Council Of Twelve Apostles (Community Of Christ)
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In the
Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
, the Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
, and are responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church. Apostles are also high priests in the
Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Right ...
of the church.


Calling

As with all priesthood in the Community of Christ, members of the Council of Twelve are considered to be "called by God." The
Prophet-President In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...
"receives" the call, and after consultation with the other two members of the First Presidency, "presents" the call to the candidate. If the candidate accepts, the candidates name is presented to the World Conference and the call is sustained by majority vote. New apostles are ordained in a special worship service held during the World Conference. Prior to the Presidency of
W. Grant McMurray W. Grant McMurray (born July 12, 1947) was Prophet-President of Community of Christ from 1996 until 2004. He was the first non-descendant of Joseph Smith to head the church, and under his administration, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of ...
, the call of apostles and other members of presiding quorums of the church were named in an "inspired document" that was added to the scriptures of the church in the
Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...
. McMurray and others believed that the lengthy passages related to priesthood calls reduced the readability of the Doctrine and Covenants. Since that time, these priesthood calls have been presented in a separate document that is not included in the Doctrine and Covenants. Most appointee ministers live in the
Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...
, area, however, the current trend is to base apostles in the field. Each apostle has an office in the
Independence Temple The Temple in Independence, Missouri, is a house of worship and education "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". It dominates the skyline of Independence and has become the focal point of the headquarters of the Community of Christ (formerly the Re ...
and they share administrative staff.


Responsibilities

Individual apostles may be assigned to various responsibilities of church leadership, including field administration. Together with the
First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
and the Presiding Bishopric, this council is a part of the "World Church Leadership Council." Each of the apostles is called to serve as a "special witness of the gospel", and each is appointed by the First Presidency to oversee one or more of the church's mission fields. In recent years, some members of the Council are also given responsibility for certain areas of program ministry. If for any reason the First Presidency is dissolved or otherwise unable to preside over the World Conference, the Council of Twelve Apostles presides over the conference until such time as the First Presidency resumes functioning or is reorganized. Assigned by the First Presidency, they carry major responsibility for church expansion, and serve as administrative supervisors of field jurisdictions. The Council of Twelve Apostles elects one of its members to serve as President of the Council of Twelve and another member to serve as Secretary of the Council of Twelve. Members of the Council of Twelve Apostles are normally full-time paid
ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
, called "Appointee Ministers" in the Community of Christ. Members of the Council of Twelve Apostles directly supervise Mission Center Presidents and missionaries holding the priesthood office of
Seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...
. They have the authority to call Mission Center Conferences and frequently preside over certain portions of the various conferences. Apostles usually initiate calls to the offices of
high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...
and
evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
, often in consultation or at the behest of Mission Center Presidents. Apostles usually hold annual or semi-annual meetings of the appointee ministers and key staff members in their fields. Apostles have the authority to organize or dissolve congregations and ministry groups. If a Mission Center President takes over operation of a congregation (usually only in situations of extreme dissent), an appeal of this decision may be made to the apostle that supervises that field. Apostles typically travel to missionary fields around the world, even when they have fields entirely within the United States. This international missionary experience is believed to enrich both the recipients of the ministry as well as the experience of the apostles' themselves. Most jurisdictions of the Community of Christ hold summertime family camps called "reunions." Apostles usually spend much of their summer attending various reunions.


Progressive influence

The Council of Twelve Apostles has long been regarded as the primary advocates for the growing international presence of the church and its international witness of Jesus Christ. In addition, the Council has frequently strived to lead the church towards progressive stances on issues such as homosexuality, women in the priesthood, open communion, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, environmentalism, peace and justice ministries. Former apostle Charles D. Neff (1958–1984) led the Council of Twelve in developing relativistic viewpoints towards both ritual and doctrine in order to make the gospel relevant across cultures. Presently, the Council contains five female apostles, an African, a Polynesian and a Honduran.


Current members

The current members of the Council, their specific assignments, and year they joined the Council are as follows:"Council of Twelve Apostles"
cofchrist.org, accessed 16 June 2016. *David H. M. Nii – ''South Central USA Mission Field'' (2019) *Bunda C. Chibwe – ''Central and West Africa Mission Field; South-Central Asia Mission Field'' (2000) *Ronald D. Harmon Jr. – ''President, Council of Twelve; Western USA and Baja California Mexico Mission Field'' (2005) *Catherine C. Mambwe – ''West, South, and East Africa Mission Field'' (2019) *Carlos Enrique Mejia – ''Central and South America Mission Field'' (2007) *Mareva M. Arnaud Tchong – ''Pacifikasia Mission Field'' (2013) *Barbara L. Carter – ''Southeast USA Mission Field'' (2013) *Richard C. N. James – ''Eurasia Mission Field'' (2013) *Arthur E. Smith – ''Canada Mission Field; Caribbean and Mexico-Texas Field'' (2013) *Janné C. Grover – ''Central USA Mission Field'' (2016) *Robin K. Linkhart – ''North Central USA Mission Field'' (2016) *Lachlan E. Mackay – ''Northeast USA Mission Field'' (2016)


1844 to present

This is a list of the members of the Council in the Community of Christ, (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) ordained after 1844. The dates are the years they served as a member of the Council of Twelve.


Notes


References

*''The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with Some Additions by his Successors in the Presidency of the Church'', Intellectual Reserve: Salt Lake City, UT, 1981. *''Book of Doctrine and Covenants: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God and Given in the Order of their Dates'', Herald Publishing House: Independence, MO, 2000. * {{Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint hierarchy Apostles of the Community of Christ Religious organizations established in 1835 1835 establishments in the United States