2 of 12 Mormon apostles visit LR

Dieter Uchtdorf and Jeffrey Holland, both members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — the second-highest governing body of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints — are in Little Rock today and Sunday as part of a three-day visit, according to Annmarie Worthington, public relations media specialist for the Little Rock stake.

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles members are considered to be witnesses of Jesus Christ by the church, and although the 12 men who comprise it frequently travel throughout the world to visit congregations, the presence of two members on a visit is rare and “possibly a first for Arkansas,” said Renee Carr, the church’s director of public affairs.

Uchtdorf and Holland are scheduled to speak with area missionaries and conduct bishop training today, and will speak at a 10 a.m. service on Sunday at 13901 Quail Run Drive in Little Rock.

In addition to the chapel’s estimated capacity of 1,300 and rooms where the service will be televised to those exceeding the capacity, the Sunday service will be broadcast to other stakes — the church’s governing territories — throughout most of Arkansas and in parts of Tennessee.

Arkansas is home to more than 30,000 Latter-day Saints as of the church’s latest figures from last January — around 1 percent of the state’s population and less than half a percent of the nation’s nearly 6.6 million adherents to the faith.

“It is an incredible encouragement to a state [like Arkansas] that has a small membership, and to get to hear from them and learn from them will probably one of the biggest blessings [we’ve] had in a long time,” said Worthington of the Apostolic visit. “It just makes you feel like they know we’re here.”