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The First Presidency has named W. Christopher Waddell the new Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. L. Todd Budge will serve as First Counselor and Sean Douglas will serve as Second Counselor.
This announcement fills the gap left by Elder Gérald Caussé, who was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on November 6, 2025. Elder Caussé had served as Presiding Bishop for more than 10 years. Bishop Waddell and Bishop Budge were Elder Caussé’s counselors.
The Presiding Bishopric serves under the direction of the First Presidency. They manage 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.
Below are brief biographical details about each bishopric member.
Bishop W. Christopher Waddell (Presiding Bishop)
Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, visits the disaster relief command center in St. Petersburg, Florida, in October 2024.
When he was first called to the Presiding Bishopric in 2016, Bishop Waddell noted that every aspect of the work of the Church — including the more immediate work of the Presiding Bishopric focused on caring for others in need — is about helping people return to God.
“If we do everything thinking ultimately of exalting God’s children, whether we are starting from a temporal standpoint or an ecclesiastical standpoint, it still all goes to the same place in the end,” he said. “That’s what we are building towards.”
In caring for God’s children, the Presiding Bishopric has also focused on caring for God’s creations. One example of this is the major environmental sustainability priorities the Church has established to help Latter-day Saints be wise stewards of the earth.
In 2023, Bishop Waddell spoke about one of those priorities — conserving water — in the context of the Great Salt Lake.
“We should acknowledge God’s hands in providing us this blessing [of water] and that our work is not done yet,” Bishop Waddell said. “We must continue with all diligence if we are to make the difference that is needed. May the Lord grant us all the faith and perseverance to be wise stewards of our water, our land, and the resources that flow through them.”
As with other General Authorities, the new Presiding Bishop’s sermons have focused on Jesus Christ.
“No leader has ever shown more courage, no humanitarian has shown more kindness, no physician has cured more disease, and no artist has been more creative than Jesus Christ,” Bishop Waddell said in October 2023, his most recent general conference address. “In a world of heroes, with monuments and museums devoted to the exploits of mortal men and women, there is One who stands above all others.”
Bishop Waddell was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 28, 1959. He married Carol Stansel in July 1984. They are the parents of four children.
He received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from San Diego State University. Beginning in 1984 he worked with Merrill Lynch in several positions, including first vice president of investments.
Prior to his call as Presiding Bishop, Bishop Waddell had served for five years as First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (2020–2025), five years as Second Counselor (2015–2020) and four years as a General Authority Seventy (2011–2015). His other assignments have included full-time missionary in Spain, bishop, high councilor, mission president’s counselor, stake president, president of the Barcelona Spain Mission, and Area Seventy.
Bishop L. Todd Budge (First Counselor)
During a visit on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at the World Food Programme’s headquarters in Rome, Bishop L. Todd Budge of the Presiding Bishopric (right) presented a US$32 million donation to WFP USA President and CEO Barron Segar (left) and WFP Deputy Executive Director of Partnerships and Advocacy Ute Klamert (middle).
Bishop Budge was called as a General Authority Seventy in 2019. In 2020, he was called as a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric. In a general conference address a year later, Bishop Budge explained to Latter-day Saints around the world the bishopric’s role.
“Among many other things, the Presiding Bishopric oversees the welfare and humanitarian work of the Church,” he said. “This work now spans the entire globe and blesses more of God’s children than ever before.”
One aspect of this worldwide work came in 2022 when Bishop Budge presented a donation from the Church of US$32 million to the World Food Programme to address what that organization called a “seismic hunger crisis.”
“We are so grateful to collaborate with the World Food Programme because we know they will get food to those who need it most,” Bishop Budge said. “And we thank Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith whose financial sacrifices have made this gift possible. Such giving makes God’s children a little happier and all of us a little holier.”
In addition to his service as a General Authority, Bishop Budge has served in several Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, stake Young Men president, elders quorum president, stake executive secretary, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president, president of the Japan Tokyo Mission, Area Seventy, and member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah Area.
Bishop Budge was born in Pittsburg, California, on December 29, 1959. He married Lori Capener in 1981. They are the parents of six children.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Brigham Young University in 1984. Bishop Budge worked for Bain & Company Japan, Citibank N.A., and GE Capital in both Atlanta and Japan. In 2003 he became president and chief executive officer of Tokyo Star Bank Limited. From 2008 to 2011 he served as chairman of the board. He retired from the bank in 2011. During this time, he also served as a member of the board of directors for Hawaiian Airlines.
Bishop Sean Douglas (Second Counselor)
Bishop Sean Douglas speaks on the importance of cultivating righteous values in democratic societies at a conference in León, Mexico, on August 28, 2025.
Bishop Douglas was called as a General Authority Seventy in 2021. At the time of this call to the Presiding Bishopric he was the President of the Church’s Mexico Area.
On August 28, 2025, he spoke at a religious freedom congress in León, a major city in central Mexico.
“Religious freedom,” he said, “dignifies the human being and, when respected and protected, becomes a powerful tool for building peace.” He also noted that “religious freedom and peace are deeply intertwined,” and he invited other faiths to come together to help those most in need, including migrants, victims of violence and people living in poverty.
Bishop Douglas’s other assignments as a General Authority have included service at Church headquarters as an area assistant to the North America Northeast Area and as an Assistant Executive Director in the Family History Department. Prior to full-time Church service, he was an Area Seventy in the North America Southwest Area.
In his sermons, Bishop Douglas has emphasized that the best way to overcome life’s difficulties is by believing in Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments.
“Our belief and obedience link us to power beyond our own to overcome ‘[whatever] is happening — or not happening — in our lives,’” he said in general conference, quoting President Russell M. Nelson. “Yes,” he continued, quoting Book of Mormon prophets, “God ‘doth immediately bless [us]’ for believing and obeying. In fact, over time our state of being changes to happiness, and ‘we are made alive in Christ’ as we exercise our faith in Him and keep His commandments.”
The newest member of the Presiding Bishopric, Bishop Douglas received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Utah in 1988. He then worked as a certified public accountant for Price Waterhouse. From 1990 until his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2021, he worked for Huntsman Corporation in various capacities, including division controller, treasurer, vice president of administration, vice president of corporate development, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Bishop Douglas was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 1, 1964. He married Ann Dickson in 1985. They are the parents of four children.
