Frank Nolden was sustained by the membership of the Conyers Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as their new bishop on Sunday. He replaces Phillip N. Kimble whose counselors over the past five years have included Chris Zawadski, Lloyd Rasmussen, and previously David Shipp.

He will serve in that volunteer capacity for about five years, the typical length of a bishop’s service in the church. He will be assisted by two newly called counselors, Adam Ashley and Kevin Casey. 

Nolden, a longtime employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a member of their Senior Executive Service made up of high ranking federal government employees, has lived in the Conyers area since July 2008 with his wife, Shayne, and three of their seven children.  

As a young man, he served two years for the church in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission, and then completed a bachelor’s degree in business management from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.  

In the years since, he has served as a counselor in a bishopric, a ward clerk, a local mission leader and most recently as a teacher in the church’s Addiction Recovery Program. He also served previously as a bishop for five-and-half years.  

As bishop of the Conyers Ward, he will be the presiding high priest and will preside over all the members in his congregation. In addition, he is the president of the priests quorum and, together with his counselors, is responsible to watch over and nurture the young men and young women in the ward. 

Nolden loves playing, coaching and refereeing baseball and basketball.  He is well known for his gentle attitude, kind heart and firm testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ. He shared with the congregation, “I am honored and humbled to accept this calling.  I love being in the service of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is my personal Savior.  I have a testimony that He lives and loves each of us.”

Bishop Kimble, in a tender address to the members of the congregation, shared that he had been honored and humbled to be a close part of so many members’ lives. 

“I will miss the hand on my shoulder that I have felt guiding me as I have been the bishop of the Conyers Ward,” he said. 

Always a spiritual leader, his legacy will most certainly include an emphasis on education, often arranging for adults to complete General Educational Development (GED) certificates, technical training, and encouraging others to begin and/or complete college degrees ranging from associate’s and bachelor’s degrees to master’s and doctorate degrees as well as industry certifications. 

As with most newly released bishops, it will not be long before Kimble has an opportunity to serve in some other capacity.

The counselors

Ashley will serve as first counselor to Bishop Nolden.  Ashley and his wife Alison moved to Conyers from Buffalo, New York nine months ago, with their four young children, to take a position with SunTrust Bank.  He works in their Enterprise Stress Analytics group while also working on a second master’s degree from Northwestern University in predictive analytics.  

As a young man, he served two years in the Italy, Catania Mission. He has served in various other positions in the church often working with the youth.  Most recently he has taught a Sunday School class of 14 and 15 year olds.  

His new responsibilities will include facilities management, genealogy activities, and working with the Young Men’s organization.  Ashley is most excited about the opportunity to serve the people of the congregation and the community.

Casey will serve as the second counselor to Bishop Nolden. He grew up in Jonesboro, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in horticulture and has worked in the field for 23 years, currently working for SSC Service Solutions. 

He has lived in Conyers since 1993 with his wife, Shaunna, and their four children. Casey served a two-year mission to Utah working with Laotian refugees. Since then, among many different opportunities to serve, he has been a Sunday School teacher, an advisor in the Young Men’s program, and most recently he has had stewardship for the High Priest Group.  

As Second Counselor he will work directly with the Sunday School organization, the Children’s Primary organization and the Young Women’s organization. He shares that he is excited and humbled to have the opportunity to serve the Lord in this capacity.