Elder S. Mark Palmer was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2016. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southwest Area. Following his call as a General Authority, he served for five years in the Africa Southeast/Africa South Area Presidency, the final three years as Area President. Elder Palmer was named a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2021. He currently has supervisory responsibilities working with three different members of the Twelve for the North America Southeast, Africa Central, Africa South, and Africa West Areas.
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Elder Palmer received a bachelor of commerce degree in 1979 from the University of Auckland and an MBA in 1982 from Brigham Young University. He was the founder of SMP Ventures, a real estate development company, and has served as president since 1993. Prior to that, he was a partner and managing director with Trammell Crow Company.
Elder Palmer has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the New Zealand Wellington Mission, elders quorum president, high councilor, high priests group leader, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president, mission president, and Area Seventy.
Stanley Mark Palmer was born in Te Puke, New Zealand, on February 11, 1956. He married Jacqueline Ann Wood in 1981. They are the parents of six children.