March 31 (UPI) -- The Mormon church on Saturday appointed an Asian-American man and a Brazilian man to its Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the second-highest governing body in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The appointments of Gerrit W. Gong, 64, and Ulisses Soares, 59, mark a historical moment in the church, which since its founding in the 1800s only filled top positions with people of European ancestry.