As far as apostolic age averages go, I wanted to note that tomorrow (Sunday), Elder Dale G. Renlund, the least senior apostle who is alos the second youngest, will celebrate his 64th birthday. As for the averages I spoke of, the average age of the First Presidency will be 82.9 years, with only President Uchtdorf being younger than that average. Meanwhile, the average age of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday will be 74.45, with half of those twelve being younger than the average. As of Sunday, the average age for the 15 apostles will be 76.14, with 8 of the 15 (slightly more than 50%) being younger than the average. We have two, or possibly 3 apostles ailing in health (Presidents Monson and Eyring and Elder Hales), with the oldest apostle (President Nelson) still being vibrant and very much involved in Church business, by all reports.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the Brethren as time passes. Some will pass away, and others, younger or not, will be called. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, with the health of 2 First Presidency members being uncertain, it may be decided to call an additional counselor to assist in the workload. If that happens, as I have said, I believe that Elder Bednar is the man who will be called, thus lowering the average age of the First Presidency, which in turn would result in a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which could then be filled by another man, possibly younger, and possibly even non-American. With what we have seen happen with the "changing of the guard", nothing would surprise me at this point.
In the meantime, I wanted to post some information about where President Monson stands among the other 15 Church presidents in terms of age and tenure length, and where President Nelson stands among the other Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in tenure length, and also his nonagenarian rank among the 17 nonagenarian apostles in Church history.
First to President Monson's statistics as Church President. As of Sunday, he will have served as Church President for 8 years, 9 months, and 10 days. On that day, he will be 89 years, 2 months, and 23 days. He is the 16th prophet in terms of tenure chronology and birth chronology. He is the 9th longest serving Church President, and won't break the record for 8th longest serving prophet until June 30, 2017; in so doing he will replace Wilford Woodruff, having served for 9 years, 4 months, and 27 days. In terms of age rank, he is the 7th oldest man to serve as prophet, and will only become the 6th oldest on Friday March 30, 2018; by so doing he will replace Spencer W. Kimball, being 90 years, 7 months, and 9 days at that date. Barring a miracle, it is very unlikely he will live to become the oldest living prophet, (as he would have to live until March 26, 2025 in order to do so). We can also rule out the possibility of him living to become the longest tenured prophet in Church history because to do so, he would have to live until Friday October 6, 2037. He would be 110 years old by this time.
As for President Nelson's statistics, he is the 27th President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and as of Sunday, he will have served as such for 1 year, 4 months, and 10 days, making him the 23td longest-serving Quorum President in Church history. He will quickly jump to the 22nd spot on Monday December 27 of this year; in so doing he will replace Spencer W. Kimball. Two days later, he will have the distinction of being the 21st longest serving Quorum President, taking the spot now held by Brigham Young Jr., having by that date served for 1 year, 5 months, and 26 days. Interestingly enough, Brigham Young Jr. holds the distinction of serving twice as Quorum President. His second tenure (the shortest one) will be the one President Nelson will pass on that day.
As for age, among our 17 nonagenarian apostles, currently President Nelson is the 10th oldest, being 92 years, 2 months, and 4 days old. He will assume the 9th oldest spot on Wednesday July 5 of next year, taking the spot currently held by L. Tom Perry. If he lives until Monday August 8, 2022, he will pass David B. Haight to become the oldest living apostle in Church history. I could definitely see that happening, though it is anyone's guess how long he will live. It may be that he could very well live to become the first centenarian apostle, which will happen on Monday September 9, 2024. That would be incredible to see, a first for Church history. I also see him becoming the next prophet, as President Monson, though a little less than three years younger than him, is reportedly not in good health and is feeling the affects of his age.
As I have before noted, if they live that long, two more apostles (President Monson and Elder Ballard) would bring the list of nonagenarians up to 19. I also have tables showing when and how long it will be until each apostle under 90 to join the nonagenarian list.
If any of you want more information, or if there are any requests to see how I track all this information, just let me know in the comments.
Thanks for taking time to read this post.
