Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

between 1941 and 1976. As the title of the calling suggests, men who held this position assisted 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 ...

in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. Assistants to the Twelve were general authorities, and were generally assigned by the Twelve Apostles to preside over and speak at stake conferences; re-organize stakes; tour missions; and assist in the direction of worldwide missionary work. Like counselors in 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 ...

, Assistant to the Twelve was not a distinct priesthood ''office''—rather, it was a ''calling'' that any worthy high priest could be asked to fill. In April 1941, church president

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 ...

called five men to serve as Assistants to the Twelve. No more Assistants to the Twelve were called until 1951; the church continued to call Assistants to the Twelve throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and the first half of the 1970s. Of the 38 men who held the calling of Assistant to the Twelve, thirteen later became members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Marion G. Romney, George Q. Morris, Hugh B. Brown,

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

, N. Eldon Tanner, Boyd K. Packer, Marvin J. Ashton,

L. Tom Perry Lowell Tom Perry (August 5, 1922 – May 30, 2015) was an American businessman and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1974 until his deat ...

, David B. Haight, James E. Faust, Neal A. Maxwell, Robert D. Hales, and

Joseph B. Wirthlin Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (June 11, 1917 – December 1, 2008) was an American businessman, religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was sustained to the ...

. Additionally, a former Assistant to the Twelve ( Alvin R. Dyer) was ordained to the 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 ...

without being made a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Seven Assistants to the Twelve (Romney, Brown, Dyer, Isaacson, Hinckley, Tanner, and Faust) later served in the church's First Presidency, with one (Hinckley) later becoming the church's president. In 1976, church president Spencer W. Kimball announced that the calling of Assistant to the Twelve would be discontinued, and that the 22 men then serving in that calling would be ordained to 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 ...

and assigned to the First Quorum of the Seventy, which had been organized in 1975. The following individuals held the calling of Assistant to Twelve:Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Assistants to the Twelve

References

{{LDSpriesthood Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Christian organizations established in 1941 Religious organizations disestablished in 1976 Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1941 in Christianity 20th-century Mormonism Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)

See also

References