Hello again, everyone! As reported by the Newsroom and the Church News, Church President Russell M. Nelson passed away just after 10:00 PM on this Saturday September 28, 2025, at the age of 101. His biography speaks for itself. With the passing of the prophet, the First Presidency is now dissolved, and Presidents Oaks and Eyring return to their places in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which now becomes the leading Quorum of the thChurch, and President Oaks assumes a de facto role as the Acting President of the Church.
I am not sure how long it will take to arrange a funeral or reorganize the First Presidency, but we will see. The most likely scenario I see at this point is the apostles leading the Church through General Conference weekend, with the funeral potentially following the concluding session of General Conference on Sunday, and the reorganization of the First Presidency coming the week after that. I'm sure the apostles had a heads-up that President Nelson's death was imminent, so I have no doubt there is a plan in place. The other option I see would be to delay General Conference, but we will see what happens there as well.
I invite you all to stay tuned here for my coverage of the latest updates from the Church News and the Newsroom on this and all other subjects. I'll be sure to pass along such updates, including updates from the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site and the Church Growth Blog, as soon as I can after I learn of them. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as all such feedback is made per the established guidelines. I hope any of you who would like to share anything will take your opportunity to “sound off” in the comments below. If you liked what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added posts and comments, please subscribe to receive the applicable updates. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
The Newsroom has published this article about the prophet's passing, which includes several links that are well worthy of your time. Meanwhile, the Church News section shares this update , along with several others that are linked on the home page. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a solemn day. We have the passing of our beloved prophet and the tragedy at one of our meetinghouses in Michigan. My thoughts and prayers are turned to those members and their families.
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! It is a solemn day indeed. And yet I'm sure there was much rejoicing on the other side of the veil when President Nelson returned home to his Savior and was reunited with his departed family members, especially his first wife Dantzel and their two daughters. What a reunion that must have been! It'll be interesting to see what happens in the days ahead.
DeleteAs far as the shooting in question, the Church released this statement about the incident. I hope we all keep those affected by these two events in our prayers. The apostles will also definitely need our prayers in the days ahead as the logistical arrangements are made and carried out.
Thanks, as always, for commenting, Chris! I appreciate hearing from you!
On this Sabbath Day, the Church News has posted extensive coverage on President Nelson's passing. Those articles speak for themselves. But I want to focus on a few other things: first, the Tabernacle Choir changed their entire program of "Music & the Spoken Word" to honor President Nelson, and the "spoken word" message was entirely rewritten. The Church News also provided this update on the "Come, Follow Me" curriculum for the upcoming week, and "In Case You Missed It: Week in Review" highlighted the top ten developments covered within the last week by the Church News. Additionally, this update was provided on the aforementioned shooting. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Church News has done a special edition of the Church News podcast, with this one honoring President Nelson. The Church News released this update about the shooting, and also covered the changes to today's "Music & the Spoken Word" episode. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteWith the death of President Nelson and the resulting dissolution of the First Presidency, there will likely be no major temple construction announcement today. But aside from the ongoing coverage honoring President Nelson, an official statemenent has been issued by President Oaks as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, addressing both the passing of President Nelson and the tragic incident in Michigan. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteThe Church News has continued to provide coverage honoring President Nelson. That coverage speaks for itself, and the Church News has created a collective repository for articles honoring him. My thanks once again to you all.
DeleteI've done a little research. The shortest Apostolic Interregnum in church history happening in 1951. George Albert Smith passed away on April 4. The new First Presidency was sustain in the final session of conference on April 9. I would not be surprised if we sustain a new First Presidency. I would not be disappointed if we do not.
ReplyDeletehttps://archiveviewer.org/viewer/church-history-library/7f82a825-53cb-4ef2-8c21-f95057f0cf31/0
Ben H., thank you for taking time to comment. Having studied apostolic interregnums myself, I was somewhat aware of what happened in 1951. Thanks for the refresher. I don't think a new First Presidency will be sustained until after President Nelson's funeral. As I noted above, President Oaks sat side-by-side with President Nelson in the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency for over 4 decades.
DeleteWith a bond like that, the likelihood of a new First Presidency before President Nelson is laid to rest is slim to none in my view. He and the Church need time to grieve the loss. And it has almost always been customary for the First Presidency counselors to sit on either side of a vacant chair for a prophet's funeral. Given that the funeral proper follows General Conference, I think the earliest we will see a new First Presidency is after President Nelson's funeral. I just don't see it happening any sooner than that. And that's coming from someone who has studied all apostolic interregnums, not just those around General Conference. Enough people have spoken in support of a new First Presidency during conference that I will be adding it to my General Conference predictions. But I personally think it is unlikely until after President Nelson is laid to rest.
President Oaks has too much respect for his deceased seatmate to break what has been tradition since at least the funeral of Joseph Fielding Smith. A review of that more recent history may prove illuminating. So I just don't see a First Presidency being appointed until President Nelson is laid to rest, and that won't happen until after his funeral proper, which follows General Conference. General Conference has not been under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve since 1901 or so, but that doesn't mean it won't happen this time around. President Oaks has the apostolic authority to preside over General Conference whether or not he does so as the new prophet. But I think, out of respect to his seatmate's memory, he will not move to reorganize the First Presidency until after General Conference. Just my thoughts. We'll know for sure either way by the end of this week. Thanks, Ben H., for the reminder of what happned in 1951. I appreciate hearing from you.