the Bible. Jensen became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2008. In 2011, Jensen spoke at BYU to Evergreen International, "a same-sex voice of faithful LDS members," and spoke on finding peace by focusing on Jesus Christ. Jensen was released from the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2012, and designated as an emeritus general authority during that October's general conference. From 2013 to 2016 Jensen served as

of the church's Cochabamba Bolivia Temple."New Temple Presidents Called to Serve in Ukraine, Alaska, and Bolivia Temples"
'' Church News'', 25 May 2016. Retrieved on 20 March 2020.

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Jay E. Jensen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Jay E. 1942 births American general authorities (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young University alumni Living people Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Colombia People from Payson, Utah 20th-century Mormon missionaries Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah People from Mapleton, Utah

Biography

See also

References

External links