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".
John Whittaker Taylor was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was the son of John Taylor, the third president of the church. While he was an apostle, Taylor was excommunicated from the LDS Church for opposing the church's abandonment of plural marriage. He was subsequently posthumously re-baptized in 1965.
Alonzo Arza Hinckley was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1934 until his death.
George Franklin Richards was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 9, 1906, until his death. He also served as Acting Presiding Patriarch of the LDS Church from 1937 to 1942 and President of the Quorum of the Twelve from May 25, 1945, until his death.
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.
Matthias Foss Cowley was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1897 until 1905. He resigned from the Quorum of the Twelve due to his unwillingness to support the church's abolition of plural marriage. He and John W. Taylor are the most recent apostles of the LDS Church to have resigned from their positions.
John Henry Smith was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a prominent politician in Utah and played an important role in the transition from Utah as a territory to a state of the United States.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, there are two presiding high councils, one said to be "standing," and the other "traveling." The traveling high council is generally known as the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Both councils, at least in theory, preside over the church, although the apostles have tended to supersede the standing high council in both of the largest Latter Day Saint denominations, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ.
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The First Presidency, also called the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church or simply the Presidency, is the presiding governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of Russell M. Nelson and his two counselors: Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve is one of the governing bodies or (quorums) 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.
What follows is a chronological table that sets out the changes in the composition of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through time.
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 President of the LDS Church is the church's leader and the head of the First Presidency, the church's 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.
President of the Quorum of the Twelve is a leadership position that exists in some of the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement. In these churches, the President is the head of the Quorum of the Twelve.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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.
