Prophets Magazine March 2026

PROPHETS

OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

THE WHAT AND WHY OF PROPHETS WHO IS PRESIDENT DALLIN H. OAKS?

‘THE TESTIMONY OF APOSTLES AND PROPHETS’ WHAT IS A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?

MARCH 2026

Above: Church President Heber J. Grant speaks the first words broadcast over KZN Radio — now KSL — on May 6, 1922. Among those present is a future Church President and Prophet, George Albert Smith, second from the left in the front. | Utah State Historical Society

About the cover photo: An official portrait of President Dallin H. Oaks, the Prophet and 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The photo was taken and released October 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Tad Walch

Mary Richards

Aimee Cobabe

Sydney Walker

Trent Toone

Joel Randall

Rachel Sterzer Gibson

Kaitlyn Bancroft

David Schneider

Christine Rappleye

TO OUR READERS

From time to time, the Deseret News produces special issues on topics of interest to our audience. These topics have ranged from education to sports. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prepare to participate in the 196th Annual General Conference on April 4–5, we sought to provide a special resource featuring articles about prophets as a service to many of our readers.

This special Deseret News magazine, titled “Latter-day Prophets," features a collection of articles, including the “who” and “what” of prophets, a profile of President Dallin H. Oaks, several pieces featuring the current members of the Church’s First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a look back at past Church leaders.

For news coverage on prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visit Deseret.com and TheChurchNews.com.

Doug Wilks Executive Editor

Burke Olsen Publisher

Above left: Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, above right, presents a first-edition copy of the the Chinese Book of Mormon to President David O. McKay on Jan. 29, 1966. Elder Hinckley would later became a Church President. | Church News archives

Center left: Church President David O. McKay, right, visits with film director Cecil B. DeMille and President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the Aug. 2, 1956, "sneak preview" screening of “The Ten Commandments” at the Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City. President Smith would later became a President of the Church. | BYU Special Collections

Lower left: Elder Dallin H. Oaks, right, and Elder Russell M. Nelson, both of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, acknowledge President Gordon B. Hinckley as the Church President leaves the renovated Salt Lake Tabernacle following a session of April 2007 general conference on March 31, 2007. Each of the three would serve as President of the Church. | Deseret News archives

CYNTHIA A.

KALEB

LEARN

PROPHETS OF GOD

Prophets witness of Christ, testify of His divinity, teach His gospel, prepare the world for His Second Coming

By Mary Richards

Prophets are God’s representatives on the earth, both anciently and in the latter days. God speaks to His children through prophets.

The scriptures teach that in biblical and Book of Mormon times, God chose prophets to guide His people and point them to Jesus Christ. Today, through a living prophet, people learn about Jesus Christ and receive God’s guidance specific to these times.

As the living prophet of God today, President Dallin H. Oaks, 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, invites everyone to follow Jesus Christ and feel God’s love. His teachings have emphasized God’s divine plan of happiness, the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the teachings of Jesus Christ, covenants and responsibilities, the two great commandments, repentance and the family.

The Church’s Gospel Principles manual, Chapter 9, titled, “Prophets of God,” explains that prophets are God’s representatives on the earth.

“Many people live in darkness, unsure of God’s will. They believe that the heavens are

closed and that people must face the world’s perils alone. How fortunate are the Latter-day Saints. We know that God communicates to the Church through His prophet. With grateful hearts, Saints the world over sing the hymn, ‘We thank thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us in these latter days.’”

Prophets are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. They testify of His divinity, teach His gospel and prepare the world for His Second Coming.

A prophet teaches truth, calls the unrighteous to repentance and invites all to keep the commandments and make sacred covenants with God. Prophets are also seers and revelators — foretelling coming events and receiving revelations and directions from the Lord for the benefit of mankind.

Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

When a prophet speaks for God, it is as if God were speaking. Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 says, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall

all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that “having prophets is a sign of God’s love” (“Prophets Speak by the Power of the Holy Spirit,” April 2018 general conference).

President Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of the Church, said that a prophet will never be allowed to lead the Church astray:

“The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place” (“Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff ” [2004], 199).

The living prophet and president of the Church has the right to revelation for the entire Church. He holds “the keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19), meaning that he has the authority to direct the entire Church and kingdom of God on earth and holds the sacred priesthood keys to administer the ordinances of salvation and exaltation.

PROPHETS OF OLD

Prophets in the Old Testament include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. In the New Testament, John the Baptist came before Jesus Christ to prepare the way for Him and teach and testify of Him.

In the lands of the Book of Mormon, numerous prophets delivered God’s word, including Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Alma, Amulek, Mormon and Moroni.

These prophets shared God’s commandments and His will with the people. They gave hope as they taught about how Jesus Christ would come to the earth. After He came to earth, prophets testified of His Resurrection and His gospel.

Prophets were sent to warn people about famines, wars or other disasters. They also testified of the consequences of sin.

Each spoke to the people in their language, time and place, giving inspired

direction and timely warnings, explains the section Church and Gospel Questions on the Church’s website called “The Role of Prophets.”

At times, people believed the words of the prophets and lived righteous lives, explains ChurchofJesusChrist.org. At other times, people rejected God’s messages and turned away from Him. This is known as apostasy. Times of apostasy eventually ended as people repented and listened to God’s chosen prophets again.

A March 4, 2026, portrait of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. All are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles unless noted. Front row, left to right: Elder David A. Bednar; President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency; President Dallin H. Oaks, President of the Church; President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency; Elder Quentin L. Cook; and Elder Neil L. Andersen. Back row, left to right: Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Elder Ulisses Soares, Elder Patrick Kearon, Elder Gérald Caussé and Elder Clark G. Gilbert. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PROPHETS TODAY

Jesus Christ called 12 apostles when He was on the earth. Over time, people around the world fell into apostasy, and important gospel truths and the priesthood authority from God were lost.

The Restoration began in 1820, when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith later became the first Prophet of this dispensation, chosen by God to restore Jesus Christ’s Church to the earth.

“The Role of Prophets” states: “The Prophet Joseph Smith received authority from God to administer gospel covenants and priesthood ordinances and restore the Church of Jesus Christ. He also received

revelation clarifying important truths about God and His plan for His children. His successors as president of the Church have had the same authority to receive revelation to add to gospel knowledge and to guide the Church. This principle of continuing revelation is a central feature of the restored gospel.”

Since the Church was formally organized on April 6, 1830, there have been 18 presidents, from Joseph Smith to President Dallin H. Oaks today.

Today, the Prophet and President of the Church leads the Church. With the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet helps guide the day-to-day work of the Church — including overseeing missionary work, building

temples, providing humanitarian aid and welfare, updating Church curriculum, making sure Church facilities are maintained, guiding Church-run universities and building positive relationships between the Church and governments around the world, explains ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The Prophet speaks to the world every six months during April and October general conferences. He also regularly shares messages on social media accounts and through interviews done at temple dedications or personal ministries.

Latter-day Saints sustain the President of the Church, his counselors in the First Presidency and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers and revelators.

President Dallin Harris Oaks, center, the 18th President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is joined by his First Presidency counselors President Henry B. Eyring, left, and President D. Todd Christofferson, right, in a photo taken at an Oct. 14, 2025, news conference in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PRESIDENT DALLIN H. OAKS

As a prophet of God, President Dallin H. Oaks invites all to follow Jesus Christ and feel God’s love. His teachings emphasize loving God and our neighbor, the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and God’s divine plan of happiness.

Almost three months after becoming the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dallin H. Oaks said he feels the responsibility of the “mantle of the prophet.”

“It is heavy and continuous, and it is a very holy responsibility. I am trying to grow into it,” he said during an interview Saturday, Jan.

10, 2026, in Burley, Idaho, one day before dedicating a new temple in the city.

President Oaks succeeded President Russell M. Nelson, who died Sept. 27, 2025. “I never aspired to that position. I have never had the impression that I would occupy that position.”

Latter-day Prophets are chosen through succession. When the Prophet dies, the most senior Apostle — by length of service, not age — becomes the new Prophet.

The Church News has written about succession in this way:

“The appointment of a new president of the Church happens in an orderly way that

— remarkably in today’s world — avoids any trace of internal lobbying for position or rank. Viewed by members as a divinely revealed process, it is devoid of electioneering whether behind the scenes or in public.

“Moreover, it is not only the structure of Church organization that governs this process. There is also a deeply ingrained tradition in the Church that personal aspiration for leadership at any level is inappropriate. Instead, the emphasis is on personal worthiness and a humble willingness to serve when invited.”

And when there is a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet chooses a new person to serve, through inspiration from God.

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pose for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy, on March 11, 2019. Standing as the First Presidency in the center, from left to right: President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor; President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church; President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor. The others seated and standing are of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seated front row, from left: Elder Dieter R. Uchtdorf; Elder Jeffrey R. Holland; President M. Russell Ballard, acting quorum president; Elder David A. Bednar; Elder Quentin L. Cook; and Elder D. Todd Christofferson. Standing on either side of the First Presidency, from left: Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Ronald A Rasband, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

WHO IS PRESIDENT DALLIN H. OAKS?

A man shaped by loss, defined by resilience, warmth and faith in Jesus Christ

By Tad Walch

Stella Oaks was with her husband, Lloyd Oaks, at a Colorado hospital when he died, so the role of delivering the heartbreaking news to their 7-year-old son, Dallin, back in Utah fell to the boy’s grandmother.

His mother had maintained optimism and faith that his father would recover from tuberculosis, and she and her three children had prayed fervently for his recovery.

So his father’s death shocked the boy.

“I ran into the bedroom at their old farm home and knelt down and began to pray that it wasn’t true,” he wrote later. “When I had been there just a few moments, Grandpa came in weeping. He knelt down beside me and promised that he would be a father to me.”

The devastation President Dallin H. Oaks felt that summer day in 1940 multiplied the following year with his mother’s nervous breakdown and departure for treatment.

“I was almost immediately an orphan,” he said recently.

He told his biographer he has no happy memories from that time, and the compounding trauma cascaded into his schoolwork despite all the love his grandparents could give him at home near Payson, Utah.

His fourth grade teacher read his spectacularly bad math scores out loud to the class, and high school kids hazed and bullied him on the school bus.

