Interesting Tidbits About Newly Announced Leadership

Hello again, everyone! I thought I would post again now to share some things that I found interesting, and I hope you will as well, in terms of the newly announced leadership. First, the four oldest apostles of the Church now all bear the title of President. We have one nonagenarian (President Nelson) and one that will be a nonagenarian in October of this year (President Ballard). Additionally, the age difference between Presidents Oaks and Eyring (they were born 9 months and 19 days apart) is one of the closest differences between two First Presidency members that we have seen  in a while.

In fact, I was curious, so I looked it up. The last time the Church came anywhere close to having First Presidency members relatively close in age was at the time Presidents Kimball, Tanner, and Romney served together, from December 1973-July 1981 (at which time the considerably younger Elder Hinckley was brought into that presidency).

How close were the first three in age? President Kimball was born March 28, 1895, President Romney on September 19, 1897, and President Tanner on May 9, 1898. With more than two years passing between the births of Presidents Kimball and Romney, the period of time that passed between the births of Presidents Romney and Tanner was 7 months and 20 days.

It is significant to me that we have not had two (or more) First Presidency members as close in age as Presidents Oaks and Eyring are since the death of President Tanner concluded his service on November 27, 1982. Think of that for a minute. That was 35 years, 1 month, and 18 days ago, or 35.12 years ago the Church last had First Presidency members this close in age.

Additionally, it may interest some of you to know that President Eyring is the first man to go back to his previous position as Second Counselor after serving as First Counselor since that was the case for J. Reuben Clark. He and David O. McKay had served as First and Second Counselors respectively to Heber J. Grant and George Albert Smith. Since President McKay was the senior apostle to President Clark, when the First Presidency was reorganized, President McKay became the Church President. He selected Stephen L. Richards, a more senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve, as his First Counselor, and, in like manner to President Nelson and President Eyring, he asked his former senior in the First Presidency to become the junior member.

President Clark's response to that invitation, as recorded in General Conference (which took place around the events of the death of George Albert Smith and the reconstitution of the First Presidency, with the former Church President's funeral services held during the time that would otherwise have been reserved for the Saturday Afternoon Session) was similar in pattern to President Eyring's response to once again becoming the Second Counselor when President Nelson invited President Oaks to replace President Eyring as the First Counselor, and it echoes something that then-President now-Elder Uchtdorf said in General Conference on previous occasions (which KSL reported earlier today was his response to being reassigned to the Quorum), that calls are never sought for or declined, and that lifting where you stand is what all members of the Church, whatever their calling, should do. The more important thing is not where you serve, but how.

But in getting back to my point (sorry about the sidenote), the last time a First Counselor reverted to the Second Counselor position was (in President Clark's case) on April 9, 1951, which makes the difference between that date and the date of President Eyring's own revert (January 14, 2018) a period of 66 years, 9 months, and 5 days, or 66.77 years.

Additionally, the last time a member of the First Presidency under one prophet was not retained in that body by the next was when President Marion G. Romney, who served under President Kimball's administration but was not retained by President Benson, primarily in consideration for his failing health and old age. The date of that change was November 10, 1985, and the difference between that date and the date when President Uchtdorf reverted back to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (January 14, 2018) is 32 years, 2 months, and 4 days, or 32.18 years. That's significant, to be sure.

I was going to write more in this post, but I will save it for the next one, as this one has run a little longer than I intended it to. That does it for now. 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.

LDS Church News Reports on Press Conference/Additional Resources from Mormon Newsroom

Hello again, everyone! You can find a summary of responses to the media questions at the press conference today here. That is an excellent article and I recommend it to all of you as well worth the read. In the meantime, you can find the Mormon Newsroom coverage of that press conference (including audio and video archives) here. And the news release about the new leaders (including Elder Ballard), can be found here. They already have a new picture of the First Presidency available on the web, but I need to look more fully into whether or not it is a problem if I post it here. I will be doing so later today, and if I find it is in the public domain under "fair use" regulations, I will be sure to pass that along, 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.

New Averages for First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and All 13 Apostles

Hello again, everyone! I thought some of you might find this interesting. With the changes announced today, the new total life experience of Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Eyring (as of Sunday, when those changes were effective) is 263.39, with the average age of the three standing at 87.8 years. which are both only slightly more than the numbers I shared in terms of those averages that I cited in my report of those averages less than a month ago (on Christmas Eve, when the totals were 252.04 years for the combined life experience of Presidents Monson, Eyring, and Uchtdorf, with the average of the three on Christmas Eve being 84.01 years.

In the meantime, the way the First Presidency was reconstituted (with Presidents Nelson, Oaks, and Eyring) and the return of Elder Uchtdorf to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles left the 10 members of that Quorum with 720.46 years of combined life experience, which averages to 72.05 years for each of those 10. At the time of my last report, since President Monson was still alive, those totals were 821.42 for the life experience total of the then 11 members, and averaged out at 74.67 years. So that average went up, but only slightly.

The 13 current apostles had a combined total of 983.85 years of life experience at the time the reorganization of the First Presidency occurred on Sunday, which means that each of those 13 had an average 75.68 years of individual experience. In the meantime, on Christmas Eve,  I reported that the 14 apostles living at that time had 1073.46 years of total experience, which at that time averaged out to 76,68 years.

This concludes my explanation of those averages, so 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.

Further Resources Provided on President Nelson

Hello again, everyone! This is the Church News report on what was said by the First Presidency  members in the temple where they were introduced, and this is an article sharing some amazing insights about President Nelson's life from those who know him best (including his apostolic colleagues and his children). I hope you enjoy those. 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.

Resources Relating to the New First Presidency/Personal Reaction to the News

Hello again, everyone! I am back to share some resources relating to the events of the day. Click here for the Mormon Newsroom summary, and here for the LDS Church News article. I also wanted to testify that as soon as the announcement of the new leaders was made, I knew right then that they were called of the Lord, and that their calls have been divinely directed. The Lord is clearly at work in what has taken place.

And I have been especially touched to hear President Nelson say that Elder Uchtdorf, who served so well as a counselor to President Monson, has already been given significant assignments that he is uniquely suited to fill. It is not a demotion of any kind. I think we will hear in General Conference from Elder Uchtdorf that he does not have a problem with what has occurred and the way it has occurred.

Clearly, since the advanced announcement did not involve what many (myself included) had expected, the coming days will demonstrate the priorities that the new leadership will focus on during their tenure. How wonderful it was to hear of this news. I also liked that President Nelson announced his longevity & intention to serve for many years. I expect nothing but great things for the Church going forward, and we will see how things unfold going forward.

In the meantime, I also wanted to note that I was touched to see how this new First Presidency were already supporting each other, finishing each other's thoughts, and sharing their united vision. The way those questions were addressed by the three is something I have not seen in a First Presidency before now.

I again testify that these leaders have been called of God and are uniquely suited for the positions they have assumed, and I do so gratefully as I also share my witness that the Lord is in control, that the Church is on the right track, that the best days are yet to come, and that all is well. I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.