Newest Apostolic Age & Tenure Milestones & Averages

Hello. This will just be a brief update on the latest apostolic age and tenure milestones & averages. This will be a much less detailed report than the one I posted last week. That said, as noted in previous posts, Friday marked one milestone each for our prophet (President Thomas S. Monson) and our President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (President Russell M. Nelson). President Monson marked his 9 year anniversary as Church President yesterday, in addition to President Nelson marking 1 years and 7 months as Quorum President. Nothing much has changed otherwise in terms of how close Presidents Monson and Nelson are to the nearest age and tenure records.

In the meantime, I want to note one thing about the apostolic age averages that's kind of a significant anomaly. Elder Ronald A. Rasband is going to celebrate his 66th birthday on Monday. So while, as of tomorrow, the day on which I am basing this report, he is one day short of that birthday, his decimal age, rounded to the nearest hundredth, is already 66.00 years. So that is unique. Also, the number of days since his birthday is the one and only one left that has not yet been affected by the leap year. As such, I have been dividing the number of days since his birthday by 366 to determine how many hundredths of a year he is on any given Sunday. The remaining 14 are being divided by 365 to determine how many hundredths of a year they are.

That said, as of tomorrow, the average age of the First Presidency members is 83.13. As mentioned, President Monson is above that average, President Eyring is closest to it, and President Uchtdorf is below it.

The average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is 74.68. The six above that average are President Nelson, Elder Ballard, Elder Oaks, Elder Hales, Elder Cook and Elder Holland, who is the youngest of that older half and is therefore closest to that average. Elder Christofferson is the closest to the average in the other half of those twelve. The other five under the average are, of course, Elder Rasband, Elder Andersen, Elder Bednar, Elder Renlund, and Elder Stevenson.

The average age of the 15 apostles as a group is 76.37. The seven above that average are Presidents Nelson and Monson (on the older side), President Eyring and Elder Cook (on the younger side) and Elders Ballard, Oaks and Hales (in the middle). Elder Cook and President Uchtdorf are the ones who split the older half from the younger half, with Elder Cook being the youngest of the seven oldest, and President Uchtdorf being the oldest of the eight youngest. In addition the President Uchtdorf, rounding out the younger side are Elders Holland, Christofferson, Rasband, Andersen, Bednar, Renlund, and Stevenson.

Of those apostles who are not yet 90, President Monson is the closest to that, and he will be 90 in 6 months and 16 days (from tomorrow). And among our youngest third of apostles, the youngest, Elder Stevenson, will not be 90 for another 28 years, 6 months, and 1 day. It always interests me how the Lord governs the changing of the apostolic leadership of His Church.

All the apostles called between the apostolic calls of President Monson (in October 1963) and President Nelson (in April 1984) have passed away. We have also lost the two that sat between Elder Ballard and Elder Hales. In the meantime, as Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf fall in seniority between Elders Holland and Bednar, there is another gap in the Quorum of the Twelve. It is interesting that between President Monson (the 77th apostle in Church history) and President Nelson (the 85th one), there are eight apostles that we have lost.

When taking into account the other two that have died (Elders Wirthlin and Scott), it would only take two more apostles passing before President Monson to mark the loss of a full Quorum's worth since President Monson's call. And as sad as that is to contemplate, it could happen. Elder Hales is just younger than Elder Oaks but seems to have the worst health history of our current 15 apostles. He has looked better these last couple of conferences, but given how precarious things have previously been for him, he could be the next one we lose. I hate to lose any of the Brethren, but I can't shake the feeling that he might not be with us much longer. That said, we have seen the Lord prolong his life many times previously, so he could carry on for years to come. We have had apostles in better health than he has had decline suddenly, so nothing would surprise me at this point.

Elder Ballard is showing signs of his age, being just over a year younger than President Monson. By all reports, he is still healthy, but again, we have seen seemingly healthy apostles decline suddenly, so there is always a chance that he could pass before President Monson.

And while I do hope that President Nelson, who is just under three years older than President Monson, will live to become the oldest living apostle, it is a rare thing to have someone live that long after wearing out his life in the Lord's service. That said, he is still traveling extensively and he has outlived President Packer, who was born one day after him. I fully expect to see President Nelson live a long time and surprise us all with the milestones he will reach towards becoming the oldest apostle. But that will be up to the Lord.

I hope I am correctly understood in what I have expressed in the previous three paragraphs above. I don't enjoy contemplating or speculating about which apostles we might lose and when. I merely mention these factors in view of those who might precede President Monson in death. I for one hope that all of the apostles continue to do very well health-wise, and that it will be many years before the next apostolic death. I am glad the Lord controls and governs that aspect of things. I for one would hate trying to determine when that should happen. I love the leading brethren of the Church, which I hope is apparently by the things I post about them and their travels. I sustain them with all my heart, and I do my best to follow their counsel. May the Lord continue to bless all of his faithful special witnesses.