A solemn assembly is a formal and sacred procedure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) conducted to give added emphasis to the purpose of the occasion. Solemn assemblies are held at the dedications of temples and for specially-called meetings to provide instruction to church leaders.[1] Solemn assemblies are also held for the purpose of sustaining a new church president, who church members consider to be a prophet, seer, and revelator.[2] Such assemblies are held, in particular, to follow the law of common consent.
In 1831, a year after Joseph Smith established the Church of Christ, church members believe he was instructed by revelation to "call your solemn assembly, that your fastings and your mourning might come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."[3] Members understand the practice to be a continuation of the Biblical solemn assemblies, held on special occasions of major religious importance in ancient Israel.[4]
Connected with temple dedications
Interior of the Kirtland Temple, where the first Latter Day Saint solemn assembly was held in 1836
The first solemn assembly connected to a temple dedication in modern times was held on March 30, 1836, as part of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in the Latter Day Saint movement. Prior to the dedication, Smith taught church members, "We must have all things prepared, and call our solemn assembly as the Lord has commanded us, that we may be able to accomplish His great work, and it must be done in God's own way. The House of the Lord must be prepared, and the solemn assembly called and organized in it, according to the order of the House of God."[5] The dedication of the Kirtland Temple introduced many elements of solemn assemblies connected with temple dedications that are still used today, including the Hosanna Shout and the singing of "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning," a hymn written by W. W. Phelps. Solemn assemblies have been held in connection with the dedications of all LDS Church temples.
Sustaining new church presidents
LDS General Conference at the Conference Center in 2008
At the first general conference after the death of a church president and the calling of his successor, the session at which the sustaining vote takes place is called a solemn assembly. During a solemn assembly sustaining, groups of church members are asked to stand in succession and sustain the new president, along with his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[6] Historically, the order of the sustaining groups has been: the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, the Quorums of Seventy and Presiding Bishopric, the remaining Melchizedek priesthood holders, Aaronic priesthood holders, and then all church members together.[7] In more recent solemn assemblies, female church members aged 18 and older who constitute the Relief Society and female church members aged 12 to 18 who constitute the Young Women organization have been asked to stand and vote as distinct groups as well.[6] The order of the April 2018 Solemn Assembly to sustain Russell M. Nelson was changed slightly. The sustaining by Melchizedek Priesthood holders was followed by the Relief Society, then the Aaronic Priesthood, the Young Women, and the church at large.
After the First Presidency votes, the other groups in turn, and then all the members of the church together, including those who have voted previously, are asked to stand wherever they may be at the time and vote in a single call to sustain, or oppose, the new president, along with his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve. Until the spring general conference of 1973, solemn assemblies included a vote for the sustaining of the Patriarch to the Church (formerly Presiding Patriarch), which office was abolished in 1979. Local seventies were explicitly included as part of the Melchizedek priesthood voting group as well, until the 1986 dissolution of local quorums of seventy at the stake level. The entire procedure until then had lasted a half hour, given that the voting had been done separately for each of the positions being called upon.[8]
Russell M. Nelson, 17th president of the LDS Church
During the solemn assembly held on April 6, 1973, at which Spencer W. Kimball was sustained as the church's 12th president, N. Eldon Tanner described the purpose and deep spiritual meaning of such occasions for church members:
A solemn assembly, as the name implies, denotes a sacred, sober, and reverent occasion when the saints assemble under the direction of the First Presidency. Solemn assemblies are used for three purposes: the dedication of temples, special instruction to priesthood leaders, and sustaining a new President of the Church. This conference session today is a solemn assembly for the purpose of sustaining a newly called church president and other officers of the church. When we sustain the president of the church by our uplifted hand, it not only signifies that we acknowledge before God that he is the rightful possessor of all the priesthood keys; it also means that we covenant with God that we will abide by the direction and the counsel that come through His prophet. It is a solemn covenant.[1]
Joseph Smith and his counselors in the original First Presidency were sustained in a solemn assembly in the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836, and Brigham Young was sustained in a solemn assembly on December 27, 1847, in the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa.[9] The first solemn assembly sustaining to take place in the Salt Lake Tabernacle was on October 10, 1880, when John Taylor was sustained as the church's third president.[6] Solemn assembly sustainings were held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for the next twelve presidents of the church. The solemn assembly sustaining for Heber J. Grant, the 7th church president, was postponed by three months because of the worldwide flu pandemic in 1918-1919. Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of the church, was the last church president to be sustained in a solemn assembly held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on April 2, 1995.[9] All subsequent solemn assembly sustainings have taken place in the Conference Center near Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
The most recent solemn assembly sustaining took place during the opening session of general conference on March 31, 2018, where Russell M. Nelson was sustained as the church's 17th president.[10] Other changes in church leadership were presented for sustaining vote as part of the 2018 solemn assembly, and the process was split between Nelson's two counselors over two sessions. The business of the solemn assembly was conducted by Nelson's second counselor, Henry B. Eyring, in the Saturday morning session, with other changes presented by first counselor, Dallin H. Oaks, in the session on Saturday afternoon.
