Latest Apostolic Statistics: Part Two--Updated Ages & Other Important Information

Hello again, everyone! Having set the stage in the first part of this apostolic age update (posted just a few moments ago), we now move on to talk specifics regarding the long-form and decimal ages of our current apostles, which will also include updated information on the average ages of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the 15 apostles as a group, and current and future nonagenarians. So let’s get right into all of that. Again, all data is current as of today (Sunday November 4, 2018).

First, I thought it might be appropriate to share an overview of the apostolic birthdays that are coming up in the near future, particularly those which will be observed by the end of this year. We have four apostolic birthdays coming up. The first will be the 78^th birthday of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (which will occur on November 6). Exactly one week later, Elder Dale G. Renlund is set to observe his 66^th birthday.

Interestingly enough, that event will be the first of the last three apostolic birthdays this year, which each happen to be 20 days apart. Elder Renlund’s birthday on November 13 will be followed by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s 78^th on December 3, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong is the final apostle to have his birthday, as he will mark his 65^th birthday on December 23, a mere two days before Christmas. Interestingly enough, Elder Gong was born on the same day as the Prophet Joseph Smith.

With that noted, we now move on to some exact figures about the ages (and average ages) of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all 15 apostles as a group. We start, as always, with the three Presiding High Priests of the Church. President Nelson is, as noted towards the end of my previous post, 94 years, 1 month, and 26 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 94.15 years. His apostolic seatmate and right-hand man, President Oaks, who is less than 8 years younger, is now 86 years, 2 months, and 23 days old, which makes him 86.23 in decimal years.  And President Eyring, who remains 0.8 years younger than President Oaks, has a long-form age of 85 years, 5 months, and 4 days. He therefore now is 85.43 in decimal years.

These combined figures bring the total life experience of the three men to 265.81 years, which results in an average age of 88.6 years for each man. President Oaks remains closest to that average, still being 2.37 years below it. Obviously, Presidents Nelson and Eyring are still respectively above and below the average. And, as a recent Salt Lake Tribune article notes, our current First Presidency has the highest average age in the history of the Church.

Although some who don’t understand how the system of succession works might find that alarming, to me, it is a comfort to know that we have men in this leading Quorum of the Church who know the will of the Savior for the Saints and who will not go beyond the word of the Lord. While many other religions adapt their basic name, message, and purpose, the message of the Lord to the people of His Church has always been clear, consistent, and unyielding in terms of the purity of the doctrine. And that is reassuring indeed.

We move on now to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Since my last update, President Ballard has observed his 90^th birthday. He therefore has a long-form age of 90 years, 0 months, and 27 days, which puts his decimal age at 90.07. Elder Holland, now less than a month from his 78^th birthday, is 77 years, 11 months, and 1 day old, with a resulting 77.92 decimal years. Elder Uchtdorf, who will observe his 78^th birthday in just two days, is 77 years, 11 months, and 29 days old, and comes in at 77.99 years.

Elder Bednar has now reached the exact age of 66 years, 4 months, and 20 days, which puts him at a decimal age of 66.39 years.  Elder Cook, meanwhile, is 78 years, 1 months, and 27 days old, working out to 78.16 years. Elder Christofferson (who will mark his birthday just over a month after that of Elder Gong) is now 73 years, 9 months, and 11 days old, which gives him a decimal age of 73.78 years.

Elder Andersen now has a long-form age of 67 years, 2 month, and 26 days, with a resulting 67.24 decimal years. Elder Rasband, who is roughly six months older than Elder Andersen, has now reached 67 years, 8 months, and 29 days, making his decimal age 67.74 years. Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who is exactly 4.5 years younger than Elder Rasband (to the day) has now reached the age of 63 years, 2 months, and 29 days old, with a resulting decimal age of 63.25 years.

We now come to the final three apostles. With Elder Renlund’s birthday approaching, he now comes in at 65 years, 11 months, and 22 days old, or 65.98 in decimal years. Elder Gong, whose birthday comes 40 days after Elder Renlund’s and 20 days after Elder Holland’s, has a long-form age of 64 years, 10 months, and 12 days old, which converts to 64.87 years.  And our youngest and most junior apostle, Elder Soares, as of today, is 60 years, 1 month, and 2 days old, putting his decimal age at 60.09 years.

                                                                                               

With this data noted, the current members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles now have a combined 853.48 years of life experience, or an average of 71.12 years per Quorum member. As I noted previously, the ages of Elders Christofferson and Rasband put them above and below that average respectively. Elder Christofferson, who has been 2.65 years older than that average, is now 2.66 years above it. Not much of a difference, I know, but I certainly felt it was worth noting. And Elder Rasband remains 3.38 years below that average.

Based on the information I provided earlier about the members of the First Presidency, the entire body of apostles now have a combined 1,119.29 years of life experience, or an average 74.62 years for each of those 15. Elders Holland and Christofferson stand closest to that average, and their margins from that have likewise changed somewhat, with Elder Holland now being 3.3 years older, and Elder Christofferson still 0.84 years younger.

We now move on to the nonagenarians. President Nelson remains the 7^th oldest apostle in Church history, and is set to move up to the 6^th spot in 8 months and 1 day (on July 5 of next year). In the meantime, with his 90^th birthday having been observed on October 8, President Ballard has joined the list of nonagenarians. 9 days from now, he will move up on that list, when his lifespan will have become longer than that of J. Reuben Clark Jr. By the time President Nelson moves up to the next spot on this list, President Ballard will have moved up 3 more himself, and he will have one additional milestone on that list later in July of 2019 as well. More on those specifics will, of course, be provided in future reports.

I continue to track all of this information, and will do my level best to pass updates on to you regularly, with my hope being to post the next such update roughly 6 weeks from now, which I hope to continue to do for the foreseeable future. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time. Thank you for the privilege of your time.

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