Elder Caussé, the Newest Apostle, Meets the Press

Members of the news media had their first opportunity to speak with Elder Gérald Caussé, the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on Friday, November 7, 2025, in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square.

Elder Caussé, 62, was called to this new assignment on Thursday, November 6, 2025, and ordained the same day by President Dallin H. Oaks and the other members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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The new Apostle’s message for the world was simple.

“There is a Christ, there is a Savior and Redeemer for all mankind,” the native of Bordeaux, France said. “That Redeemer has a universal responsibility. He took that responsibility to save all of us. But this gift that is made is also incredibly personal and intimate. He knows every one of us. We are all together on the same planet, living through the same kind of experience but also having a personal relationship with a God who made us.”

He and his wife, Valérie, both spoke of being surprised by the call.

“It came as a shock, as you can imagine,” Sister Caussé said. “Not because I don’t trust this man or he’s not worthy of it. But because I never thought it could happen to us.”

Elder Caussé spoke of feeling both overwhelmed and at peace.

“That’s not something you’re prepared for,” he said. “It was a surprise. But at the same time, I felt peace. I knew it was coming from the Lord. I’ve always said yes to the Lord.”

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Their family motto, he added, is to go where the Lord wants them to go.

“Sometimes it’s a geographic move, and sometimes it is a calling move,” he said.

Those calls and moves have not been easy. A few of their children stayed in France when he began serving as a General Authority Seventy in 2008 — a call that took them and three of their children first to Germany and then to the United States. Their children have endured these sacrifices with continued devotion to Jesus Christ, they said.

“We are blessed with wonderful children,” Sister Caussé said. “I love how they respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love how they manage their lives now and how they behave. I love that they have such a great testimony of the love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I think it's a great blessing — maybe because we always enjoyed being in the Church and we enjoyed serving others. I think they took it and they enjoy it now.”

Elder and Sister Caussé were married on August 5, 1986, in the Bern Switzerland Temple, and they are the parents of five children.

“There’s no way I could do what I’m doing without her,” Elder Caussé said. “She’s the sunshine of my life.”

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They began dating when they were in the same ward in Paris. Elder Caussé, who is an accomplished pianist, said music was one of the ways they connected. He was a pianist in their ward. She was in the choir.

“Music is an important part of my life,” he said. “This language [of music] transcends every culture. You don’t need to know the language of the people to communicate with them through music. I've always viewed music as a way to communicate with God and to feel the Spirit.”

Elder Caussé took a few minutes Friday to play “Come, Come, Ye Saints” on the piano for news media.

Prior to this call as an Apostle, Elder Caussé served as the 15th Presiding Bishop in the history of the Church. He was the third Presiding Bishop born outside the United States and the first for whom English is a second language. Two other current Apostles served in the Presiding Bishopric before their calls to the Twelve. President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency was a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (1985–1992) and Elder Gary E. Stevenson was the Church’s 14th Presiding Bishop (2012–2015).

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The Presiding Bishopric manages such matters as humanitarian aid, welfare programs, tithing and fast offerings, physical facilities, and the organization of membership records, among others. They also travel frequently to minister to Church members around the world.

“My time in the Presiding Bishopric has been a fascinating experience for me,” Elder Caussé said. “I’m a little sad, I must say, to leave them. I’ve been presiding along with two incredible counselors, Bishop [W. Christopher] Waddell and Bishop [L. Todd] Budge, and a lot of employees of the Church that I’ve enjoyed working with. It’s a little sad to leave them, but I know that the work that is being done around the world with temporal affairs of the Church is done by wonderful professionals that are consecrated, that put the Lord first in their lives. That’s been an inspiration for me.”

Elder Caussé also served as a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (2012–2015).

Sister Caussé said that she has learned to think of Jesus Christ through her husband’s 17 years of service as a General Authority.

“Whenever I fear to do something, I think of my Savior, and I think also of His teachings to love one another,” she said. “Whenever I focus on others rather than on myself, I find peace and strength to go forward.”

Elder Caussé also shared a message in French for the Saints in his homeland.

“I hope to have multiple opportunities with my wife, Valérie, to visit you,” he said. “I know Christ lives and that He is the one who directs this Church through a prophet of God.”