Other occasions
Solemn assemblies have been held in the LDS Church on other occasions to emphasize instruction and counsel to church members, to commemorate special occasions, and to introduce new scripture.[11] A solemn assembly was held on July 2, 1898, in the Salt Lake Temple where Lorenzo Snow, the church's 5th president, re-emphasized the need for church members to faithfully practice the law of tithing.[12] A solemn assembly was held on April 5, 2020, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's theophany, known as the First Vision, and included a hosanna shout and singing of "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning."[13] This solemn assembly was conducted via broadcast from an almost empty auditorium in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City because of restrictions on large gatherings during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly all church members and leaders who participated in this solemn assembly did so virtually from their own residences.[14]
In ancient Israel
Solomon dedicates the temple
The Old Testament states that the people of Israel met in solemn assemblies on several occasions and for various purposes. A solemn assembly was most often held on the feast day at the end of Passover[15] and the feast day at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).[16] Solemn assemblies in ancient Israel were also held for other special occasions, including at the dedication of Solomon's Temple.[4] Joel wrote that solemn assemblies would be held in future times of great crisis.[17] Joel's writings have been interpreted by some Christians, including the LDS Church, to be prophecies about events that will occur in the time just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.[18][19] Solemn assemblies held in the LDS Church today are viewed as a part of the “restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by thy mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”[20] in the context of practices of ancient Israel (especially temple dedications), and as part of the fulfillment of Joel's prophecies.[21][11]
In other denominations
Other Christian denominations follow the Old Testament practice of holding solemn assembly gatherings.[22][23] The reasons for these solemn assemblies vary, but typically involve renewing or strengthening adherents' relationship with Christ, closeness with God, or general feeling of holiness.[24] These gatherings are not usually connected to formal procedural events like sustainings and dedications, but are more similar to the occasional solemn assemblies used in the LDS Church for instruction and worship.
In Mormonism, the Melchizedek priesthood, also referred to as the high priesthood of the holy order of God or the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God, is the greater of the two orders of priesthood, the other being the Aaronic priesthood.
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.
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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.
Howard William Hunter was an American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995. His nine-month presidential tenure is the shortest in the church's history. Hunter was the first president of the LDS Church born in the 20th century and the last to die in it. He was sustained as an LDS apostle at the age of 51, and served as a general authority for over 35 years.
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was the son of former church president Joseph F. Smith and the great-nephew of Church founder Joseph Smith.
Russell Marion Nelson Sr. is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. As church president, Nelson is recognized by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.
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This is a timeline of major events in Mormonism in the 20th century.
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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.
Ulisses Soares is a Brazilian religious leader and former businessman who serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 2005 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from January 2013 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. He is the LDS Church's first apostle from South America. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Soares is accepted by the LDS Church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the fourteenth 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.
General Conference is a gathering of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held biannually every April and October at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. During each conference, church members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to the faith's leaders.
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