Priesthood Order: Church President Succession

On three recent Sundays, the elders, high priests, and members of the Relief Society in our ward received instruction concerning various aspects of the Holy Priesthood. While this concentration of lessons on such a vital subject was time well spent, the misunderstanding many members have relative to the succession of Church Presidents may not have been resolved. Unfortunately, the list of the offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood published in our study guide, Gospel Principles, is incomplete. The unenumerated sixth office is “The Presidency of the High Priesthood” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:22 and John A. Widtsoe’s Priesthood and Church Government, 111-112). The effort here will be to bring greater clarity to this subject by reviewing and explaining several primary components of the procedure.

Basic to an understanding of the process of Church President succession are the following assumptions: First, we sustain the members of the First Presidency and of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Each of these fifteen brethren upon being ordained an Apostle received all of the Priesthood authority and keys that have been restored to the earth in this dispensation. It should be understood that at times there are more than fifteen Apostles functioning in the leadership of the Church. If more than two counselors are needed in the First Presidency, the additional counselors may be ordained Apostles, however, they are not members of the Quorum of the Twelve and are thus not in the order of possible succession to be the President of the Church. Alvin Rulon Dyer (1903-1977) is a case in point. He was ordained an Apostle in 1967 but was not a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. He served as a counselor to President David O. McKay from 1968 to 1970. Upon the death of President McKay, Elder Dyer returned to his previous assignment as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve.

Second, the Quorum of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of the Seventy are all equal in authority. For practical purposes in this writing, the roles of only the first two of these three quorums will be considered.

Immediately upon the death of the President of the Church, two things occur. The Quorum of the First Presidency is dissolved. As is the case in all Priesthood presidencies wherein there are counselors, the counselors serve the president. When the president is released or dies, the counselors lose their presidency purpose, and the presidency is automatically dissolved. The second thing that happens upon the death of the President of the Church is that the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the President of the Church by virtue of his being the President of the ruling body of the Church. For with the dissolution of the Quorum of the First Presidency, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve become the leadership of the Church.

In time, the President of the Twelve will select his two counselors. These three Apostles will be sustained by the remaining Apostles as the Presidency of the High Priesthood and then be ordained to that office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. In this capacity, the President is the sole individual on the earth who may exercise all of the Priesthood keys for the direction of the Lord’s work here even though he has possessed those keys since the day he was ordained an Apostle. The Lord’s House is a House of order and not one of confusion.

There are certainly several aspects of this process that have not been discussed here and will not be. The intended purpose of this writing has been accomplished. However, possibly one additional point would have merit. The President of the Quorum of the Twelve is the most senior Apostle second only to the sitting President of the Church. If he is serving in the First Presidency, then the next most senior Apostle presides over the Quorum of the Twelve as the “Acting President.” This was the situation during the time President Thomas S. Monson served as a counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley. During President Hinckley’s administration, the Acting President of the Twelve was Elder Boyd K. Packer. Now that President Monson in the President of the Church, Elder Packer serves as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve. Should Elder Packer survive President Monson, he would be the next President of the Church.