 |
In The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), the Quorum of Twelve Apostles is composed of the chief governing officers of the church. Currently, the president of the church and his two counselors are not separated from the quorum, as the church interprets scriptures as permitting a maximum number of twelve apostles, all of whom should be members of the quorum. Like all ministers of the church, the twelve apostles are volunteers and are not given any compensation for their ministry.
At a conference in Green Oak, Pennsylvania in July 1862, leaders of several branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia came together and formally organized what they called "The Church of Jesus Christ". William Bickerton presided over the conference. Bickerton's two counselors in the newly organized First Presidency were George Barnes and Charles Brown who were ordained apostles. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve of that organization (ordered by seniority) were Arthur Bickerton, Thomas Bickerton, Alexander Bickerton, James Brown, Cummings Cherry, Benjamin Meadowcroft, Joseph Astin, Joseph Knox, William Cadman, James Nichols, John Neish and John Dixon. At the conference George Barnes reported receiving the "word of the Lord," which he related:
Hear the word of the Lord; Ye are my Sons and Daughters, and I have committed unto you the Keys of the Kingdom, therefore be ye faithful . [1]
| # | Year | Name(s); * = reordination |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 1862 | Joseph Astin, Alexander Bickerton, Arthur Bickerton, Thomas Bickerton, James Brown, William Cadman, Sr.; Cummings Cherry, John Dixon, Joseph Knox, Benjamin Meadowcroft, John Neish, James Nichols |
| 2 | January 1863 | George Barnes, Charles Brown |
| 3 | July 1863 | William Bickerton |
| 4 | July 1865 | William Bacon, William Skillen |
| 5 | January 1870 | Andrew Rattray |
| 6 | July 1873 | James Louttit |
| 7 | July 1904 | J. L. Armbrust, William H. Cadman, Marion Campbell, Alexander Cherry, Thomas Dixon, William Lynch, William T. Maxwell, James Skillen, Thornton Welch, John Williams, Allen Wright |
| 8 | July 1905 | Solomon Van Lieu |
| 9 | July 1906 | William Helms |
| 10 | July 1907 | Francis Federer, Nephi Federer, John Grimes, Charles Tickhill |
| 11 | July 1908 | Robert Anderson, Charles Ashton, Gustave Blum, Alma Cadman |
| 12 | July 1909 | James Caldwell |
| 13 | July 1910 | John Penn |
| 14 | July 1911 | Vernon Chester, John Majoros |
| 15 | October 1911 | George Neill, Isaac Smith |
| 16 | April 1912 | Samuel Sanders, Fred Smith, John Ward |
| 17 | July 1914 | Herman Kennedy, Harry Nicholson |
| 18 | October 1917 | Thurman Furnier |
| 19 | Circa 1918 | James C. Cowan |
| 20 | July 1919 | Gustave Bloom *, E. J. Perry |
| 21 | August 1923 | Charles Behanna, Joseph Corrado, Martin King, Ishmael D'Amico |
| 22 | July 1925 | Alma Cadman * |
| 23 | July 1931 | Isaac Smith * |
| 24 | April 1934 | John Falola, Sr. |
| 25 | July 1934 | John Dulisse |
| 26 | July 1939 | Rocco Biscotti, Joseph Lovalvo |
| 27 | July 1941 | Angelo Antonio Corrado, Samuel Kirschner, V. James Lovalvo |
| 28 | January 1944 | James C. Cowan* |
| 29 | January 1948 | Charles Behanna* |
| 30 | April 1953 | Joseph Bittinger, Paul D'Amico |
| 31 | April 1956 | Russell Cadman, Gorie Ciaravino, William Gennaro |
| 32 | April 1964 | Frank Calabrese, Dominic Thomas |
| 33 | May 1974 | Nick Pietrangelo |
| 34 | April 1979 | Robert A. Watson |
| 35 | October 1986 | Paul Palmieri |
| 36 | April 1989 | Paul Benyola, Joseph Calabrese |
| 37 | October 1995 | Thomas M. Liberto |
| 38 | October 1997 | Peter Scolaro, Isaac Smith |
| 39 | October 2003 | Richard T. Christman, John R. Griffith |
| 40 | April 2005 | Paul Liberto, Philip R. Jackson |
| 41 | April 2007 | Leonard A. Lovalvo |
| 42 | October 2007 | James Crudup |
| 43 | October 2012 | Joel Gehly |
| 44 | October 2015 | Frank Natoli, Paul Aaron Palmieri |
| 45 | April 2018 | Jerry Valenti |
| 46 | October 2021 | Pete Giannetti, Scott Griffith |
Current members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are: Thomas M. Liberto, Peter Scolaro, John R. Griffith, Paul Liberto, Leonard A. Lovalvo, James Crudup, Joel Gehly, Frank Natoli, Paul Aaron Palmieri, Jerry Valenti, Pete Giannetti and Scott Griffith.
Joel Gehly currently serves as church president, with Peter Scolaro and Frank Natoli as counselors.
Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ, Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, an apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an apostle is a priesthood office of high authority within the church hierarchy. In many churches, apostles may be members of the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency of the church. In most Latter Day Saint churches, modern-day apostles are considered to have the same status and authority as the Biblical apostles.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are apostles, with the calling to be prophets, seers, and revelators, evangelical ambassadors, and special witnesses of Jesus Christ.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Several other titles have been associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, Presiding High Priest, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator. Joseph Smith was known by all of these titles in his lifetime.
The Church of Jesus Christ is an international Christian religious denomination headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, United States. The church is a Christian Restorationist church and accepts the Book of Mormon as scripture. The church considers itself the gospel restored, or the original church and good news as established by Jesus Christ in the New Testament, restored upon the earth. It also claims to be the spiritual successor to the Church of Christ, organized by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. The church sees Sidney Rigdon as Smith's rightful successor following the assassination of Smith because Rigdon was Smith's first counselor in the First Presidency. The church is not officially affiliated with any other church, organization or denomination.
Sylvester Quayle Cannon was an American businessman, engineer, and religious leader who served as the sixth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1925 to 1938 and a member of church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1939 until his death. He was the son of George Q. Cannon, an apostle and member of the church's First Presidency.
The First Presidency of Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the church's highest-ranking priesthood quorum. It is composed of the Prophet-President and two counselors, and they preside over the whole church under the principles of "theocratic democracy" observed in the governance of the church. This includes responsibility for the World Conference, field ministries, priesthood quorums and orders, and headquarters functions. The president of the Church holds the priesthood office of Prophet and is also a High Priest.
The succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the killing of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, on June 27, 1844.
A Rigdonite is a member of the Latter Day Saint movement who accepts Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the church presidency to the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, but as of the 1844 succession crisis becomes distinct. Sidney Rigdon and other church leaders, including Brigham Young and James J. Strang, presented themselves as leaders of the movement and established rival church organizations. Rigdon's group was initially headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was known at one point as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, and its adherents are referred to as Rigdonites, or sometimes "Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints" or "Pennsylvania Mormons." The only surviving organization that traces its succession back to Rigdon's organizations is The Church of Jesus Christ, founded by a group of Rigdon's followers led by William Bickerton.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a quorum is a group of people ordained or endowed with priesthood authority, and organized to act together as a body. The idea of a quorum was established by Joseph Smith early in the history of the movement, and during his lifetime it has included several church-wide quorums, including the First Presidency, the Presiding High Council, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Anointed Quorum, and the Quorum of the Seventy, as well as numerous local quorums for each congregation. The Council of Fifty, or General Council, was not part of the church, but a quorum-like body designed as a forerunner to establishing a theocratic government.
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1941 to 1976. As the title suggests, men who held this position assisted the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. Assistants to the Twelve were general authorities and were generally assigned by the Twelve Apostles to preside over and speak at stake conferences; re-organize stakes; tour missions; and assist in the direction of worldwide missionary work. Like counselors in the First Presidency, the calling of Assistant to the Twelve was not a distinct priesthood office—rather, it was a calling that any worthy high priest could be asked to fill.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve is one of the governing bodies of the church hierarchy organized by the movement's founder Joseph Smith and patterned after the Apostles of Jesus. Members are called Apostles, with a special calling to be evangelistic ambassadors to the world.
William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith Jr in 1830.
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a sect that was created in 1907 from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Like its parent church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite and Bickertonite organization: it traced the claim of succession to Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith through Sidney Rigdon and William Bickerton.
The Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a schismatic sect that was formed in 1914 by and from dissenting members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Like its parent church, the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ was a Rigdonite and Bickertonite organization: it traced its claim of succession to Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith through Sidney Rigdon and William Bickerton.
The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) is part of the Latter Day Saint movement. When Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement, died there was a dispute regarding who should lead the church as his successor. The Quorum of the Twelve, led by Brigham Young, argued that they should have the right to lead the church while the First Counselor of the First Presidency, Sidney Rigdon, argued that he should act as protector of the church until a permanent leader was chosen. Those who followed Rigdon formed the "Church of Christ" with its center being Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After an attempt to start a communitarian society, Church of Christ broke apart by 1847. William Bickerton associated himself for two years with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and later left them behind refusing to accept some of their beliefs, including polygamy. In the 1850s Bickerton's preaching led to the formation of a new church in Eastern Pennsylvania. Over the following years Bickerton's church faced two schisms related to doctrinal issues. Its current official name, The Church of Jesus Christ, was adopted by 1941.
Gary Evan Stevenson is an American religious leader and former businessman who is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served previously as the church's Presiding Bishop and was the fourteenth man to serve in that position. He has been a general authority of the church since 2008. Stevenson was appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in October 2015. Currently, he is the eleventh most senior apostle in the church.
The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Presidency, its highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" and refer to him as "the Prophet", a title that was originally given to Smith. When the name of the president is used by adherents, it is usually prefaced by the title "President". Russell M. Nelson has been the president since January 14, 2018.
Apostolic succession in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the process of transition to a new church president when the preceding one has died.