A former School teacher from Kent has been appointed as the new Bishop of a church in the Salisbury Ward.

Mark White, a former School teacher from Kent, has been appointed as the new Bishop in the Salisbury Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Mark was ordained Bishop White in November, 11 years after the groundbreaking ceremony was held at the chapel in Old Sarum. Mark replaces previous ecclesiastical leader, Edwin Ralph, whose wife passed away earlier this year.

New Bishop, White, said: "I have big shoes to fill when it comes to supporting the individuals in our congregation and the wider community.

“I hope to be able to continue the great work already accomplished, to create a spiritual refuge in the town, where people can find peace, hope and inspiration.”

Mark becomes the second Bishop to lead the congregation of 320 in Salisbury since it was formally reorganised from a ‘branch’ into a ‘ward’, following a period of sustained growth, in 2023.

Most congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are organised geographically into wards, but in areas where there are fewer Church members, Latter-day Saints are organised into branches. Wards are led by Bishops and branches by Branch Presidents.

Mark is supported by his wife Jennifer and three sons, Jonathan, Joshua and Aaron. While raising their family in Kent, Mark and Jennifer dedicated themselves to serving their communities as Secondary and Primary School teachers, respectively.

In August 2013 Mark left the teaching profession to work as a Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Coordinator in the charity sector.

The local congregation in Salisbury started meeting in the 1960s and the Church acquired the land for the current chapel back in 1988.

Before its completion in 2015, the congregation had rented meeting space in various buildings including a nightclub at the Red Lion Hotel, Grosvenor House near the Churchfields Industrial Estate, the Guildhall in the centre of Salisbury, and South Wilts Grammar School.