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Sharon Eubank

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Sharon Eubank
Sharon Eubank in 2018
First Counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society
April 1, 2017 (2017-04-01)
Called byJean B. Bingham
PredecessorCarole M. Stephens
Personal details
Born(1963-10-04)October 4, 1963
Redding, California
Alma materBrigham Young University
ParentsMark Eubank and Jean Tollack Eubank

Sharon Eubank (born October 4, 1963) has been the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2017 and is also the director of Latter-day Saint Charities.[1][2]

Early life and education

Eubank was born in Redding, California to Mark Eubank and Jean Tollack Eubank, and was primarily raised in Bountiful, Utah.[3] The oldest of seven children, Eubank grew up picking apricots and repairing sprinklers on the family's 10-acre plot of land. Eubank's father worked as a meteorologist for KSL and taught his children about weather. Eubank earned a bachelor's degree in English and History from Brigham Young University (BYU).[3] She served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Helsinki, Finland, from 1984 to 1986.[3] Eubank struggled to learn Finnish, widely regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn.[4] Eubank recounts, “I told the Lord, if you will help me to learn Finnish, I will always use it to serve you.”[3]

Career

Upon graduating from BYU, Eubank accepted a position teaching English in Suzuka, Japan. After returning to the United States, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for four years as a legislative aid to U.S. senators Alan Simpson and Jake Garn. “Working in Washington, D.C., was a tremendous education for me,” Eubank said. “I learned so much about the nature of compromise in government. I learned that surprisingly most things get done through relationships.”[3]

Following her work in Washington, Eubank returned to Utah to start a business. She and her business partner sold educational toys and games for seven years before selling the business in 1998.[1][3]

LDS Church employment

Eubank has worked for the LDS Church's Welfare Department since 1998. Early in her career she oversaw the establishment of LDS employment offices in Africa and Europe. She took a hiatus from LDS Church employment and lived in Paris, France from 2005 to 2007. She says of this time, “I had burned the candle at both ends in a very demanding job. I needed something a little more quiet, so I moved to France for a time. I was single, I had 20 years left in my career. I wanted to ponder to know what the Lord wanted me to do next.”[3]

Returning to church employment in March 2007, she became the head of the Latter-day Saint Charities' Wheelchair initiative. In 2008 she became the regional director of Latter-day Saint Charities for the Middle East. She became the worldwide director of Latter-day Saint Charities in 2011. Since its founding in 1985, the organization has donated $2.3 billion worth of aid and assistance.[5]

LDS Church service

From 2009 to 2012, Eubank served on the Relief Society General Board, while Julie B. Beck was president. She has served as first counselor to Jean B. Bingham in the Relief Society General Presidency since April 2017.[6] In 2017 she traveled to Uganda with Beck at the invitation of UNICEF.[7] In 2020 she addressed the G20 Interfaith Forum hosted by Saudi Arabia, discussing disaster response, food supply chains, and involving faith communities in emergency preparation and response efforts.[8]

Prior to her general church callings, Eubank served in her local congregation as a ward Young Women president, Relief Society president, Gospel Doctrine teacher, and Primary worker.[3]

General conference addresses

As of October 2020, Eubank has spoken three times in LDS Church general conference:

  • "Turn on Your Light," in October 2017[9]
  • "Christ: the Light that Shines in Darkness" in April 2019[10]
  • "By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God" in October 2020[11]

Personal interests

Eubank enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews. She also likes reading biographies, eating homemade pie, completing crossword puzzles, and camping.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sister Sharon Eubank". Mormon Newsroom. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  2. ^ Richardson, Holly. "Becoming a global citizen means using your voice", The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 February 2020. Retrieved on 6 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Weaver, Sarah Jane (29 June 2017). "Sharon Eubank's leap of faith led her to LDS Charities, Relief Society general leadership". The Church News.
  4. ^ "Japanese, Finnish or Chinese? The 10 Hardest Languages for English Speakers to Learn". Unbabel. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  5. ^ Johnson, Stacy. "Latter-day Saint Charities outlines 3,221 projects in 2019 in annual report", Provo Herald, Utah, 24 February 2020. Retrieved on 26 February 2020.
  6. ^ Toone, Trent. "New LDS general Relief Society presidency is unique". Deseret News.
  7. ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "New Mormon women's leaders bring a global bent", The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 April 2017. Retrieved on 13 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Sister Eubank addresses G20 Interfaith Forum, calling faith as important as food". Church News. 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  9. ^ Eubank, Sharon. "Turn On Your Light - By Sharon Eubank". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  10. ^ Eubank, Sharon. "Christ: The Light That Shines in Darkness - By Sharon Eubank". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  11. ^ Eubank, Sharon. "By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God - By Sharon Eubank". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
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