Dennis B. Neuenschwander

Who is Dennis B. Neuenschwander?

Dennis Bramwell Neuenschwander has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1991. Neuenschwander was a key figure in introducing Mormon missionaries to former Soviet bloc countries in Europe in the early 1990s.

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Neuenschwander grew up in Salt Lake and Ogden, Utah. Beginning in 1959, Neuenschwander served as an LDS Church missionary in Finland, where he became fluent in Finnish.

Upon returning to Utah, Neuenschwander earned degrees from Weber State University and Brigham Young University, and in 1974 earned a Ph.D. in eastern European languages from Syracuse University. He taught Russian language classes at BYU and the University of Utah, and later was hired by the LDS Church's genealogical department, where he was involved in microfilming and translating genealogical records from eastern Europe.

In 1987, Neuenschwander was appointed president of the church's Austria Vienna East Mission, which at the time included Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Cyprus. In the early 1990s, Neuenschwander was asked to assist the church in expanding missionary work into Bulgaria, Romania, and parts of the USSR.