“I just couldn’t concentrate,” he said. “Looking back on it, I’m sure my problems were due to the emotional disturbance of losing my father and mother at the same time. But as far as I was concerned at the time, I was just the dumbest boy in the world.”

That “ dumb ” boy became one of the nation’s brightest legal students and a scholar who served as the acting dean of one of America’s most prestigious law schools and as a university president. He then would be called from his place as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court to what has been a 41-year ministry as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That remarkable body of work and service culminated Oct. 14, 2025, in his ordination as the Church’s 18th Prophet and President.

Who is Dallin H. Oaks? Behind his prodigious intellect and enormous capacity for hard work is a warm, jovial family man with a defining faith in Jesus Christ.

He was targeted for violence by a guerrilla brigade and spit on by students while a university administrator in the turbulent 1960s. He survived having a gun held to his stomach during a 1970 robbery attempt.

He is also a champion of women in education and the places where he has worked with a lifelong record of concern and action for the poor and forgotten.

This is the story of the man behind the 94 talks Latter-day Saints have heard him give at general conferences across four decades.

President Dallin H. Oaks, then first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, poses for a photo in his office in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

HELPING THE FORGOTTEN

Born in the Great Depression and raised as a little boy by a smalltown doctor in an area where some lived in cardboard shanties on the nearby river, President Oaks watchfully observed his father provide free medical care to those who couldn’t afford to pay.

President Oaks began to focus on the legal problems of the poor as soon as he graduated second in his class from the prestigious law school at the University of Chicago, where he served as the editor of the law review.

While he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1957-58, he reviewed petitions to the court from defendants considered indigent — too poor to pay for the necessary expenses of legal representation.

In 1959, an Illinois Supreme Court justice asked him to represent an indigent prisoner in an appeal before the court. As a law professor at Chicago, he regularly was invited to Washington, D.C., for seminars on the issue and created a new seminar at the law school about the legal problems of the poor.

The biggest motivation was his experience working for the Illinois attorney’s office in Cook County’s criminal courts, which led to co-authoring a book on the poor in the criminal justice system.

He played a significant role in the modern federal defender program because of his landmark Oaks Report, an exhaustive 1967 review of the application of the Criminal Justice Act across all 100 federal courts. He recommended the law be amended — it was — to include federal public defender offices that provide representation to those charged with federal crimes who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

“He is a person who feels things deeply,” said President D. Todd Christofferson, whom President Oaks selected as his second counselor in the First Presidency.

Like many others, President Christofferson noted that President Oaks has kept a print of Maynard Dixon’s painting “Forgotten Man” on the wall of his office for years.

“It’s a somber painting of a man sitting at the side of the gutter, people passing by,” President Christofferson said. “He keeps that in a prominent place in his office, I think indicating what he really cares about. He cares about people, especially those who have real needs, who are discouraged or in whatever [difficult] circumstances.”

President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society general president, said President Oaks has been particularly sensitive to the downtrodden.

“I think President Oaks’ upbringing and his experience growing up with a widowed mother has naturally influenced his concern for the downtrodden,” she said, “and it’s been evidenced in his legal work, but also in the way that he’s sought to address the needs of the one.”

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, walk the Richmond Virginia Temple grounds on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Richmond, Virginia. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

A CHILDHOOD TURNAROUND

His mother needed two years to recover from the shock of the loss of her husband, but after she recovered, she and the children — Dallin, Merrill and Evelyn — moved to Vernal, Utah, where she accepted a teaching position.

President Oaks said the combination of putting the family back together and the influence of his fifth grade teacher, Pearl Schafer, “turned me around.”

The dullest boy soon became one of the brightest. He enjoyed considerable scholastic success while attending high school in Vernal, where he began working as a 15-year-old with a squeaky voice on KJAM radio, and in Provo, Utah, where he worked for KCSU and played on the football and basketball teams and threw discus and shot put in track.

Ironically, he earned a ‘C’ in theology as a BYU freshman, when he earned a ‘B’ average.

Then he met June Dixon of Spanish Fork, Utah. After they married on June 24, 1952, in the Salt Lake Temple, President Oaks suddenly got almost nothing but ‘A’s.’ He graduated with high honors and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics.

“My academic achievement and career successes have been based on the fact I married someone I loved, who helped me focus my energies,” he said.

AN ABRUPT END AND A NEW BEGINNING

The reports that two U.S. presidents had President Oaks on their short lists of candidates for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court are absolutely true, said his biographer, Richard E. Turley Jr., author of “In the Hands of the Lord: The Life of Dallin H. Oaks.”

He also served as the acting dean of the University of Chicago Law School in the turbulent 1960s. In 1969, he was chair of the university’s disciplinary panel for student protesters. Once while driving, he narrowly avoided being pinned in by other vehicles and kidnapped by a guerrilla brigade that wanted to put him on trial to embarrass the university, Turley wrote.

During one public hearing, a student ran up and spit on his face. After another, he tussled with one student before his bodyguard made a hole and he escaped through a fire exit.

In 1971, he was named the eighth president of Brigham Young University, where he worked characteristically hard while being described by students as a dynamic and playful leader.

President Dallin H. Oaks with his mother, Stella, brother Merrill and sister Evelyn. President Oaks’ father died when he was 7 years old, and his mother raised three children on her own. | Provided by President Dallin H. Oaks

Dallin Oaks was an announcer at a Provo radio station when he was a student. | Deseret News archives

Once, he dressed up as the school mascot, Cosmo the Cougar, wrapped up as a mummy and placed in a coffin on the basketball court in the Marriott Center. When the coffin creaked open, Cosmo stepped out and unraveled the wrapping. When the mascot removed the Cougar head to reveal President Oaks, the crowd roared and cheered.

One of his major achievements at BYU was the creation of what is now a top 20 law school, a stunning accomplishment. He shared with students his personal motto, “Work first and play later,” and he put his money where his mouth was, playing tennis once a week at 10 p.m. with his late wife, June.

In 1981, he was named a Utah Supreme Court justice, and he also served for five years as chairman of the board of PBS from 1979 to 1984.

Through it all, his chief motivation was his faith in Jesus Christ, Turley said. He frequently quoted a Latter-day Saint scripture that grounded him, “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:13).

“That’s me,” President Oaks said repeatedly. “I know that.”

Everything changed in 1984.

“When he was called to the service of the apostleship, he was in a position of tremendous responsibility,” President Johnson said.

FROM THE SUPREME COURT TO THE APOSTLESHIP

When President Oaks joined the Utah Supreme Court, he did so after he received a prompting in the temple after praying about the opportunity: “Go to the court, and I will call you from there.”

Justice Oaks formally was called to become Elder Oaks at the Church’s general conference on April 7, 1984.

Initially, Justice Oaks expressed fear and apprehension at the enormous responsibility. “I have so far to go to qualify as a witness of Christ,” he said.

Church leaders gave him a month to clear over 100 cases pending before him at the Utah Supreme Court. He was ordained an apostle on May 3, 1984, stepping into what is a lifetime appointment.

He was 51 years old; he remains the youngest apostle called since 1970. He swiftly came to a realization.

“I knew that if I concentrated my time on the things that came naturally and the things that I felt qualified to do, I would never be an apostle; I would always be a former lawyer and judge,” he said. “I made up my mind that was not for me. I decided that I would focus my efforts on what I had been called to do, not on what I was qualified to do. I determined that instead of trying to shape my calling to my credentials, I would try to shape myself to my calling.”

Dallin H. Oaks takes the oath of office as a Utah Supreme Court justice in January 1981. | Deseret Book

Then-BYU President Dallin H. Oaks is unveiled as the mascot Cosmo during a basketball game Feb. 24, 1979, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. | BYU

BUILDING A FAMILY

President Oaks was born Aug. 12, 1932, in Provo, Utah. He graduated from BYU High School in 1950.

He had joined the National Guard in high school, and before his 18th birthday his unit was alerted for duty in Korea. While waiting for further orders, President Oaks enrolled at BYU, hoping to complete at least one quarter before being sent to Korea.

“I went clear through Brigham Young University under an alert to serve in Korea that never became active-duty orders,” he said. The alert ruled out missionary service.

He and June Dixon Oaks had six children — Sharmon, Cheri, Lloyd, Dallin, TruAnn and Jenny. He loved to camp, hunt and fish with them.

Sister Oaks died of cancer in 1998.

President Oaks then married Kristen McMain on Aug. 25, 2000.

“He’s a wonderful, wonderful parent and husband,” said the late President Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Kristen and President Oaks are a wonderful couple. They’re a delightful couple. She’s as happy as he is, and she [inspires] his happiness and his joy.”

President Oaks continues to make time for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,Tiffany Bratt said.

He displays one grandchild’s photo in his office each month and writes a personal letter to tell them they are the grandchild of the month.

President Oaks and Sister Oaks once held a sleepover for the grandchildren where they gave each of them a biography of his mother’s life and told them stories about her. They all wore hats and decorated everything in yellow, because she loved hats and that color.

Sister June Oaks died of cancer at age 65. She was the wife of President Dallin H. Oaks. She supported arts and service during her life. | Deseret News archives

Then-BYU President Dallin H. Oaks pushes his youngest daughter, Jenny, in a backyard swing. | Deseret News archives

APOSTOLIC ACHIEVEMENTS

President Oaks descends from many early Latter-day Saints. For example, he is the great-great-grandson of Emer Harris, brother of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.

He shared his purpose for accepting the call to the apostleship in 1984 when he announced his resignation from the Utah Supreme Court to begin his ministry.

“My most important duty,” he said: “is to serve as a witness of the life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that all may learn of Him and grow in faith and determination to live by His teachings.”

In his first conference talk as an apostle in October 1984, he said: “I have gladly forsaken my professional activities to spend the rest of my days in the service of the Lord. I will devote my whole heart, might, mind and strength to the great trusts placed in me, especially to the responsibilities of a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world.”

But President Oaks had never been a full-time missionary, a bishop, a mission president or a temple president — paths followed by many general authorities en route to the Church’s highest councils.

“I feel,” he said, “like a man who stands at the foot of a mountain so tall he can’t see the peak, but he knows he has to climb it.”

