Among many churches in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

, 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 include

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), the Community of Christ,

Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, usually referred to as the Remnant Church, is a denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The prophet / president of the church is Terry W. Patience. History In the 1970s and 1980s, ...

, and the

Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as The Righteous Branch, The Branch Church, The Peterson Group and Christ's Church, is a fundamentalist Mormon sect of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is based ...

. When the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

was organized on April 6, 1830,

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

and

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

led the church in their capacity as elders. Smith established the inaugural First Presidency on March 8, 1832, with the ordinations of

Jesse Gause Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

and

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...

as his counselors. The term "first presidency," though used at least as early as 1834, did not become standard until 1838. The presidency was to exercise authority over the entire church, whereas the jurisdictions of the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

and the

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 ...

were the outlying areas outside of the gathering places where the church had been organized on a more permanent basis. After the death of Smith in 1844, First Presidencies were reorganized by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

for the LDS Church, by Rigdon for the

Rigdonite A Rigdonite is a member of the Latter Day Saint movement who accepts Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the church presidency to the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the ...

s (now defunct), by

Joseph Smith III Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...

for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ), by James J. Strang for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), and by

William Bickerton William Bickerton (January 15, 1815 – February 17, 1905) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ ...

for The Church of Jesus Christ, although the latter two organizations have not had a First Presidency for much of their history.

LDS Church

In the LDS Church, the First Presidency is the presiding, or governing authority of the church. It usually consists of the

President of the Church 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 ...

and two counselors, although up to eight counselors have on occasion been included in the presidency at the same time. The counselors assist the church president and work closely with him in guiding the entire church. Like the church president and

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles President of the Quorum of the Twelve (also President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President of the Council of Twelve Apostles, and President of the Twelve) is a leadership position that exists in some of the churches of the Latter Day Sai ...

, counselors in the First Presidency are referred to by the title "President"; he and his counselors are referred to as President

Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...

, President

Dallin H. Oaks Dallin Harris Oaks (born August 12, 1932) is an American religious leader and former jurist and academic who since 2018 has been the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was ...

, and President Henry B. Eyring. All members of the First Presidency are "sustained" by the membership of the church as

prophets, seers, and revelators Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

. Any worthy

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 ...

within the church may serve as a counselor in the First Presidency, though most of its members have been chosen from among the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

Charles W. Nibley Charles Wilson Nibley (February 5, 1849 – December 11, 1931) was the fifth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1907 and 1925 and a member of the church's First Presidency from 1925 until his ...

, for example, was a counselor to

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

without ever being ordained to 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 ...

. In the case of an infirm president, his counselors may be called upon to perform more of his duties. If needed, any number of additional counselors may be called to assist them, though the president of the church still remains the only person on the earth authorized to use ''all'' priesthood keys. 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 the

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, but 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 this is a fairly common occurrence, there are no hard and fast rules about such practices and each president is free to choose the counselors he prefers.

Community of Christ

The First Presidency is the highest leadership or priesthood quorum of the Community of Christ. Normally the First Presidency consists of 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 ...

of the church and two counselors. In 1860 with the reorganization of the First Presidency,

became the second Prophet-President of this church and also President of a new First Presidency. William Marks became Smith's First Counselor. The First Presidency of Community of Christ differs from the First Presidency of the LDS Church, where the church president is always the senior-most member of the

. In the Community of Christ, each new church president has generally been "designated" as the successor by God through

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

received by the preceding church president (while still in that role). The Counselors in the First Presidency are then chosen by the church president and are occasionally, but not required, to be former or current members of the

Council of Twelve Apostles In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies or ( quorums) of the church hie ...

. In addition, the death of the Prophet-President does not dissolve the First Presidency, which continues on as the church's executive council in the persons of the remaining two presidents until a Prophet-President is called. The two members who were counselors to the Prophet-President, cease to be counselors during this time. Upon ordination of the Prophet-President, the former First Presidency is dissolved, and upon ordination of the two he calls to be his counselors, to the office of president, the First Presidency is then deemed reorganized. Members of the First Presidency are not generally considered to be members of the Council of Twelve Apostles or holding the priesthood office of apostle, regardless of previous calling. Prior to 1996, all prophet-presidents were descendants of the movement's founder,

. This pattern was broken by Wallace B. Smith, who designated W. Grant McMurray church president. McMurray, in turn, resigned the church presidency in 2004 without designating a successor. 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. Veazey had been serving as president of the Council of Twelve. Delegates elected to a special World Conference of the church approved Veazey and he was ordained as the 8th president of the High Priesthood, Prophet, and President of the Church on June 3, 2005. On June 4, 2005 with the ordinations of

Kenneth N. Robinson Kenneth N. Robinson was a member of the First Presidency of the Community of Christ from 1996 to 2007. Robinson was also an apostle and a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles of the church from 1980 to 1996. Robinson, a native of Perth, Wes ...

and David D. Schaal as presidents of the church and counselors to the president, the First Presidency was reorganized. On March 27, 2007, Robinson retired from his position in the First Presidency and Becky Savage was ordained into the First Presidency. She is the first female to sit on the First Presidency. Unlike most Latter Day Saint denominations with a First Presidency, the counselors in the First Presidency of the Community of Christ are no longer designated "first" and "second" counselors. Current members of the First Presidency: *President Stephen M. Veazey (President of the High Priesthood & of the Church) *President

Becky L. Savage Becky Lee Savage is an American leader in Community of Christ. She was a counselor to Stephen M. Veazey in the First Presidency of the church from 2007 to 2016. Savage was the first female member of the First Presidency in the history of Communi ...

(Counselor to the president)

Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

A First Presidency also leads the

, which was formed primarily out of discontent with changes in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and seeks to be a "renewal" of that church prior to those changes. The First Presidency consists of three High Priests chosen by the voice of the Church; a president and two counselors. The president is selected by

, Jewish Laws of Inheritance, and vote of the General Conference of the Church. The president has the right to choose his own counselors but they must also be sustained by vote of the general conference. The first president following the schism with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was Frederick Niels Larsen, a direct descendant (maternal 2nd great-grandson) of

. His successor is Terry W. Patience, whose first and second counselors are Michael Hogan and David Van Fleet.

The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)

Within The Church of Jesus Christ, the president of the church and his two counselors are elected by the general priesthood in conference and selected from amongst the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. The president of the church, while being an ordained apostle, functions as the chief operating officer, overseeing the general operations of the church.

References

{{LDS sects Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) Types of Latter Day Saint organization Religious leadership roles Religious organizations established in 1832

LDS Church

Community of Christ

Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)

See also

References