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President Of The Church (Mormonism)In Mormonism, the President of the Church is the head of a Latter Day Saint denomination or church. Several other titles are often associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer and Revelator (sometimes "Prophet, Seer, Revelator and Translator"), and even occasionally Prophet, Priest and King (sometimes "King Priest and Ruler over Israel on Earth"). The movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., the first president of the church, was known by all of these titles in his lifetime. A succession crisis followed Smith's assassination in 1844. Different successors organized church hierarchies, making use of some or all of these titles and functions. Today, the largest two denominations are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ and the office of president of the church has evolved distinctly in both of these traditions as well as in many other, smaller Latter Day Saint traditions. Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement is the church's leader and the head of the First Presidency, the church's highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider him to be a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and refer to him particularly as "The Prophet," a title originally given to Joseph Smith, Jr.. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be God's "mouthpiece" both for the church and for other religions. He is thought to have supreme priesthood authority, and the right to receive revelations. Modern presidents, however, have not generally continued Joseph Smith's practice of regularly publishing written doctrinal revelations and visions, although most have stated that they have received such. Infallibility versus Opinion According to the Doctrine and Covenants, which includes information on the offices and policies of the church, the president of the church is the only man empowered to receive revelation for the entire church and to change or clarify doctrine. The church teaches that the president will never be allowed to lead the Latter Day Saints astray and that God will "remove" any man who stands at the head of the church who intends to mislead its members. As such, when speaking as president, the words of the president of the church are "infallible," meaning they are correct and binding on those who live under his administration. By following the president's teachings, members of the church are told that they are justified in their actions. This distinction is important: when he "speaks as the president of the church," his words are infallible. Often when the president speaks, it is not as the president of the church. At these times, the president may offer opinion and conjecture about non-spiritual topics which may or may not be correct. For example, one early church president opined there were people living on the moon. Though most members of the church regard this as an expression of an (uninspired) opinion, critics have cited this statement as proof of the fallibility of church presidents. Succession of the Presidency In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when a president of the church dies, the First Presidency is dissolved and the members of the First Presidency who were formerly members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles return to that quorum. The Quorum of the Twelve is then the presiding council of the church, with the senior apostle as its president. In modern times the Quorum of the Twelve has moved quickly to reconstitute the First Presidency by calling and setting apart one of their number to be the President of the Church. However, Brigham Young presided over the church for three years as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve before the First Presidency was reconstituted after the death of Joseph Smith. Historically, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is selected as the new President of the Church, but, there is no scriptural requirement to do so. Once the new President of the Church is called, he calls two counselors, again historically chosen from the Quorum of the Twelve. Their formal designations are First Counselor in the First Presidency and Second Counselor in the First Presidency. The President and his two counselors constitute the First Presidency, the presiding council of the church. The next senior apostle to the President of the Church is called by the First Presidency to be the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. If the President of the Quorum of the Twelve has been called to be a counselor in the First Presidency, the apostle next in seniority is called to be the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve. At the death of the President of the Church, an Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve returns to the quorum's membership and the President of the Quorum of the Twelve takes his role as president of the quorum. List of Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Presidents of the Community of Christ In the Community of Christ, the "president of the church" is often referred to as the Prophet-President. The prophet-president is the highest priesthood leader of this denomination of Latter Day Saints. The position is composed of several roles: (1) President of the Church, (2) President of the High Priesthood and (3) "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator" to the church. As President of the Church, the prophet-president is the church's chief executive and is the leader of the First Presidency, the church's chief executive council. As President of the High Priesthood, the prophet-president is the church's leading priesthood official. (Since the initiation of the ordination of women in 1985, it is now possible for this position to be filled by a woman though all prophet-presidents to date have been men.) As Prophet, Seer and Revelator, the prophet-president is the Community of Christ's spiritual leader and can present "revelations" to the church to be added to the Doctrine and Covenants an open canon of scripture, which stands next to the Bible and the Book of Mormon as a sacred text. Succession of the Presidency Generally, the prophet-president will ordain or name a successor prior to his death. Often these successors have been chosen according to the principle of lineal succession and, as such, the first six prophet-presidents were movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his direct descendents. In 1995, Wallace B. Smith broke with the precedent of lineal succession by naming W. Grant McMurray as his successor. In November 2004, McMurray resigned from the office of prophet-president without naming a successor, citing medical and personal issues. The First Presidency, composed of McMurray's two counselors, continued to function as the church's chief executive council. A joint council of church leaders led by the Council of Twelve Apostles announced in March 2005 the name of Stephen M Veazey as prophet-president designate. Veazey currently serves as president of the Council of Twelve. Elected delegates to a special World Conference of the church are expected to approve Veazey in June 2005. Presidents of the Community of Christ Presidents of other Latter Day Saint denominations In the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), the President of the General Church is also a member of and the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The first six presidents of the church were: (1) Joseph Smith Jr. 18301844, (2) Sidney Rigdon 18441847, (3) William Bickerton 18621876, (4) William Cadman 18761907, (5) Alexander Cherry 19071921, (6) William H. Cadman 1921?. Brother Dominic R. Thomas has been President of the General Church since 1974.
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