Just as he did as a student and lawyer, he overcame the staggered start.

From 2002 to 2004, he served on special assignment as the Philippines Area president, where he focused on strengthening the Church, particularly by emphasizing temple attendance and priesthood ordinances. The country now has nearly 900,000 Latter-day Saints.

President Oaks has used his lawyer’s skills to defend the Church and freedom of religion around the world.

“It really matters right now,” said President Johnson, the Relief Society leader who is a trained attorney, “that the President of our Church has that breadth of understanding, particularly of the constitutional principles that will bear upon the Church’s ability to gather scattered Israel.”

President Oaks led out on the Church’s Utah Compromise in 2015, when Church and LGBTQ+ leaders struck a stunning deal to protect each other, President Christofferson said.

The compromise created an agreement that was codified in Utah law that provides antidiscrimination provisions for LGBT people in exchange for carefully targeted exemptions for religious entities.

“He’s been a man of action in regard to peacemaking and finding a way forward,” President Christofferson told the Deseret News about the compromise, an approach the Church calls “Fairness for All.”

“I advocate the moral and political imperative of reconciling existing conflicts and avoiding new ones,” President Oaks said in a landmark talk at the University of Virginia. “The goals of both sides are best served by resolving differences through mutual respect, shared understanding and good-faith negotiations, and both must accept and respect the rule of law.”

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, pose for a photo in the Relief Society Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

President Dallin H. Oaks, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is seated before the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2025 general conference in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

GIFTED SPEAKER AND WRITER

The former radio broadcaster developed a deep, clear voice. He could write and speak with charisma and style but felt spiritually chastened when he did.

Instead, his standard talks focused on a single doctrine with a purpose stated clearly at the beginning. He still coined memorable phrases, including one in a 2007 talk that became a Latter-day Saint staple.

The talk was rooted in a moment when one of his sons found an old Sears mail-order catalog in his mother’s basement. President Oaks opened it and was reminded that items were listed by degrees of quality — good, better, best.

“As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good,” he said in general conference. “Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all.”

He delivered a landmark talk at a 2014 general conference that reiterated and clarified Latter-day Saint doctrine that women in the Church act in their callings with the authority of the priesthood. “The Lord has directed that only men will be ordained to offices in the priesthood,” he said. “But, as various church leaders have emphasized, men are not ‘the priesthood.’”

“We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their church callings, but what other authority can it be?” he added. “Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties.”

At BYU, he had insisted on equal treatment, including equal pay, for women faculty and students.

President Johnson said President Oaks has treated her with gentleness, kindness, sincerity and concern.

“He seems keenly aware of what the sisters are doing in the Church,” she said. “I’ve been in meetings with the First Presidency where he has expressed specifically his concern for the women of the Church, that they feel loved, that they know how valued and important they are.”

President Oaks has used his skill as a writer to minister not only to his grandchildren but to hundreds of others.

“So many of us here at Church headquarters have received beautiful notes after we’ve given a talk,” General Primary President Susan H. Porter said. “He mentioned something specific that he appreciated or that he thought about or that he thought would be a blessing to all of us. This is a great gift that he has that he uses to minister.”

The boy who once felt suddenly orphaned and lost has spent his life developing a body of work and a ministry to help others feel connected.

FIRST PRESIDENCY AND THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES

A brief look at the Church's leading councils

Compiled by Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Kaitlyn Bancroft and Christine Rappleye

An official portrait of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was released Oct. 26, 2025. From left to right: President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor; President Dallin H. Oaks, President of the Church; and President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 4, 2026. Front row, left to right: Acting President

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder Neil L. Andersen and Elder Ronald A. Rasband. Back row, left to right: Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Elder Ulisses Soares, Elder Patrick Kearon, Elder Gérald Caussé and Elder Clark G. Gilbert. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PRESIDENT DALLIN H. OAKS

President of the Church

“ The building of multiple temples throughout the world is likely to be serving the same purpose to prepare the covenant children of the Lord with the strength they need to face what is ahead,” he said at the Mesa Arizona Temple dedication in December 2021.

“ Even after doing all we are able, sometimes life still does not turn out the way we hoped it would.

“ Singleness, childlessness, death, chronic illness, mental health challenges, divorce and myriad other circumstances in mortality can feel debilitating to our eternal progression — but Jesus Christ will make up the difference in His own way and in His own time.

“ We have a Savior who has taken upon Himself not just the sins but also ‘the pains and the sicknesses of his people … that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities’ (Alma 7:11–12).

“ The Lord has promised that in the eternities no blessing will be denied His sons and daughters who keep the commandments, are true to their covenants and desire what is right.”

— President Dallin H. Oaks, facebook.com/dallin.h.oaks, Aug. 17, 2025

President Dallin H. Oaks was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984 and as the first counselor in the First Presidency in January 2018. Following President Russell M. Nelson’s death, he was set apart as the Prophet and President of the Church on Oct. 14, 2025.

President Oaks was a law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren at the U.S. Supreme Court and was a Utah Supreme Court justice when called to apostleship in 1984.

As president of Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1980, he oversaw creation of the J. Reuben Clark Law School and the graduate business school.

President Oaks and his late wife, Sister June Dixon Oaks, were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 24, 1962, and are the parents of six children. She died July 21, 1998. On Aug. 25, 2000, he married Sister Kristen M. McMain in the Salt Lake Temple.

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, walk the Richmond Virginia Temple grounds on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Richmond, Virginia. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

PRESIDENT HENRY B. EYRING

First counselor in the First Presidency

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Sister Kathleen Eyring, arrive Saturday morning, Aug. 22, 2009, for the second day of the dedication services for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. | Gerry Avant, Deseret News

PRESIDENT D. TODD CHRISTOFFERSON

Second counselor in the First Presidency

President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, pose for a photo in the Relief Society Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

President Henry B. Eyring has been a general authority for more than four decades, called in 1985 to the Presiding Bishopric. After his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995, he served as a counselor to four Prophets: President Gordon B. Hinckley from 2007 to 2008, President Thomas S. Monson from 2008 to 2018, President Russell M. Nelson from 2018 to 2025 and President Dallin H. Oaks from 2025 to current.

While studying at Harvard, he met his wife, Sister Kathleen Johnson Eyring, when she enrolled in a Harvard summer program, and he “was immediately impressed by the goodness she radiated.” They were married in the Logan Utah Temple on July 27, 1962, and are the parents of four sons and two daughters. Sister Eyring died in October 2023.

“ When we remember the Savior, we see Him as the Creator of all things. We remember our dependence on His sacrifice when we think of the fall of man and of our own sins. We remember His unfailing love for us and His arms extended in invitation to us when we think of the little we understand of what He did to atone for our sins.”

— President Henry B. Eyring, instagram.com/henrybeyring, Nov. 12, 2025

Elder D. Todd Christofferson was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 5, 2008. He was called as a General Authority Seventy in 1993 and served in the Presidency of the Seventy from 1998 until his call as an Apostle. He was set apart as second counselor in the First Presidency on Oct. 14, 2025.

On May 28, 1968, he married Sister Kathy Jacob Christofferson in the Salt Lake Temple. The two met at a BYU football game — at the time, he had been helping with crowd control, and she was a Cougarette. They are the parents of five children.

“ In looking to God, we can find peace in difficulty, and our faith can continue to grow — even in times of doubt and spiritual challenge. We can receive strength in the face of opposition and isolation. We can reconcile the ideal with present reality.”

— President D. Todd Christofferson, x.com/ChristoffDTodd, Oct. 5, 2025

PRESIDENT DIETER F. UCHTDORF

Acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Then-Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, now acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, make small hearts as exit after the morning session of the 195th Annual General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 6, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2004. He served as second counselor in the First Presidency under President Thomas S. Monson from February 2008 to January 2018. He was set apart as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Jan. 8, 2026, following the death of President Jeffrey R. Holland.

He met his wife, Sister Harriet Reich Uchtdorf, in their teens attending a branch in Frankfurt, Germany, soon after she and her family joined the Church. Years later, after Elder Uchtdorf joined the German air force and completed his training in the United States, they were married in the Swiss Temple (now the Bern Switzerland Temple) on Dec. 14, 1962. They are the parents of two children.

“ There are times when God has a specific path He wants you to follow. There are also times when He will warn you against certain choices because of dangers you can’t foresee. But then there are times when a question has multiple ‘right’ answers, and you can find joy in any of them as long as you live by God’s eternal truths.”

— President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, x.com/UchtdorfDF, Feb. 2, 2025

ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, walk through the streets of Cusco, Peru, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder David A. Bednar has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 20-plus years, having been ordained on Oct. 7, 2004.

He met his wife, Sister Susan Robinson Bednar, after returning from his mission to Germany and while playing flag football for home evening at BYU. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and are the parents of three sons.

“ You do not find the marriage you want to have. You create it. Often the assumption is that if you just find the right person, then that guarantees happiness. But that is not true. A marriage is an opportunity to create the home and happiness you hope to have.”

— Elder David A. Bednar, facebook.com/davida.bednar, March 20, 2025

ELDER QUENTIN L. COOK

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, pose on the grounds of the Moses Lake Washington Temple in Moses Lake, Washington, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. | Brian Nicholson, for the Deseret News

ELDER NEIL L. ANDERSEN

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, pose for a photo at the Farmington New Mexico Temple on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Elder Quentin L. Cook was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 6, 2007. He is a greatgreat-grandson of Heber C. Kimball, who was among the first missionaries in this dispensation to preach the gospel outside North America.

He married his wife, Sister Mary Gaddie Cook, on Nov. 30, 1962, in the Logan Utah Temple. They are the parents of three children.

“ There has been and always will be opposition in all things. Nevertheless, those who pray, study scriptures, live the commandments and worship and follow the Savior will see these arguments in their true light. Their faith will grow, and their lives will be blessed.”

— Elder Quentin L. Cook, instagram.com/quentinlcook, Nov. 19, 2025

Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 2009. He had served as a General Authority Seventy since 1993, during which time he managed development of the film “The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd” and supervised the initial launch of Mormon.org, now ComeUntoChrist.org.

He met his wife, Sister Kathy Williams Andersen, while attending Brigham Young University. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and are the parents of four children.

