Hugo Montoya

Hugo Montoya is a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He began his service in the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 4, 2015. He had been serving in the Fourth Quorum of the Seventy in the Mexico Area.

Montoya was born on April 2, 1960, in Fresno, California, to Abel Montoya and Maclovia Monroy, but has lived most of his life in Mexico. His maternal great-grandfather, Rafael Monroy, is a prominent figure in the history of the Church in Mexico. In 1915, Monroy and a fellow member, Vicente Morales, were arrested by a group of revolutionaries during the Mexican Revolution. Both men were told they would be released if, among other demands, they renounced their religion. The two refused and were shot to death by firing squad.

One of the powerful lessons Montoya learned from his great-grandfather’s example is “that feelings of fear can be overcome by feelings of faith and testimony when you know you are doing the right things.”

Montoya graduated from Sonora State University in 1986 with an agricultural engineering degree. He worked at a family grape vineyard from 1975 to 1992 and has worked in several management positions with Xerox. He has also been a Church Institute teacher from 1998 until 2002. He is married to Maria del Carmen Balvastro and they are the parents of five children. They reside in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo.

He served as a missionary in the Mexico City North Mission from 1979 to 1981. He has also served in the Church as a ward Young Men president, high councilor, bishop, stake president, area auditor and Area Seventy.