Elder James E. Evanson

Elder James E. Evanson grew up on a sugar beet farm in the small village of Barnwell, east of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

A descendant of faithful pioneer stock, Elder Evanson was raised in a home where “the gospel was taught and lived.”

At 10 years of age, he read all 16 volumes of the family’s illustrated Book of Mormon and Church history stories and decided to follow Joseph Smith’s example. Sneaking into a grove of trees across the road from his home, he knelt, prayed, and received a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is his Savior, Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and the Book of Mormon is true.

That conviction has spurred a lifetime of dedicated service in the Church, including as an Area Seventy, stake president, and president of the Utah Orem Mission. At the time of his call, Elder Evanson was serving as a Valiant activity leader in his ward in Lethbridge.

James Eugene Evanson was born in Taber, Alberta, on August 16, 1968, one of eight children born to Dale Eugene and Phyllis Tanner Evanson.

After serving a full-time mission in Tempe, Arizona, Elder Evanson married Jody Karil Zobell on December 20, 1989, in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of five children and have 11 grandchildren.

Elder Evanson earned a bachelor’s degree and a doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Alberta and worked as a dentist in private practice for 26 years.