“ As we remember Jesus Christ and His suffering, His love for us and His willingness to take away our sins, we are filled with enormous gratitude and a desire to offer our souls to Him.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen, x.com/AndersenNeilL, Feb. 3, 2025

ELDER RONALD A. RASBAND

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, stand near the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on Saturday, May 24, 2025. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

ELDER GARY E. STEVENSON

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, pose for a photo outside the Elko Nevada Temple on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Elder Ronald A. Rasband was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015.

Between his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2000 and serving in the Presidency of the Seventy in 2005, he served in the Temple Department first as an assistant executive director and then as executive director in 2004 — a position no other living prophet or apostle has held.

Elder Rasband and his wife, Sister Melanie Twitchell Rasband, were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Sept. 4, 1973, and have five children.

“ We see the Lord hastening His work in missions around the world. Many more missionaries are serving — including teaching, service and senior couples — and they are entering the Lord’s vineyard at a time when we continue to see miracles. But more than numbers, the spirit of the gathering is bringing souls to Jesus Christ and His gospel.”

— Elder Ronald A. Rasband, instagram.com/ronaldarasband, July 7, 2025

Elder Gary E. Stevenson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015. He had been serving as the presiding bishop since 2012.

He met his wife, Sister Lesa Jean Higley Stevenson, at Utah State University. The couple married Aug. 20, 1979, in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple and are the parents of four sons.

“ I think this speaks directly to each and every one of us and is indicative of some of the beautiful doctrine, counsel and guidance that comes to us through the Doctrine and Covenants. These words are truly the word of God.”

— Elder Gary E. Stevenson, facebook.com/stevenson.gary.e, Nov. 28, 2025

ELDER DALE G. RENLUND

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, help plant oak trees in Tres de Febrero Park — the same location where Elder Melvin J. Ballard offered a prayer dedicating South America for the preaching of the gospel in 1925 — in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 16, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

ELDER GERRIT W. GONG

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Susan Gong, exit after the Sunday morning session of the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.

| Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Elder Dale G. Renlund was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015. He had been a General Authority Seventy since 2009.

He met his wife, Sister Ruth Lybbert Renlund, in his home ward in Salt Lake City. After mustering up the courage to ask her out, she said no. He was more successful when he tried again a few months later. They were married on June 16, 1977, in the Salt Lake Temple and are the parents of one daughter.

“ Doing our part is simpler than we might imagine because we need not bring extraordinary talents or abilities to the Lord’s work. His requirement is simply commitment and willingness. The Lord can make the willing able, but He cannot or will not make the able willing. In other words, if we are committed and willing, He can use us.”

— Elder Dale G. Renlund, x.com/DaleGRenlund, July 20, 2025

Elder Gerrit W. Gong was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018, and had served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2010.

The first time Elder Gong met his wife, Sister Susan Lindsay Gong, was at an evening devotional he volunteered to give at the Provo Missionary Training Center to help missionaries learn more about Taiwan. They briefly met, but Elder Gong said in that moment, he “had a feeling this was somebody I’d always know.” They married Jan. 4, 1980, and have four sons.

“ Let us not simply accommodate or tolerate. Let us genuinely welcome, acknowledge, minister to, love. May each friend, sister, brother, not be a foreigner or stranger but a child at home.”

— Elder Gerrit W. Gong, x.com/GerritWGong, Oct. 4, 2025

ELDER ULISSES SOARES

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Rosana Soares, pause for a photo outside the Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News

ELDER PATRICK KEARON

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, arrive for the Tallahassee Florida Temple dedication in Tallahassee, Florida, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.

| Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Ulisses Soares was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, he is the first person from South America to serve in the quorum.

Both Elder Soares and his wife, Sister Rosana Fernandes Soares, served in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission. They began dating after their missions when they ran into each other at a stake dance. Married in Oct. 30, 1982, in the São Paulo Brazil Temple, they have three children.

“ Showing reverence for sacred things gives meaning to much of what we do every day and strengthens our feeling of gratitude — inspiring awe, respect and love for higher and holier things.”

— Elder Ulisses Soares, facebook.com/soares.u, Oct. 29, 2025

Elder Patrick Kearon was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Dec. 7, 2023, filling a vacancy in the quorum after the death of President M. Russell Ballard. At the time of his call, Elder Kearon was serving as senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy. He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2010, and had served in the Presidency of the Seventy from 2017 until his call as an Apostle.

He married his wife, Sister Jennifer Hulme Kearon, on Jan. 12, 1991, in the Oakland California Temple. They are the parents of a son, who died at 3 weeks old from a heart condition, and three daughters.

“ New beginnings are at the heart of the Father’s plan for His children. This is the church of new beginnings. This is the church of fresh starts.

“ Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”

— Elder Patrick Kearon, facebook.com/elderkearonpatrick, Oct. 4, 2025

ELDER GÉRALD CAUSSÉ

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Valérie Caussé, walk in Versailles, France, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. They raised their family in Versailles. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

ELDER CLARK G. GILBERT

of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Clark G. Gilbert and his wife, Sister Christine Gilbert, participate in a worldwide devotional for young adults broadcast across various Church channels on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Gérald Caussé was called in 2008 at age 44 to serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy and then in 2012 as a counselor in the Presiding Bishopric. He served as the presiding bishop of the Church from October 2015 until being set apart as an Apostle on Nov. 6, 2025.

He and his wife, Sister Valérie Babin Caussé, met in a young single adult ward in France. On Aug. 5, 1986, the couple married in the Bern Switzerland Temple; they have five children and five grandchildren.

“ Thank you for being a light to those around you and for lifting others as you seek to light the world with the love of Jesus Christ.”

— Elder Gérald Caussé, instagram.com/gerald_causse, Dec. 4, 2025

Elder Clark G. Gilbert was born in Oakland, California, on June 18, 1970, the oldest of Paul Ensign Gilbert and Susan Carlson Gilbert’s four children.

He met his wife, Sister Christine Calder Gilbert, who was roommates with his sister, while the two were attending BYU. They were married on Feb. 5, 1994, in the Salt Lake Temple and are the parents of eight children.

“ To be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a special and sacred opportunity.”

— Elder Clark G. Gilbert, x.com/ClarkG_Gilbert, Feb. 12, 2026

‘THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS’

The Church is built upon those who are ‘special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world’

By Aimee Cobabe

The bible declares that the true Church of Jesus Christ is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

The Twelve Apostles are called to be “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23).

In a 2023 Liahona article, President Dallin H. Oaks wrote: “In a world that doubts the divinity of the Savior, I testify with my Brethren in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of His divine ministry and Atonement. We testify ‘that he is the Only Begotten of the Father’ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:23). We testify that He has a resurrected body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s’ (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). We testify that because of His Resurrection, all of God’s children will also be resurrected. We testify that He speaks to His servants in our day. We testify that ‘there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’”

In the following quotes, latter-day prophets and apostles testify of Jesus Christ’s divine ministry, Atonement and Resurrection.

‘WHAT JESUS CHRIST HAS DONE BECAUSE HE LOVES ALL THE CHILDREN OF GOD’

“Under the plan of our Heavenly Father, He ‘created the heavens and the earth’ (Doctrine and Covenants 14:9) so that each of us could have the mortal experience necessary to seek our divine destiny. As part of the Father’s plan, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ overcame death to assure each of us immortality. Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice gives each of us the opportunity to repent of our sins and return clean to our heavenly home. His commandments and covenants show us the way, and His priesthood gives the authority to perform the ordinances that are essential to reach that destiny. And our Savior willingly experienced all mortal pains and infirmities that He would know how to strengthen us in our afflictions.

“Jesus Christ did all of this because He loves all of the children of God. Love is the motivation for it all, and it was so from the very beginning. God has told us in modern revelation that ‘he created … male and female, after his own image … ; and gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him’ (Doctrine and Covenants 20:18–19).”

— President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “What Has Our Savior Done for Us?,” April 2021 general conference

‘JESUS CHRIST HAS GIVEN YOU THE INVITATION “COME UNTO ME”’

“When the storms in life come, you can be steady because you are standing on the rock of your faith in Jesus Christ. That faith will lead you to daily repentance and consistent covenant keeping. Then you will always remember Him. And through the storms of hatred and wickedness, you will feel steady and hopeful.

“More than that, you will find yourself reaching out to lift others to safety on the rock with you. Faith in Jesus Christ always leads to greater hope and to feelings of charity toward others, which is the true love of Christ.

“I bear you my solemn witness that the Lord Jesus Christ has given you the invitation ‘Come unto me’ (Matthew 11:28). He invites you, out of love for you and for those

you love, to come to Him for peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. He knows perfectly the storms you will face in your test as part of the plan of happiness.

“I plead with you to accept the Savior’s invitation. Like a meek and loving child, accept His help. Make and keep the covenants He offers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will strengthen you. The Savior knows the storms and the places of safety on the way home to Him and to our Heavenly Father. He knows the way. He is the Way.”

— President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, “Steady in the Storms,” April 2022 general conference

"Christ in the Land Bountiful" | Simon Dewey

PERFECT LOVE

“Our Heavenly Father loves us profoundly and perfectly. In His love, He created a plan, a plan of redemption and happiness to open to us all the opportunities and joys we are willing to receive, up to and including all that He has and is. To achieve this, He was even willing to offer His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as our Redeemer. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). His is a Father’s pure love — universal to all yet personal to each.

“Jesus Christ shares with the Father this same perfect love. When the Father first elaborated His great plan of happiness, He called for one to act as a Savior to redeem us — an essential part of that plan. Jesus volunteered, ‘Here am I, send me’ (Abraham 3:27). The Savior ‘doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation’ (2 Nephi 26:24).”

— President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency, “The Love of God,” October 2021 general conference

‘UNIMAGINABLE

GLORY AND PERFECT HAPPINESS’

“Because of Jesus Christ, we will rise from the despair of death and embrace those we love, shedding tears of overwhelming joy and overflowing gratitude. Because of Jesus Christ, we will exist as eternal beings, worlds without end.

“Because of Jesus the Christ, our sins can not only be erased; they can be forgotten.

“We can become purified and exalted. Holy.

