Midweek svithe: Callings and Releases

To start, I'll share my somewhat trivial personal news. A couple weeks ago I was officially released as Primary chorister and last Sunday I received a calling to teach Relief Society. I am very excited. I couldn't help but wonder if someone in the RS Presidency read my "I am great" post. I guess the scary thing about claiming your greatness is that then you have to deliver! HA! It will be fun though. I love teaching Relief Society because it helps me get excited about the gospel and it allows me to stay there!! It seems much more doable since it's only 1 hour a month as opposed to a 2 hour span every week.

Now, onto loftier matters, I would imagine that all of you have heard by now that the Prophet and President of the LDS church, Gordon B. Hinckley, has been released from his calling here on earth. I have seen many tributes to him among my friends' and family's blogs, but I just want to say I too find it hard to see him go though he had a good run at 97 years. My friend Kerrie emailed me the link to this video tribute this morning. It's simplicity brought a tear to my eye. I will miss the Prophet of my youth, the kind man who always had a smile on his face.


After I got my mom's email message on Sunday, we were talking about church organization and succession in the presidency. We were not in total agreement about how exactly it happens, though we had the same general idea. I found this outline from the LDS newsroom that explains clearly how it works.

27 January 2008 The highest-ranking governing body in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the First Presidency, consisting of the president and his two counselors, or advisers. This three-man body supervises the work of the entire Church in all matters of policy, organization and administration.

The second-highest presiding body in Church government is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They serve under the direction of the First Presidency and have heavy administrative responsibilities to oversee the orderly progress and development of the Church throughout the world. The First Presidency and Twelve Apostles are regarded by Latter-day Saints as prophets who receive divine revelation and inspiration to guide the Church.

The appointment of a new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints happens in an orderly way that — remarkably in today’s world — avoids any trace of internal lobbying for position or rank. Viewed by members as a divinely revealed process, it is devoid of electioneering whether behind the scenes or in public.

Moreover, it is not only the structure of Church organization that governs this process. There is also a deeply ingrained tradition in the Church that personal aspiration for leadership at any level is inappropriate. Instead, the emphasis is on personal worthiness and a humble willingness to serve when invited.

When the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passes away, the following events take place:

1. The First Presidency is automatically dissolved.

2. The two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age.

3. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership.

4. The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions:
i. Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time?
ii. Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding?

5. After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

6. If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The new president chooses two counselors from among the Quorum of the Twelve and the three of them become the new First Presidency. Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized.

7. Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The only exception is when the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, in which case the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve.

8. The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands.

Since the Church was formally organized on 6 April 1830, there have been 15 presidents, including President Gordon B. Hinckley.

I also found this quote in the Teacher's Sunday School Manual from Lesson 9.

"Before he became President of the Church, Spencer W. Kimball said, “Full provision has been made by our Lord for changes. Today there are fourteen apostles holding the keys in suspension, the twelve and the two counselors to the President, to be brought into use if and when circumstances allow, all ordained to leadership in their turn as they move forward in seniority.

“There have been some eighty apostles so endowed since Joseph Smith, though only eleven have occupied the place of the President of the Church, death having intervened; and since the death of his servants is in the power and control of the Lord, he permits to come to the first place only the one who is destined to take that leadership. Death and life become the controlling factors. Each new apostle in turn is chosen by the Lord and revealed to the then living prophet who ordains him” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1972, p. 29; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 34).

I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and that He has guided the church through his Prophets and Apostles. He knows who can best lead us now and has placed him in the position to succeed President Hinckley. The work rolls on.