The Mormon church could name as many as three new high-ranking leaders at a Utah conference this weekend, and scholars predict that for the first time ever, at least one could be from outside North America and Europe.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints needs the new leaders to fill vacancies on the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a governing body that sets church policy and runs the faith's business operations. Only one of its current members is from outside the US.
Speculation about someone being named from a new region is increasing anticipation among Latter-day Saints for what already is a rare occurrence: three board openings at once.
It's been six years since a new quorum member was chosen, and more than a decade since the leadership council had two openings. The last time there were three was in 1906.
Quorum members serve until they die, and three recent deaths created the rare void.
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The new names are expected to be announced on Saturday during a twice-yearly church conference in Salt Lake City. Nearly 100,000 people are expected to attend sessions over two days, and millions more will watch live broadcasts of the speeches.
"There's going to be Mormons everywhere glued to their television sets or computer screens," said Scott Gordon, president of FairMormon, a volunteer organisation that supports the church.
Church president Thomas Monson may tap somebody from Latin America or Africa as an acknowledgement that more than half of the faith's 15 million reported members now live outside the United States, church scholars said.
The one member of the current board from outside the US is Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany.