“Because of our beloved Savior, we can forever drink from the fountain of water that springs up into eternal life. We can dwell forever in the mansions of our eternal King, in unimaginable glory and perfect happiness.”

— President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Behold the Man!,” April 2018 general conference

‘ONLY IN AND THROUGH CHRIST’

“All opportunities and blessings of eternal consequence originate in, are possible and have purpose because of, and endure through the Lord Jesus Christ. As Alma testified: ‘There is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world’ (Alma 38:9).

“I joyfully declare my witness of the divinity and living reality of the Eternal Father and of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In our Savior we find joy. And in Him we find the assurance of ‘peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come' (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23)."

— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Gather Together in One All Things in Christ,” October 2018 general conference

"Jesus Blessing Jairus’s Daughter (Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus)"

| Greg K. Olsen

‘BE ONE WITH HIM’

“Following the Savior and His doctrine and teachings has never been easy in a world that is constantly in commotion. It was not easy for the Savior in the volatile world during His mortal sojourn, it was not easy for our early leaders and members, and it is not easy for us. Fortunately, living prophets provide the guidance we specifically need for our day. President Dallin H. Oaks will continue that spiritually powerful legacy.

“I testify that the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ is eternal and true. I bear my sure and certain witness that Jesus Christ lives and because of His Atonement, we can be one with Him.”

— Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Lord Is Hastening His Work,” October 2025 general conference

‘THE SAVIOR KNOWS YOU AND LOVES YOU’

“For you who have been so unfairly injured by the serious sins of another, I long to share the Savior’s love and compassion, His comfort and peace.

“The sadness you have felt, the heartbreak, the loss, the suffocating feeling of betrayal, the upending of your life as you imagined it to be — I give you my absolute assurance, the Savior knows you and loves you. Reach out to Him. He is your comfort and strength; He will send His angels to bear you up. When will your pain be gone, your grief subdued, the unwanted memories forgotten? I do not know. But this I do know: He has the power to bring beauty from the ashes of your suffering.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Atoning Love of Jesus Christ,” October 2025 general conference

"One by One" | Walter Rane

‘FEEL THE POWER OF THE REDEEMER IN YOUR LIFE’

“To us in times of trial He has said, ‘Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven’ (Doctrine and Covenants 6:37). That, brothers and sisters, is the miracle promised to us all.

“On this Easter Sunday, as we celebrate the miracle of our Lord’s Resurrection, as an Apostle of Jesus Christ I humbly pray that you will feel the power of the Redeemer in your life, that your appeals to our Heavenly Father will be answered with the love and commitment Jesus Christ demonstrated throughout His ministry. I pray that you may stand steadfast and faithful in all that is to come.”

— Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Behold! I Am a God of Miracles,” April 2021 general conference

‘WE TALK OF CHRIST’

“Through ancient and living prophets, our Heavenly Father has commanded us to ‘hear Him’ and to ‘come unto Christ.’ ‘We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ’ (2 Nephi 25:26).

“We teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and during His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His gospel and established His Church.

“We testify that at the end of His life, Jesus atoned for our sins when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, was crucified on the cross and then was resurrected.

“We rejoice that because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven and cleansed of our sins as we repent. This brings us peace and hope while making it possible for us to return to God’s presence and receive a fulness of joy.”

— Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “And We Talk of Christ,” October 2025 general conference

"Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda" | Carl Heinrich Bloch

‘HE LIVES’

“The Savior invites us, ‘Come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness’ (Doctrine and Covenants 93:19). I urge you to do this. Come unto our Heavenly Father. Take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ. Identify with Him. Always remember Him. Strive to be like Him. Join Him in His work. Receive His power and blessings in your life. Etch His name in your heart, willingly and intentionally. This gives you ‘standing’ before God and qualifies you for the Savior’s advocacy on your behalf. You will become an exalted inheritor in the kingdom of our Father in Heaven, a joint-heir with His Firstborn, our beloved Savior and Redeemer.

"He lives. I absolutely know it. He loves you. He gave His life for you. He pleads with you to come unto the Father through Him.”

— Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Taking on the Name of Jesus Christ,” October 2025 general conference

‘SING HALLELUJAH AND SHOUT HOSANNA’

“Jesus Christ’s Atonement can deliver and redeem us from sin. But Jesus Christ also intimately understands our every pain, affliction, sickness, sorrow, separation. In time and eternity, His triumph over death and hell can make all things right. He helps heal the broken and disparaged, reconcile the angry and divided, comfort the lonely and isolated, encourage the uncertain and imperfect and bring forth miracles possible only with God.

“We sing hallelujah and shout hosanna. With eternal power and infinite goodness, in God’s plan of happiness all things can work together for our good. We can face life with confidence and not fear.”

— Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “All Things for Our Good,” April 2024 general conference

‘HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST’

“As brothers and sisters in Christ,let us joyfully proclaim, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest’ (Matthew 21:9).

“I testify that Jesus Christ lives and that His perfect love, expressed through His atoning sacrifice, is extended to all who desire to walk with Him and enjoy His peace in this world and in the world to come.”

— Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Followers of the Prince of Peace,” April 2023 general conference

"Christ Ordaining the Apostles (Christ Ordaining the Twelve Apostles)" | Harry Anderson

‘NEW BEGINNINGS’

“Because He always did those things which pleased His Father, and because He ‘suffered the will of the Father in all things’ (3 Nephi 11:11), you and I can have new beginnings. Please receive your new beginning, even today, right now. Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith, writing countless new chapters with us. He is the Beginning and the End — the end of our shame and suffering and the beginning of a new life in Him, letting us receive His grace, leave the past behind and begin again with a new dawn, as many times as we need. Truly His ‘goodness and mercy shall follow [us] all the days of [our lives]’ (Psalm 23:6).”

— Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning,” October 2025 general conference

'IF WE OFFER OUR SOULS WHOLE'

“None of us can escape the challenges and limitations of mortality. After all, we are all born with an inherent incapacity to save ourselves. Yet we have a loving Savior, and ‘we know that it is by [His] grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2 Nephi 25:23).

“I testify that while many circumstances in life may be beyond our control, none of us is beyond the reach of the Lord’s infinite blessings. Through His atoning sacrifice, the Savior will compensate for every inability and injustice if we offer our whole souls to Him.”

— Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Compensating Blessings,” April 2025 general conference

‘HE WILL COMFORT US IN OUR AFFLICTIONS’

“I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know He can help us repent and that we can be forgiven when we fall short. I know that because of Him, we will live again. As we are taught in Alma 7:12, He will comfort us in our afflictions, and He will strengthen us in our infirmities, and He will succor us when life is not fair.”

— Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, interview with the Church News on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

"Jesus Shows His Wounds (Behold My Hands and Feet)" | Harry Anderson

"Christ’s Image" | Heinrich Hofmann

“Seek learning , even by study and also by faith.”

WHAT IS A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?

Why were they held anciently, and what do they look like today in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

By Sydney Walker

In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith in December 1832 and January 1833, the Lord commanded Latter-day Saints to “sanctify yourselves … and call a solemn assembly” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:68-70).

“Therefore, verily I say unto you, my friends, call your solemn assembly, as I have commanded you,” the Lord reiterated (Doctrine and Covenants 88:117).

The Lord’s command to “call a solemn assembly” is also found in the Old Testament. “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord” (Joel 1:14).

What is a solemn assembly, why were solemn assemblies held anciently, and what do solemn assemblies look like in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today?

WHAT IS A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?

“Solemn assemblies are special, sacred meetings held for a variety of holy purposes,” according to an article on ChurchofJesus Christ.org. “They require Latter-day Saints to bring an elevated sense of spirituality with them into the meeting.”

These “holy purposes” have included the sustaining of a new Church president, the dedication of a temple or other significant building (such as the Conference Center in 2000), the introduction of new scripture and the instruction of priesthood leaders.

Elder David B. Haight, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who died in 2004, taught during the October 1994 general conference: “A solemn assembly, as the name implies, denotes a sacred, sober and reverent occasion when the Saints assemble under the direction of the First Presidency.”

During that general conference in 1994, a solemn assembly was held to sustain President Howard W. Hunter for the first time as “prophet, seer and revelator and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” President Hunter had become the 14th President of the Church following the death of President Ezra Taft Benson.

Said Elder Haight in his conference address: “Today we are witnesses to and participants in a most sacred occasion — a solemn assembly to act upon heavenly things. As in olden times, there has been much fasting and prayer offered by the Saints throughout the world that they may receive an outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord, which is so much in evidence here on this occasion this morning.”

SOLEMN ASSEMBLIES IN BIBLICAL TIMES

Solemn assemblies “have their origins in the antiquity of God’s dealings with His covenant people,” explains a Church News article published prior to President Thomas S. Monson being sustained as 16th President of the Church in a solemn assembly during April 2008 general conference.

In the Old Testament, solemn assemblies were held on the seventh day of the Feast of the Passover (see Deuteronomy 16:8) and the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles (see Leviticus 23:33-36; Nehemiah 8:18).

The late President M.Russell Ballard,then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught that a solemn assembly was a practice when “ancient Israel gathered to feel the Lord’s presence and celebrate His blessings.”

Solemn assemblies also have an ancient connection with temple dedications. Solomon’ s temple, the first temple in Jerusalem, was dedicated in a solemn assembly during the Feast of Tabernacles (see 2 Chronicles 7:9).

Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, solemn assemblies were restored in this dispensation as a part of the “restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21), according to a Church magazine article.

SOLEMN ASSEMBLY AT KIRTLAND TEMPLE DEDICATION

On March 27, 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith heeded the Lord’s repeated command to “call a solemn assembly.” The occasion was the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, and the proceedings would set a precedent for later solemn assemblies.

A Church History Topic titled “Solemn Assemblies” explains that during this solemn assembly, priesthood quorums and the general Church membership in turn sustained the leadership of the Church. Joseph then offered the dedicatory prayer of the temple.

Joseph Smith recorded that President Sidney Rigdon, first counselor in the First Presidency, "called upon the several quorums, commencing with the Presidency, to manifest, by rising, their willingness to acknowledge me as Prophet and Seer and uphold me as such, by their prayers of faith.

