Their journeys although life have been fairly completely different — Elder Gérald Caussé was the Church’s presiding bishop born in France, whereas Elder Clark G. Gilbert was the commissioner of Church training born in California.
Yet they’ve come to most of the similar conclusions as just lately referred to as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Jesus Christ lives, He guides His Church by way of His prophets, and their new assignments can’t be fulfilled with out divine assist.
In the upcoming April 2026 general conference, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the chance to maintain these two new Apostles as they start lifelong missions to testify the Savior lives.
“I felt the love of God for me,” stated Elder Caussé about being referred to as, “and it was evident that I should accept this calling — and did it with great joy, actually, although I felt totally shocked and overwhelmed.”
Said Elder Gilbert: “We know we have things to improve and work on. And yet, I felt really confident that the Lord would make up the difference, that the keys were bigger than any one person and that I would be magnified in that calling.”
Elder Caussé, born in Bordeaux, France, was ordained on Nov. 6, 2025, filling the emptiness within the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created by the dying of Church President Russell M. Nelson.
And Elder Gilbert — born in Oakland, California, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona — was ordained on Feb. 12, 2026, after the dying of President Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
These new prophets, seers and revelators joined episodes 269 and 282 of the Church News podcast to acknowledge the folks and experiences which have made all of it doable.
The No. 1 duty
Within minutes of being requested by Church President Dallin H. Oaks to function an Apostle, Elder Caussé remembered Doctrine and Covenants 68:5-6:
“Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants. Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.”
As he bears witness of the Savior, Elder Caussé is aware of the Lord will stand by him on this calling, he stated. “This is all the comfort I needed.”
Elder Gilbert additionally perceives this larger image, recognizing that “in the end, there is only one responsibility — and that is to testify, witness to the name of Jesus Christ in all the world.”
He quoted Doctrine and Covenants 107:23, which expenses Apostles to be “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world.”
Since being referred to as to the Twelve, Elder Caussé has felt an outpouring of affection from the members of the Church, he stated. Now he appears ahead to spreading that love with much more.
“If I can share only part of the immense and infinite love of the Savior for people, if I can be that ambassador of love, I hope I can do that.”
‘Orchestrated in heaven’
As a missionary within the Japan Kobe Mission, a young-adult Clark Gilbert struggled at first to be taught Japanese. “I realized, ‘This language is hard, but I am pretty sure the Lord wants me to learn it, or He would not have called me here,’” he recounted.
So he went to work finding out laborious, holding monitor of vocabulary, bettering his grammar and training his Japanese enunciation. He made the Lord his associate in studying Japanese, he stated.
“I realized as a missionary, if the Lord wants you to do it, if He has called you to do it, He will magnify and make up the difference.”
Elder Gilbert and his spouse, Sister Christine Gilbert, have stored that perspective by way of his varied assignments — from sixteenth president of BYU–Idaho and first president of BYU–Pathway Worldwide to General Authority Seventy — and now whereas he serves as an Apostle.
When Elder Caussé appears again at his life, “it feels like a few things were orchestrated in heaven,” he stated. This significantly grew to become evident when he grew to become a member of the Presiding Bishopric, which has duty for the temporal affairs of the Church.
Having studied enterprise in faculty, Elder Caussé labored numerous years in technique consulting and meals distribution, which uncovered him to the idea of main an enormous group.
“Managing people is very close to ministering to people,” he stated. “And so I have applied in management a lot of things that I experience in church.” And it goes each methods: “Church service helped me more in my career than career helped me in Church service.”
‘Outpouring of love’ from different Apostles
The first evening after being referred to as, Elder and Sister Gilbert stayed up late reflecting on how they’ve seen every member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles witness of Christ.
“There had been a moment where I had heard them bear witness to the name of Jesus Christ,” stated Elder Gilbert. “Not only where I heard it, but where I had a witness of their calling. And that has been a strength to me.”
Shortly after being referred to as as an Apostle, Elder Caussé was invited by President Oaks to a room with members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency to obtain their congratulations one after the other.
