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TheFirst Presidency, also called theQuorum of the Presidency of the Church[1] or simplythe Presidency,[2] is the presiding governing body ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is composed of thepresident of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency consists ofDallin H. Oaks and his two counselors,Henry B. Eyring andD. Todd Christofferson.
The First Presidency is composed of the church's president and his counselors. Historically, and as mandated by church scripture,[1] the First Presidency has been composed of the president and two counselors, but circumstances have occasionally required additional counselors (for example,David O. McKay had five during the final years of his presidency, and at one point,Brigham Young had eight).
Counselors must behigh priests[1] and are usually chosen from among the members of theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles, but there have been a number of exceptions of members of the church'sPresiding Bishopric or the church at large being called to be counselors. Anyhigh priest of the church is eligible to be called as a counselor in the First Presidency. There have also been a few cases of counselors being ordained to the priesthood office ofapostle and becoming members of the Quorum of the Twelve after they had already beenset apart as counselors in the First Presidency, such asJ. Reuben Clark. There have been other cases where counselors have been ordained to the office of apostle but not set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, such asAlvin R. Dyer. Other counselors in the First Presidency were never ordained to the office of apostle, such asCharles W. Nibley andJohn R. Winder. Whether or not a counselor is an apostle, all members of the First Presidency aresustained by the church asprophets, seers, and revelators.
Counselors are formally designated as "First Counselor in the First Presidency" and "Second Counselor in the First Presidency". Additional counselors have been designated in different ways, including "Third Counselor in the First Presidency" (such asHugh B. Brown), "Assistant Counselor to the President" (such asJohn Willard Young), and simply "Counselor in the First Presidency" (such asThorpe B. Isaacson).
Counselors serve in the First Presidency until their own deaths, until the death of the church president who called them, or until they are released by the church president. The death of a church president dissolves the First Presidency, and leaves thepresident of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as the senior leader of the church. The death or release of a counselor does not dissolve the First Presidency.
Often, the surviving counselors of the late president will be called as counselors in the new First Presidency, and a notably-infirm counselor may revert to his place among the Twelve Apostles, with a healthier man called as counselor in his place. On the death or release of a first counselor, the second counselor usually succeeds, and a new second counselor is named. Although that is fairly common, there are no hard and fast rules about such practices, and each president is free to choose the counselors he prefers.
The church president and his counselors in the First Presidency, along with the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are each given the honorific title of "President".
A member could be removed by the current president at any time or ifdisciplined by theCommon Council of the Church, although both actions are rare and removal for discipline has not happened since the early days of the church.
The First Presidency is the highest rankingpriesthoodquorum of the church. The counselors assist the church president and work closely with him in guiding the entire church and carrying out the duties of the president of the church. The First Presidency has the theoretical authority to make the final decision on nearly all issues that might affect the church or its operations, but in practice, the First Presidency has delegated much of its decision-making power to members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, theSeventy, the Presiding Bishopric, and local leaders of the church. Nevertheless, the First Presidency has retained its overarching decision-making power in a number of significant areas and may, at any time, choose to overrule the decisions of a lesser church quorum or authority.
In the case of an infirm president, his counselors may be called upon to perform more of the duties of the First Presidency that would normally be performed by the president. If needed, any number of additional counselors may be called to assist them, but the president of the church remains the only person authorized to use allpriesthood keys. All members of the First Presidency aresustained by the membership of the church as prophets, seers, and revelators and given the keys of the kingdom when they are ordained as an apostle.
All members of the First Presidency are also members of the church'sCouncil on the Disposition of the Tithes, which determines how thetithing funds of the church are spent.
There is no requirement that counselors in the First Presidency beapostles of the church. The following men served as a counselor in the First Presidency during the years indicated and were never ordained to the priesthood office of apostle. J. Reuben Clark was not an apostle when he became second counselor in the First Presidency on April 6, 1933; a year and a half later, on October 11, 1934, he was called as first counselor and ordained as an apostle, becoming a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for one day.
The church employs a secretary to assist the First Presidency in its administrative duties. The position is a paid employment position and the incumbent is not a member of the First Presidency or ageneral authority of the church.[3] However, it is common for letters from the office of the First Presidency to private individuals to bear the signature of the secretary, as opposed to members of the First Presidency.
The First Presidency also employs assistant secretaries and press secretaries. When David O. McKay became church president in 1951, he continued with his longtime personal secretary, Clare Middlemiss, and moved the existing secretary,Joseph Anderson, into the newly created First Presidency's office.[4]D. Arthur Haycock also served as personal secretary to several church presidents in the 20th century.
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