“All the quorums, in turn, cheerfully complied with this request. He then called upon all the congregation of the Saints also to give their assent by rising on their feet, which they did unanimously” (History of the Church, 2:416).

The Prophet also recorded: “I prophesied to all that inasmuch as they would uphold these men in their several stations, … the Lord

would bless them; … in the name of [Jesus] Christ, the blessings of heaven should be theirs” (History of the Church, 2:418).

In the temple’s dedicatory prayer, Joseph acknowledged that the Saints had convened a solemn assembly and asked the Lord to let His glory rest down upon them as a blessing for their obedience (see Doctrine and Covenants 109:6, 10-12). The Saints who attended this solemn assembly experienced an outpouring of spiritual manifestations.

SOLEMN ASSEMBLIES FOR SUSTAINING CHURCH LEADERS

Elder Haight explained more about the precedent set by the Prophet Joseph Smith during the solemn assembly at the Kirtland Temple dedication. “There is a pattern to solemn assemblies that distinguishes them from other general Church meetings where we sustain officers of the Church,” he said in his general conference talk on solemn assemblies.

“That pattern, which was established by the Prophet Joseph Smith, is that the priesthood quorums, commencing with the First Presidency, stand and manifest by the uplifted right hand their willingness to sustain the President of the Church as a prophet, seer and revelator and uphold him by their confidence, faith and prayers,” Elder Haight said.

Members sustain leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a March 31, 2018, solemn assembly at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. | Deseret News archives

“The priesthood quorums of the Church so manifest by their vote. Then the general body of all the Saints stand and signify their willingness to do the same. The other leaders of the Church are similarly sustained in their offices and callings.”

This pattern of voting by quorums and groups has continued each time a new Church president is sustained for the first time in a solemn assembly.

For example, during the Saturday morning session of April 2018 general conference, Church members gathered in a solemn assembly to sustain President Russell M. Nelson. President Nelson had become 17th President of the Church, succeeding President Thomas S. Monson.

President Henry B. Eyring, then second counselor in the First Presidency, said while handling the business of the solemn assembly that day: “This is an occasion of great significance for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world.

“Dating from Oct. 10, 1880, when John Taylor was sustained to succeed Brigham Young as prophet, seer and revelator and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, each of these occasions has been designated as a formal solemn assembly of the body of the Church to express the voice of the Church.”

President Eyring invited quorums and groups to stand one at a time to sustain President Nelson, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Wherever you are, you are invited to stand only when requested and express by your uplifted hand that you choose to sustain those whose names will be presented,” President Eyring said.

Voting began with the First Presidency, followed by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; General Authority Seventies, including members of the Presiding Bishopric; Area Seventies, ordained patriarchs, high priests and elders; members of the Relief Society; those holding only the Aaronic Priesthood; young women; and the entire Church membership.

WHAT IT MEANS TO ‘SUSTAIN’ IN A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY

During April 1995 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church, described a solemn assembly as “a gathering of the membership where every individual stands equal with every other in exercising with soberness and in solemnity his or her right to sustain or not to sustain those who, under the procedures that arise out of the revelations, have been chosen to lead.

“The procedure of sustaining is much more than a ritualistic raising of the hand,” said President Hinckley, who had been sustained as President of the Church in a solemn assembly earlier that conference. “It is a commitment to uphold, to support, to assist those who have been selected.”

In his 1994 talk, Elder Haight also taught what it means to sustain the President of the Church in a solemn assembly: “When we sustain the President of the Church by our uplifted hand, it not only signifies that we acknowledge before God that he is the rightful possessor of all the priesthood keys; it also means that we covenant with God that we will abide by the direction and the counsel that come through His prophet.

“It is a solemn covenant,” he said.

Members of the First Presidency sustain Russell M. Nelson as the 17th President of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a solemn assembly in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 31, 2018. | Deseret News archives

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PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Summaries by Trent Toone

Portraits from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

JOSEPH SMITH (1830-1844)

In the spring of 1820 in upstate New York, 14-year-old Joseph Smith entered a grove of trees, praying to know which of all the churches was right so he could know which one to join.

In response to his sincere prayer, God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph, initiating the Restoration — the latter-day reestablishment of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its doctrines, priesthood authority and covenants as well as the 1830 organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After this event known as the First Vision, Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, akin to those of biblical times.

Born on Dec. 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont, he was the fifth of 11 children of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith.

After marrying Emma Hale in 1827, Joseph was visited by an angel named Moroni, who revealed the existence of a hidden record on gold plates containing the history of an ancient American civilization. Through the gift and power of God, Joseph translated the ancient writings and published the Book of Mormon.

Persecution forced the Church to move to Kirtland, Ohio, during the 1830s. There Joseph received numerous revelations for guiding the Church, later compiled and published as the Doctrine and Covenants. He translated parts of the Bible, wrote the Articles of Faith, introduced doctrines and taught gospel principles. He called apostles and other leaders, sent the first missionaries to England, established the School of the Prophets and directed the construction of the Kirtland Temple, the first latter-day house of the Lord.

On April 3, 1836, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery were visited by Jesus Christ and experienced visions in which priesthood keys were conveyed by ancient prophets Moses, Elias and Elijah.

In 1838, the Church relocated to Missouri, where it faced severe persecution, leading to the five-month winter imprisonment of Joseph and other leaders at Liberty Jail.

In Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph directed the construction of the Nauvoo Temple, introduced temple ordinances and baptisms for the dead, organized the Relief Society for women, served as mayor, led the Nauvoo Legion, received revelations on celestial marriage and the nature of God, and ran as a candidate for president of the United States.

Joseph was later visited by other heavenly messengers, including John the Baptist and apostles Peter, James and John, who restored priesthood authority.

Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered June 27, 1844, at Carthage Jail.

BRIGHAM YOUNG

Remembered as the “Lion of the Lord” and the “great colonizer,” Brigham Young led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints first during the apostolic interregnum following the 1844 martyrdom of Joseph Smith and then as the Church’s second President from 1847 to his death in 1877.

Born on June 1, 1801, in Whittingham, Vermont, Young converted to the Church in 1832 following a meticulous, two-year examination of the Book of Mormon.

He and his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where he used his carpenter skills to help build the Kirtland Temple. When the Church faced persecution, economic problems and some apostasy, he never wavered in his loyalty to the Prophet.

Three years after joining the Church, he participated in the Zion’s Camp march and was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He served multiple missions over many years, most notably in taking the gospel across the Atlantic Ocean to England.

John Taylor, third president of the Church, was 68 years old when Brigham Young died in 1877.

He led the Church as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for three years until sustained as President of the Church at general conference on Oct. 10, 1880. For the next seven years, President Taylor defended the faith during one of its most trying periods, until his death in 1887.

Taylor was born Nov. 1, 1808, in Milnthorpe, Westmorland, England. He emigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1832. A cooper and Methodist minister, Taylor married Leonora Cannon in 1833.

In 1836, the couple met missionary Parley P. Pratt. Despite not being initially receptive, the Taylors undertook a serious study of the gospel and were baptized on May 9, 1836.

Facing persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846, Elder Young assisted hundreds of Saints in receiving their blessings in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple before orchestrating the historic westward migration of more than 60,000 to the Salt Lake Valley.

In Utah, he and the pioneering Saints transformed the barren desert into a thriving community, with a network of settlements through the American West. President Young also served as the territorial governor and was instrumental in bringing the telegraph and railroad to the region.

Under his direction, the Church commenced construction on the Salt Lake, St. George and Logan temples.

In addition to his leadership, President Young was also known as a powerful orator and gospel teacher.

“I believe that it was his profound faith that was at the very heart of his success as a leader,” President James E. Faust said at a 2001 BYU devotional.

called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

One of the most difficult events of his life came on June 27, 1844, when he witnessed the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at the Carthage Jail. Despite being shot multiple times, Elder Taylor survived the mob attack and recorded an account of the tragic events in Doctrine and Covenants 135.

In the following years, his writing and editing skills earned him the titles of “Defender of the Faith” and “Champion of Truth.” He served missions in Great Britain, France, Germany and New York.

During his years as Church President, Latter-day Saints practiced plural marriage. Legislation designed to take away basic civil rights was created; the Church appealed, but to no avail. President Taylor was forced to go into hiding but continued to provide leadership through letters and verbal instructions to those he trusted. He died on July 25, 1887. JOHN TAYLOR

The following year, the Taylors moved to Kirtland, Ohio; in 1838, Elder Taylor was

WILFORD WOODRUFF

(1889-1898)

Wilford Woodruff — early convert, pioneer, missionary, leader, diligent historian and faithful record-keeper — was the fourth President of the Church from 1889 to 1898.

He was born on March 1, 1807, and raised in Connecticut. Following his conversion in 1833 at age 26, he became one of the great early missionaries of the Church throughout the United States and in Great Britain.

In 1838, he was called — by a letter from Thomas B. Marsh — to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Following a mission in England, Elder Woodruff joined the Saints in the pioneer trek to the Salt Lake Valley. He transported President Brigham Young on the day he rose from his bed in a wagon and recorded his famous words: “It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on.”

Two years after he was baptized, Elder Woodruff began keeping a journal — a personal record of his life and of the

(1898-1901)

In 1835 at age 21, Lorenzo Snow was traveling to college in Oberlin, Ohio, when he met David W. Patten, a recently ordained apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As they traveled together and discussed religion, Snow had a spiritual experience that led him to join the Church. He later became the Church’s fifth president.

He was born on April 3, 1814, in Mantua, Ohio; in his early years, he aspired to be a military commander.

After leaving college and going to Kirtland, Ohio, he joined the Church in June 1836, later serving missions in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, England, Italy, Switzerland and Malta. Later in his life, He also shared the gospel with American Indians in the northwest United States and Wyoming.

He was also appointed to travel to Ohio and supervise a campaign to elect Joseph Smith as president of the United States.

history of the Church. He filled volumes of journals for more than 60 years of his life. He served as assistant Church historian and Church historian from 1856 to 1889. His extensive writings cover invaluable insights into early Church experiences, the pioneer era and spiritual and temporal challenges faced by the early Saints.

