In addition to the changes in the First Presidency and subsequent changes to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, whomever is called to fill the two vacancies in that Quorum will likewise leave other vacancies that may need to be filled. And unless all of those changes lead President Nelson to wait to do so until the following April, the Young Women General Presidency (Sisters Bonnie L. Oscarson, Carol F. McConkie, and Neill F. Marriott) will in April mark their standard five years of service by April and will likely therefore be released.
With all of that in mind, I wanted to present the following revised list of changes that are likely to occur in Church leadership during the upcoming General Conference. They follow below. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Predictions for Changes in Church Leadership (will be a
Solemn Assembly)
First
Presidency: President Russell Marion Nelson sustained as new Church president
and prophet, along with his counselors, Presidents Dallin Harris Oaks & Henry
Bennion Eyring.
Note on this
change: Previous Church President Thomas S. Monson passed away on January 2,
2018, dissolving the First Presidency and necessitating its reorganization. President
Nelson was ordained and set apart on Sunday January 14, 2018, and he selected
Presidents Oaks and Eyring as his counselors.
Result: The
above Brethren were sustained during the solemn assembly.
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Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles: President Dallin Harris Oaks sustained as President of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; since he is in the First Presidency, President
Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. sustained as Acting President of that Quorum; two
new apostles sustained in view of the October 1, 2017 death of Elder Robert
D. Hales, the January 2, 2018 death of President Thomas S. Monson, and the
reorganization of the First Presidency on January 14, 2018.
Note: There was
a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve already, since Elder Hales passed away
between the Sunday sessions of the October General Conference. The subsequent
death of President Monson 2 days into the new year resulted in a
reorganization of the First Presidency, which left 2 vacancies in the Quorum
of the Twelve. The new apostles could be any current general authority,
including members of the Presidency of the Seventy, General Authority
Seventies, Presiding Bishopric, Area Seventies, any members the Young Men or
Sunday School General Presidencies, or the Church at large.
Result:
President Oaks was sustained as President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, President Ballard was sustained as Acting President, and Elders and
were sustained to fill the apostolic vacancies.
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Presidency of
the Seventy: If one or both of the new apostles come from this group, they
will be released from both the Presidency and as General Authority Seventies,
and a new member or two will be sustained.
Note: Of the 13
current apostles, 6 of them were serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at
the time of their apostolic calls. So it seems reasonable that at least one
of the new apostles could be a member of this Presidency, which would necessitate
changes.
Result:
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General
Authority Seventies: If one or both of the new apostles come from among these
men, he will be released. As is typical for the April General Conference, new
General Authorities will be sustained from the Area Seventies or the Church
at large (including any current mission or temple president).
Note: Of the 13
current apostles, 3 of them (Holland, Eyring, and Renlund) were serving as
General Authority Seventies at the time of their call, and two more (Elders
Rasband and Stevenson) had been general authority seventies prior to their
respective calls to the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric.
So there is a real possibility that one or both of the new apostles could be
called from among the current 84 General Authority Seventies who are not in
the Presidency of the Seventy. It has also been customary in recent years for
any new General Authority Seventies to be sustained in April, so that is
likely to occur again.
Result:
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Presiding
Bishopric: If one or both of the new apostles are called from the Presiding
Bishopric, that will, in turn, necessitate changes.
Note: Of the
current apostles, we had two that served in the Presiding Bishopric at one
point or another (President Eyring prior to his call as a general authority
seventy, which in turn preceded his call to the apostleship, and Elder
Stevenson, who was serving as Presiding Bishop of the Church at the time of
his call). So one or both apostles could come from this body, which, if that
occurs, will necessitate changes.
Result:
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Area Seventies:
Releases and sustainings, especially if the new apostle comes from among
these men.
Note: With
Elder Bednar being the only apostle sustained as such while serving as an
area seventy, there is a possibility that President Nelson could look among
those serving currently or who have previously served as such to fill one or
both vacancies. It should be noted, however, that no apostle has been called
from this group since October 2004, so it is possible but seems unlikely.
Result:
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Young Women
General Presidency: In view of their having reached their 5 years serving together
(which has been the customary time by which most auxiliary presidencies
change), Sisters Bonnie L. Oscarson, Carol F. McConkie and Neill F. Marriott
will likely be released and a new presidency sustained.
Note: In recent
years when the time has come to sustain a new auxiliary presidency, the new
president has either been one of the counselors to the outgoing president or
one of the current members of the board. There have also been times when a
counselor in one auxiliary has been sustained as the new president of a
different auxiliary. So the Church has options regarding who could be called.
It would also be understandable if a change in this presidency was deferred
for six months to a year in view of the reorganization of the First
Presidency, the calling of new apostles, and the other changes in Church
leadership. That said, even at times when a new Church President has been
sustained, the standard tenure of 5 years has been kept. So it seems more
likely than not that the Young Women General Presidency will change during
this conference.
Result:
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Sunday School
General Presidency: Possible changes made, if one or both of the new apostles
are members of this presidency.
Note: President
Russell M. Nelson had served as Sunday School General President from
1971-1979, and his tenure as such ended roughly 5 years prior to his being
called to the apostleship. Elder Neil L. Andersen, meanwhile, served in the
Sunday School General Presidency while serving as a General Authority Seventy.
But aside from these two current apostles, the only other apostles serving in
this presidency filled a dual role in doing so (as it was a common practice
in the early days of the Sunday School for apostles and/or Church presidents
to do so). While that makes it unlikely that one or both of the new apostles
could come from this presidency, anything is possible.
Result:
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Young Men
General Presidency: Possible changes made, if any of these men are called to
fill one or both of the current apostolic vacancies.
Note: Aside
from Elder Holland, who was released from that assignment roughly 4 years
prior to his call to the apostleship, and in the early days of the Church
when apostles (and Church presidents) served in this capacity, no other
apostles have come from among the members of this presidency. While it is
therefore unlikely that one or both of the apostles could be a current or
former member of this presidency, it is a possibility.
Result:
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