What’s next: Who takes over the LDS Church Presidency after President Nelson’s passing?

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The 17th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, has died. He was 101 years old, according to a statement from the Church Newsroom.

Nelson passed at his home in Salt Lake City after over 40 years of service to the Church as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and in the First Presidency of the Church as its 17th president.

What comes next? The process of succession

How does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints choose its next President?

Traditionally, it is the most senior Apostle of the Church who becomes president. Which means that Elder Dallin H. Oaks, former First Counselor in the First Presidency, is set to be the next Prophet. Oaks is presently 93 years of age and will have to be voted on and sustained by members of the Quorum of the Twelve before that is official. It is not known when that vote will take place. Oaks was called to the Quorum of the Twelve in April of 1984, the same time President Nelson was named.

The history of succession

There have been some debates in the earlier days of the Church as to who has the right to be the president.

“After the deaths of subsequent Church Presidents, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met in council to determine when and how to reorganize the First Presidency. The President of the Quorum directed the council and was nominated to become President of the Church. Orson Pratt and Wilford Woodruff both taught that John Taylor had ‘the legal right’ to succeed Brigham Young because he was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,” the Church says.

The Church continues by saying, “Upon Taylor’s death, some members of the quorum suggested sustaining as Church President George Q. Cannon, who was a longtime counselor in the First Presidency but not President of the Quorum of the Twelve. The Twelve decided once again to sustain the quorum president, at that time Wilford Woodruff, firmly establishing the precedent that the senior Apostle would lead the Church.”

The Church has also taught that seniority determines who serves as President of the Quorum of the Twelve since its organization.

How does the Church decide?

Here is how the Church decides on the next President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

The Church says the following: “When the president of the Church 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 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. When the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, 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.

After a President is named, he will select his counselors and then be set apart. To fill the vacancy left by the succession process, a new apostle will also be called. It is currently not known when a new President will be selected.