Sustained as the President of the Church on April 7, 1889, President Woodruff expanded the Church’s focus on family history and temple work for the deceased. He offered the dedicatory prayers for temples in Manti and Salt Lake City, Utah.

His presidency is most remembered for the 1890 Manifesto, which officially ended the Church’s practice of plural marriage. This declaration helped to achieve statehood for Utah and improve its standing with the U.S. government.

President Woodruff died in San Francisco,California, on Sept. 2, 1898, at the age of 91.

After serving as a captain over pioneer companies traveling to the Salt Lake Valley, Elder Snow was ordained an apostle by Heber C. Kimball at the age of 34 in 1849.

In 1853, Brigham Young called Elder Snow to lead a group of families to establish a settlement in northern Utah that became Brigham City.

Sustained as President of the Church on Sept. 13, 1898, President Snow is perhaps best known for a revelation he received on the law of tithing while visiting St. George, Utah, in 1899. He continued to share the revelation while traveling through communities back to Salt Lake City. Members responded as tithes and offerings poured in, stabilizing Church finances.

Four days after speaking in general conference, President Snow died of pneumonia on Oct. 10, 1901, at the age of 87. He was buried in Brigham City.

JOSEPH F. SMITH

(1901-1918)

Joseph F. Smith, the sixth President of the Church, was the last to have personally known his uncle, the Prophet Joseph Smith. At age 5, his father, Hyrum Smith, kissed him farewell before departing with his uncle to Carthage, where they were martyred in 1844.

Joseph F. Smith was born on Nov. 13, 1838, in Far West, Missouri. At age 7, he assisted his mother, Mary Fielding Smith, in crossing the plains by driving an ox team from Montrose, Iowa, to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, and eventually to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving just before he turned 10. In 1852, less than four years later, his mother passed away, leaving him and his siblings orphaned.

He served a mission to the Hawaiian Islands at 15, beginning a life of Church service.

On July 1, 1866, at age 27, Elder Smith was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by Brigham Young. He later served as a counselor in the First Presidency

HEBER J. GRANT

(1918-1945)

Heber J. Grant lived through remarkable changes — from travel by oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages and mail delivered by stagecoach to an era of cars, airplanes, telephones and radios. Also, he was the first prophet born in Utah and the last to have practiced plural marriage

He was born on Nov. 22, 1856, in Salt Lake City to Jedediah M. Grant, an Apostle who served in the First Presidency, and Rachel Grant. His father died when Heber was 9 days old; he was raised by his widowed mother.

By age 15, Grant began a business career as a bank clerk and was ordained as a Seventy. At age 23, he became president of the Tooele Utah Stake.

On Oct. 16, 1882, the 25-year-old Elder Grant was ordained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Later, he served missions in the southwestern United States, opened a mission in Japan and led a mission in Europe.

to Presidents Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow before becoming President of the Church in 1901.

During President Smith’s administration, home teaching was emphasized, and significant advancements occurred in the Relief Society, Sunday School, youth and Primary organizations. President Smith enhanced appreciation of early Church history by developing Church historic sites in New York, Missouri and Illinois. He established the first visitors' center on Temple Square.

During his lifetime, he lost his father, his mother, one brother, two sisters, two wives and 13 children. He prayed for greater understanding about death but initially received no answer. On Oct. 3, 1918, he received a revelation later called the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 138.

He died on Nov. 19, 1918, at the age of 80.

During the panic of 1893, Grant secured loans that saved the Church from default and many members from serious financial problems.

He became the seventh President of the Church on Nov. 23, 1918.

During his administration, President Grant dedicated three temples in Hawaii, Alberta and Arizona; purchased the Hill Cumorah and Peter Whitmer farm; and established the Church welfare plan.

President Grant guided the Church through the Great Depression and World War II. He used his business experience to modernize Church organizations and procedures.

He worked to improve relations with those outside the Church, frequently speaking at civic and business events and being attentive to others’ feelings. By the time the Church welfare plan was introduced in 1936, the Church community was seen as a model rather than a threat.

After 27 years as President, Grant died in Salt Lake City on May 14, 1945

(1946-1951)

When George Albert Smith was working for the railroad at age 18, his eyes were permanently damaged by the sun’s glare on the desert sand, impairing his vision and causing lifelong discomfort. Despite fragile health and impaired eyesight, he served the Church faithfully.

He was born on April 4, 1870, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father, John Henry Smith, and grandfather, George A. Smith, were both counselors to Church presidents. George Albert Smith credited his mother, Sarah Farr Smith, with teaching him to pray and trust God.

After serving a mission in southern Utah, he married Lucy Woodruff, President Wilford Woodruff’s granddaughter, in 1892. Less than a month later, he left on another mission, to the southern United States.

At age 33, Elder Smith was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 8, 1903. He presided over the European mission from 1919 to 1921 and helped establish the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association.

DAVID O. MCKAY (1951-1970)

Remembered for his Christlike character, tall physical stature and wavy white hair, David O. McKay served as the ninth President of the Church for nearly 20 years.

Born on Sept. 8, 1873, he grew up in Huntsville, Utah. He learned faith and resilience early in life when his two older sisters died just days apart from rheumatic fever and pneumonia and his father was called on a mission to Scotland, leaving him and his mother to manage the family farm.

He studied at the Weber Stake Academy (now Weber State University) and the University of Utah to prepare for a career in education.

He served a mission to Great Britain, where he presided over missionaries in Scotland; upon returning home, he married Emma Ray Riggs in 1901. The following year, David became the principal of the Weber Stake Academy.

In 1906, at the age of 32, he was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

President Smith became the eighth President of the Church on May 21, 1945. A month later, he met with U.S. President Harry Truman to discuss sending relief supplies to Europe after World War II.

In May 1946, he became the first Church president to visit members in Mexico, where he presented Mexican President Manuel Ávila Camacho with a copy of the Book of Mormon.

He oversaw the 1947 centennial celebration of the arrival of pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley and dedicated the This is the Place Monument.

George also supervised the publication of the Book of Mormon in braille and championed the Scouting program.

With Church membership reaching 1 million in 1949, he participated in the first-ever televised broadcast of general conference.

George Albert Smith died on his 81st birthday in Salt Lake City on April 4, 1951.

In 1920, the First Presidency assigned Elder McKay to conduct a yearlong tour of all Church missions and schools worldwide, covering 60,000 miles. Afterward, he presided over the European Mission and began to teach the concept of “every member a missionary.”

President McKay served as a counselor in the First Presidency during the Great Depression and World War II, supporting the Church welfare program.

After serving for 45 years as an Apostle, he became the Church President in 1951 and traveled more miles ministering to members than all of his predecessors combined.

President McKay oversaw the construction of houses of the Lord outside the United States and dedicated overseas temples in Switzerland, England and New Zealand and temples in Los Angeles, California and Oakland, California

After 19 years as Church President, he died on Jan. 18, 1970, at the age of 96.

GEORGE ALBERT SMITH

JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH

(1970-1972)

HAROLD B. LEE

(1972-1973)

Joseph Fielding Smith often said the words, “true and faithful.” They were words that also described his life of Church service.

The son of President Joseph F. Smith and grandson of Hyrum Smith was born July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City. Raised on a farm in Taylorsville, Utah, and later working at Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, he learned how to work at a young age. At age 17, he attended the first dedicatory session of the Salt Lake Temple.

Less than a year after marrying Louie Shurtliff in the Salt Lake Temple, Joseph was called on a two-year mission to England.

On April 7, 1901, Elder Smith became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During the first eight years, he served unofficially as a secretary and scribe for his father.

With his wife’s 1908 death, he married Ethel Reynolds; after her passing in 1937, he married Jessie Evans.

Harold Bingham Lee was born on March 28, 1899, in Clifton, Idaho. Raised in rural, humble conditions and a Latter-day Saint home, he developed a strong work ethic at a young age. He became a teacher at age 17 and school principal at 18.

He served in the Western States Mission, particularly in Denver, Colorado. During his mission, he met Fern Lucinda Tanner; they later married in the Salt Lake Temple.

He continued his education at the University of Utah while a school principal. He also worked as a salesman, taught seminary and served as a Salt Lake City commissioner.

At age 31, Harold was called as the Church’s then-youngest stake president, leading the Salt Lake Pioneer Stake during the Great Depression. He pioneered a self-help and relief program, which later developed into the Church’s Welfare System.

He was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 10, 1941, at age 42. In the years that followed, Elder Lee continued to work with the Welfare Program, which

Elder Smith served as the assistant Church historian for 15 years, then as the Church historian from 1921 to 1970. He also served as president of the Salt Lake Temple, president of the Utah Genealogical and Historical Society, and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Church Board of Education.

While serving abroad, Elder Smith supervised the evacuation of 697 American missionaries from Europe prior to World War II and dedicated four countries in the Far East for missionary work.

In 1965, he was called as a First Presidency counselor to President David O. McKay.

President Smith became the 10th President of the Church on Jan. 23, 1970, at the age of 93.

As a prolific writer, he published several books and articles to educate members on the history and doctrine of the Church.

After three years as President, Joseph died in his home on July 2, 1972.

served needy individuals and communities in many countries.

As an Apostle, he led the Church’s Priesthood Correlation Committee, which focused on unifying curriculum and strengthening the family, including the promotion of family home evening.

President Lee served as a counselor in the First Presidency to President Joseph Fielding Smith before becoming the Church President on July 7, 1972.

In the 18 months he served as President, President Lee was the first Church president to visit Israel. He presided over the creation of stakes in Chile and Korea and conferences in Mexico and Germany. He extended the welfare services program of the Church worldwide.

He mentored many future Church leaders, including Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson and Gordon B. Hinckley.

President Lee died on Dec. 26, 1973, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

SPENCER W. KIMBALL

Spencer Woolley Kimball was born on March 28, 1895, in Salt Lake City, the last of six children. From a young age, he was instilled with a strong work ethic and faith, influenced by his family’s move to Thatcher, Arizona, where his father served as a stake president.

As a youth, he participated in his ward and demonstrated leadership qualities. He also had challenging experiences, such as surviving near-drowning and illnesses, which deepened his spiritual devotion and resilience.