“That outpouring of love from the Twelve was something that gave me a lot of courage,” he stated.
Gospel energy in consecrated households
Elder Caussé’s pioneer heritage begins together with his mother and father, the primary members of the Church of their household. They have been baptized in lower than three months of assembly with the missionaries. “They were brave to embrace this religion they did not know a lot about based on their feelings and the inspiration of the Spirit.”
His dad went on to function a department president 5 occasions. Elder Caussé carried on his mother and father’ valiance from a younger age, as a Primary pianist at 12 and Sunday School president at 16.
Today, “joy in our home is felt whenever there is something about the gospel,” he stated. The Caussés adore what he characterizes as their “consecrated family.”
When requested what qualities he sees in his spouse, Sister Valérie Caussé, Elder Caussé responded, “How many hours do you have?” She is real, genuine, honest and full of religion, he continued, and she or he exhibits her love for others in a really heat and pure manner.
Together they raised 5 youngsters, two of them dwelling within the United States. “They never complained,” regardless of the place the household went. “We know we can count on them.”
Similarly, wherever Elder Gilbert had to transfer his household all through his life — for profession modifications or Church assignments — he knew he may rely on the help of his spouse.
“Part of what was amazing about her is she would be willing to go anywhere, especially if it was something the Lord asked of us.”
He added, “It made it easy for me, when there were hard decisions, to know my wife had confidence that if the Lord had called us to do something, He would honor it.”
What provides them the energy to serve, even within the face of adversity? “All of that is grounded in the covenants we made early on in the temple and in our temple sealing, and we have never looked back and always wanted to do what the Lord wanted us to do.”
They’ve additionally appreciated the encouragement of their eight youngsters in Elder Gilbert’s apostolic task. “This will affect all of them,” he stated. “And yet, every one of them in their own unique ways was willing to support this and support their parents.”
Witnessing the mantle of the Prophet
As President of the Church, President Oaks “does not teach what he was prepared to do or what his background would suggest,” stated Elder Gilbert, “but he teaches what the Lord tells him to speak.”
Elder Gilbert noticed this personally when President Oaks addressed BYU college students in a Feb. 10 devotional. The substance of the speak was wonderful, stated Elder Gilbert, however much more profound was the witness he obtained of the Prophet’s calling.
As commissioner of Church training, Elder Gilbert had performed analysis for President Oaks’ remarks. “He was excited to give that message.” Yet taking up the prophetic mantle referred to as for a change of plans.
“He said, ‘Clark, when we were first working on this, I was not yet the Prophet. And now that I am the Prophet, He is giving me a message that I need to give.’”
While within the Presiding Bishopric, Elder Caussé additionally noticed the prophetic mantle when he reported straight to the First Presidency weekly for 13 years.
In that point, he got here to love the late President Nelson’s forward-looking optimism, aptitude for connection and skill to train the gospel merely. Even on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Nelson appeared to the longer term with religion and hope, stated Elder Caussé.
“Whenever I felt a little down or tired, I always thought of President Nelson, and that always gave me some boost, and I smiled whenever I thought about him.”
Having additionally labored intently with President Oaks, Elder Caussé stated he admires the Prophet’s braveness, resilience, humility and understanding of the complexities of the world.
“His mind is very bright,” he stated, “and whenever there is a meeting and there is a good question that needs to be asked, that is President Oaks asking it.”
‘He is the Savior of the world’
As newly referred to as Apostles quickly to be sustained in convention, Elder Caussé and Elder Gilbert relish their lifelong mission to testify that Jesus Christ lives.
“We can overcome death because of the Savior,” stated Elder Gilbert. “We can be forgiven of our sins because of Jesus Christ. He will succor us in our infirmities and heal us when life is not fair. He is the Savior of the world. And I know that is true.”
Said Elder Caussé: “Jesus is the Christ. His Church is again upon the earth. It is where everyone can find the love of the Savior in the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, help that is needed through brothers and sisters that are unified together, living the gospel in a way that is blessing their lives forever.”
