Sister Theresa A. Collins will begin her service as the second counselor in the new Primary general presidency on August 1, 2026. Sustained during the April 2026 general conference, Collins aims to help children recognize that the Savior sees them and knows everything they are feeling and thinking.
The new Primary general presidency includes President Rosemary K. Chibota, first counselor Sister Nina M. Garfield, and second counselor Sister Theresa A. Collins. Collins stated that she has felt peace, gratitude, and joy since receiving the call to this large stewardship.
Collins was born Theresa Ann Knowles on August 18, 1961, in Long Beach, California, to Antoinette Erickson and Charles Ernest Knowles. She was raised in Texas, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City. She studied special education at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.
Collins married Richard E. Collins on March 18, 1982, in the Logan Utah Temple. The couple has four children and 16 grandchildren. They previously served as mission leaders in the Arkansas Bentonville Mission from 2021 to 2024.
Throughout her life, Collins has faced various challenges, including a diagnosis of a rare and debilitating neuromuscular disease in her 40s. She noted that it took 14 years for her healing to be fulfilled.
At the time of her call, Collins was serving as a nursery leader, a temple ordinance worker, and a stake mission preparation instructor alongside her husband. Her previous church service includes roles as a stake Young Women presidency counselor, ward Relief Society president, ward Young Women president, and Primary teacher.
The Collinses have prioritized mission service, including serving as service missionaries in the Salt Lake Inner City Mission from 2016 to 2019. Richard E. Collins noted that Sister Collins has a unique capacity to love and models her faith beautifully in her life.
