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"The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" is a 2000 restatement of doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
The document is a one-page declaration that was issued on January 1, 2000 and was signed by the fifteen apostles in the LDS Church: the three members of the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The declaration commemorates the birth of Jesus and is a reaffirmation of church doctrines and teachings about him. The text includes quotations of significant scriptural passages from the Bible and other LDS Church scriptures and identifies Jesus as the Jehovah of the Old Testament and Messiah of the New Testament.
According to the LDS Church, the document is meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ approximately two millennia prior. [1]
Although the Proclamation presents no new doctrines, it provides an official statement of the church on Jesus. Throughout the work are titles of Jesus and descriptions of what He has done for humankind.
Since it was issued, the document has been frequently featured in church magazines and publications. One commentator has suggested that "the document may have been created to strengthen LDS Christian claims." [2] The church encourages its members to place a copy in their homes and to study it often. [3]
The document was signed by the following individuals:
The Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are:
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World" is a 1995 statement issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which defined the official position of the church on family, marriage, gender roles, and human sexuality. It was first announced by church president Gordon B. Hinckley.
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Normally, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve is the most senior apostle in the church, aside from the president of the church. When the president of the church dies, it is the president of the Quorum of the Twelve who becomes the new church president. The calling of President of the Twelve has been held by 27 men. 16 Quorum Presidents have subsequently become President of the Church. Since January 2018, Dallin H. Oaks has been the President of the Quorum of the Twelve. Since Oaks is also first counselor in the First Presidency, M. Russell Ballard served as acting president until his death on November 12, 2023. Jeffrey R. Holland became the new acting president on November 15, 2023.
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.
Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of several denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Traditionally, a Latter Day Saint holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jesus Christ, charged with the mission of preaching the gospel to the entire world under the direction of the Twelve Apostles. Latter Day Saints teach that the office of seventy was anciently conferred upon the seventy disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-2. Multiple individuals holding the office of seventy are referred to collectively as "seventies".
Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. was an American businessman and religious leader who served as the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2018 until his death in 2023. He had been a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1985. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Ballard was accepted by church members as a prophet, seer, and revelator. At the time of his death, he was the third most senior apostle in the church.
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.
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.
Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to the Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern is a 1915 book by James E. Talmage. The book is a doctrinal study on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and is widely appreciated by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book consists of 42 chapters, each focusing on important aspects of the life and mission of Jesus as the Messiah.
The Council on the Disposition of the Tithes is a leadership body in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, composed of the First Presidency, the Presiding Bishopric, and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The council determines how tithing funds of the church will be spent. The council oversees revenue, investments and expenditures valued at billions of dollars per year. While the LDS Church produces an annual report and employs an independent auditing department which reviews the financial activities of the church, it has not published full financial reports since 1959.
Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the past, it has also been applied to the Presiding Patriarch of the church and the Assistant President of the Church. Other denominations of the movement also use these terms.
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.
President is an honorific title in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints given to members who hold certain leadership positions.
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.
"The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World" is a proclamation issued by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outlining the church's views that the church Jesus established fell into apostasy and was restored through Joseph Smith. The proclamation was announced by church president Russell M. Nelson on April 5, 2020, as part of the church's annual general conference. The April 2020 conference had been designated as a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the theophany Smith said he had in 1820, known as the First Vision.