Paul B. Pieper
Encyclopedia
Paul Bowen Pieper has been a general authority
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2005. Pieper was the first leader of the LDS Church in Kazakhstan
.
Pieper was born in Pocatello
, Idaho
, United States
. As a young man, he served as a missionary
for the LDS Church in the Mexico
Monterrey
Mission
of the church, where he became fluent in Spanish
. He studied at Brigham Young University
and received a bachelor's degree
and a Juris Doctor
from the University of Utah
. He is married to the former Melissa "Lisa" Tuttle of Salt Lake City. She is the daughter of the late general authority and educator A. Theodore Tuttle.
In the late 1990s, Pieper and his family moved to Kazakhstan, where he learned to speak Russian
while working for a law firm in international trade law. Pieper became the branch president
and the first-ever leader of the LDS Church in Kazakhstan. By the end of 2003, the Piepers had assisted approximately 50 Kazakhstani people in being baptized
into the LDS Church.
In 2004, Pieper was asked by the church to be the president
of the Russia
St. Petersburg Mission of the church. In April 2005, he was added to the church's First Quorum of the Seventy and became a general authority of the church. He is currently the president of the church's Europe
East Area
.
On 23 June 2007, Pieper presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the LDS Church's planned Kyiv Ukraine Temple in Kiev
, Ukraine
.
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2005. Pieper was the first leader of the LDS Church in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
Pieper was born in Pocatello
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As a young man, he served as a missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
for the LDS Church in the Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
Mission
Mission (LDS 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...
of the church, where he became fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. He studied at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
and received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. He is married to the former Melissa "Lisa" Tuttle of Salt Lake City. She is the daughter of the late general authority and educator A. Theodore Tuttle.
In the late 1990s, Pieper and his family moved to Kazakhstan, where he learned to speak Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
while working for a law firm in international trade law. Pieper became the branch president
Branch President
A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, the branch president presides over a branch...
and the first-ever leader of the LDS Church in Kazakhstan. By the end of 2003, the Piepers had assisted approximately 50 Kazakhstani people in being baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
into the LDS Church.
In 2004, Pieper was asked by the church to be the president
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...
of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
St. Petersburg Mission of the church. In April 2005, he was added to the church's First Quorum of the Seventy and became a general authority of the church. He is currently the president of the church's Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
East Area
Area (LDS 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...
.
On 23 June 2007, Pieper presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the LDS Church's planned Kyiv Ukraine Temple in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.