Richard G. Youngblood of Signal Mountain has been called as an Area Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Area Seventies are local area authorities called in each of the Church’s geographic areas throughout the world,” officials said. The Church has 15 areas outside North America and six areas inside North America, with 12 Quorums of the Seventy. The First and Second Quorums are comprised of General Authority Seventies. The remaining 10 quorums are Area Seventies.
“Area Seventies are ordained to the office of Seventy in the Melchizedek Priesthood….
[They] live at home and serve on a Church-service basis for a designated number of years [and] maintain their non-religious vocations” (thechurchnews.com). The Seventy “labor in the vineyard” and bear record of Jesus. Elder Youngblood will serve in the Tenth Quorum, which includes North America Central, North America Northeast and North America Southeast areas.
Mr. Youngblood was previously CEO of Blood Assurance and served on the boards of Blood Centers of America and Erlanger Health System. He was formerly employed by Joseph Decosimo & Company and worked in management positions with multi-national corporations including Mitsubishi International and TDK. He is currently self-employed as a management consultant.
Prior to his call as an Area Seventy, Mr. Youngblood served the Lord as bishop of the Hixson ward; high councilor; president of the Chattanooga stake; and Sunday school teacher in the Signal Mountain branch. He also served as a mission president in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission where he and his wife, Kathy, worked with approximately 700 full-time missionaries to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As President Russell M. Nelson explained, “Jesus Christ is our leader." All General Authorities, General officers and local leaders are called under His direction to minister to God’s children.
About his responsibilities as an Area Seventy, Elder Youngblood stated, “In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we neither seek nor decline callings. We embark in the service of God because we are followers of Christ. Christ invites us to ‘be kind one to another, [and] tenderhearted’ (Ephesians 4:32) because, despite our differences, we are all brothers and sisters. This is why Kathy and I truly look forward to laboring in the North America Southeast Area with those of and not of our faith.”
“In my experience,” he continued, “faith-filled, collaborative efforts bring an unmatched spirit of unity and peace to our communities. And joy comes into the lives of all who embrace the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. So, I join with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in saying, ‘Come and help…Come and join…Come and serve with us, ministering to God’s children, following in the footsteps of the Savior, and making this world a better place…. This is an effort of a lifetime,’ and we are all blessed to be a part of it. To find out more about what members of the Church teach and believe, as Elder Uchtdort encourages, ‘spend some time at ComeuntoChrist.org.’”
Richard and Kathy Youngblood are the parents of four children – and proud Volunteers of Tennessee.