After high school and serving in the Central States Mission, he married Camilla Eyring in 1917, having seen her picture in a newspaper and declaring his intention to wed her. They had four children.

He pursued various careers, from working as a bank clerk to forming an insurance company, while remaining civically active on several councils and boards. From 1938 to 1943, he presided over the Mount Graham [Arizona] Stake.

In 1943, Elder Kimball was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve

EzraTaft Benson,13th President of the Church, was born on Aug. 4, 1899, in Whitney, Idaho. He came from a rich heritage in Church leadership as a great-grandson of Apostle Ezra T. Benson and other Latter-day Saint pioneers.

He was raised on the family farm, learning the principle of hard work and developing an affinity for agriculture.

He served a mission to Great Britain and returned to marry Flora Amussen, who also served a mission, in 1926. Their family grew while he received his education in agriculture and went on to hold many important positions in the industry, including extension agricultural agent and economist.

He served as president of the Boise Idaho Stake and the Washington D.C. Stake before he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 7, 1943.

As an Apostle, Elder Benson reopened missionary work and supervised the distribution of welfare supplies in war-torn Europe

Apostles, where he championed missionary work and developed programs for Native American education.

During this part of his life, Elder Kimball endured boils, ulcers, heart attacks, open heart surgery, impaired hearing and cancer of the larynx. Because of the throat cancer, surgeons removed most of his vocal cords, leaving him with a quiet but raspy voice. Despite his health challenges, he served faithfully.

He became the Church’s 12th President in 1973 and introduced the phrase, “Lengthen your stride,” inspiring a rapid expansion of missionary work and Church membership.

During his presidency, President Kimball emphasized family, moral standards and provident living.

In 1978, he announced a revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy males, a significant moment in Church history.

President Kimball died on Nov. 5, 1985, at the age of 90.

after World War II. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1952 to 1961.

After returning to full-time Church service, Elder Benson served as president of the European Mission. His diplomatic skills and open approach enhanced Church visibility and facilitated missionary work globally.

He became President of the Church on Nov. 10, 1985. During his administration, the Church witnessed significant growth, including the creation of new missions and stakes, expansion of temple building and technological advancements in family history work.

President Benson testified of the power of the Book of Mormon and the importance of daily scripture study. He warned against the sin of pride. His love of freedom, home and family were themes of messages to Church members.

President Benson died on May 30, 1994, at the age of 94.

HOWARD W. HUNTER (1994-1995)

Howard W. Hunter, the first Church President born in the 20th century, was born on Nov. 14, 1907, in Boise, Idaho. Unlike his predecessors, Hunter was raised in a part-member home, was not baptized at age 8, did not serve a mission and did not live in Utah before his full-time Church service later in life.

As a young man, Hunter loved music. After high school, his band, Hunter’s Croonaders, toured for five months on the SS President Jackson, an American cargo ship, giving him the opportunity to visit parts of Asia.

He gave up his music career in 1931 to marry Clara May Jeffs and pursue a more stable family life. Becoming a successful lawyer in California, he served as a bishop and stake president, playing a key role in the building of the Los Angeles California Temple.

Elder Hunter was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 15, 1959. He was an adviser to the Church’s Genealogical

GORDON B. HINCKLEY

(1995-2008)

Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church, was born in Salt Lake City, on June 23, 1910.

After graduating from the University of Utah, he was called on a mission to Great Britain. His service in the European Mission marked a significant turning point in his life.

Upon returning, he married Marjorie Pay and embarked on a lifetime of Church service.

As the executive secretary of the Church’ s Radio, Publicity and Literature Committee, he produced influential missionary materials and managed the daily operations of the Missionary Department.

Under President David O. McKay’s direction, he oversaw the production of the temple endowment on film, enabling it to be presented in multiple languages.

After serving as president of the East Mill Creek Stake, Elder Hinckley was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 5, 1961. He later served as a counselor in the First Presidency to Presidents Kimball, Benson and Hunter.

Society and supervised missions in the South Pacific and western United States. He served for two years as Church historian and was instrumental in bringing about the Polynesian Cultural Center, the BYU Jerusalem Center and Orson Hyde Memorial Garden.

After 35 years as an Apostle, he became Church President on June 5, 1994.

Although he served as President for only eight months and 26 days, President Hunter encouraged members to have an increased focus on Jesus Christ and invited them to give higher priority to temple attendance. He presided over the creation of the Church’s 2,000th stake, in Mexico; dedicated temples in Orlando, Florida and Bountiful, Utah; and commemorated the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

President Hunter died March 3, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 87.

On March 12, 1995, he was set apart as President of the Church.

To make temple blessings more accessible, President Hinckley announced plans to build smaller temples worldwide, increasing their number from 51 in 1998 to over 120 by 2006.

President Hinckley traveled 250,000 miles across 58 countries to teach members. He introduced “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and established the Perpetual Education Fund.

With the Church having outgrown the Salt Lake Tabernacle, President Hinckley announced and later dedicated the 21,000seat Conference Center in 2000. That year, he also dedicated the Church’s 100th temple in Boston, Massachusetts; he dedicated a new Nauvoo Illinois Temple in 2002.

President Hinckley counseled Church members to fellowship new converts, befriend those of other faiths and live exemplary lives.

President Hinckley died at his home in Salt Lake City on Jan. 27, 2008, at the age of 97.

THOMAS S. MONSON

(2008-2018)

Thomas S. Monson — remembered for caring for widows as a young bishop and going to the rescue, was born Aug. 21, 1927, in Salt Lake City.

Monson served in the United States Navy near the close of World War II before returning home and graduating from the University of Utah. He married Frances Beverly Johnson in the Salt Lake Temple on Oct. 7, 1948, and began a long career in publishing and printing, including executive positions at the Deseret News Press and Newspaper Agency Corporation.

In 1950, Monson was called at age 22 as bishop of a ward where he ministered to more than 80 widows. He later served in a stake presidency and presided over the Canadian Mission before being called at age 36 to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

As an Apostle, Elder Monson supervised the work of the Church in the South Pacific and Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, West and East Germany and other regional

RUSSELL M. NELSON (2018-2025)

Russell M. Nelson — known for his career as an international heart surgeon, his extensive global ministry and emphasis on temple building — was born on Sept. 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City.

At age 16, he was baptized and graduated from high school. After graduating from the University of Utah, he married Dantzel White in the Salt Lake Temple. The couple had 10 children, 57 grandchildren and over 100 great-grandchildren.

He served in the United States Navy Reserve and later in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. He served his residency in surgery at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital and at the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded his Ph.D. degree in 1954.

He became a world-renowned medical researcher and heart surgeon, performing the first open-heart surgery in Utah at age 31. He performed lifesaving surgery on Spencer W. Kimball, who lived 13 additional years and became Church President.

countries. He served on the Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Board.

President Monson served as a counselor to Presidents Benson, Hunter and Hinckley before becoming President of the Church on Feb. 3, 2008.

During his administration, President Monson oversaw the printing of the Church’s new scripture format, expanded disaster relief programs and changed missionary-age requirements, dramatically increasing the number of missionaries worldwide. He encouraged members to demonstrate Christlike love in serving others and to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

President Monson died on Jan. 2, 2018, at the age of 90. Between his ordination as an Apostle in 1963 and his passing in 2018, Church membership surged from 2.1 million to nearly 16 million, the number of missionaries expanded from 5,700 to nearly 70,000, and the count of temples increased from 12 to 159.

At the height of his surgical career, Elder Nelson was sustained as a member of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984. He supervised Church affairs in Europe and Africa, with a special assignment to open nations in Eastern Europe for the preaching of the gospel.

Following his wife’s death in 2005, he married Wendy Watson in April 2006.

After 34 years as an Apostle, President Nelson was set apart as the 17th President of the Church on Jan. 14, 2018.

During his nearly eight-year administration, he visited 32 countries and U.S. territories and announced 200 temples. He instituted a home-centered, church-supported curriculum, reorganized welfare and ministering programs, shortened Sunday meeting times and initiated a new global hymnbook.

President Nelson died in Salt Lake City on Sept. 27, 2025, at the age of 101, the oldest President in the history of the Church.

LATTER-DAY PROPHETS AND APOSTLES

Compiled by David Schneider

Following is a list of senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from its April 6, 1830, organization to today, ordered by the Church presidents they served under.

The additional leaders include assistant presidents, First Presidency counselors, other counselors, presidents and acting presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, members of that quorum and others called as apostles. Their years of service follow their names.

JOSEPH SMITH JR.

(April 6, 1830 to June 27, 1844)

ASSISTANT PRESIDENTS

• Oliver Cowdery (1834-1838)

• Joseph Smith Sr. (1834)

• Hyrum Smith (1834, 1841-1844)

• John C. Bennett (1841-1842)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Sidney Rigdon (1832-1844)

• Jesse Gause (1832)

• Frederick G. Williams (1833-1837)

• Hyrum Smith (1837-1841)

• Joseph Smith Sr. (1837-1840)

• John Smith (1837-1844)

• William Law (1841-1844)

• Amasa M. Lyman (1843-1844)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS, ACTING PRESIDENTS

• Thomas B. Marsh (1835-1839)

• Brigham Young (1840-1847)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Thomas B. Marsh (1835-1839)

• David W. Patten (1835-1838)

• Brigham Young (1835-1847)

• Heber C. Kimball (1835-1847)

• Orson Hyde (1835-1839, 1839-1878

• William E. McLellin (1835-1836, 1837-1838)

• Parley P. Pratt (1835-1857)

• Luke Johnson (1835-1838)

• William B. Smith (1835-1839, 1839-1845)

• Orson Pratt (1835-1842, 1843-1881)

• John F. Boynton (1835-1837)

• Lyman E. Johnson (1835-1838)

• John E. Page (1838-1846)

• John Taylor (1838-1880)

• Wilford Woodruff (1839-1889)

• George A. Smith (1839-1868)

• Willard Richards (1840-1847)

• Lyman Wight (1841-1848)

• Amasa M. Lyman (1842-1843, 1844-1867)

Apostolic interregnum (1844-1847)

BRIGHAM YOUNG

(Dec. 27, 1847 to Aug. 29, 1877)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Heber C. Kimball (1847-1868)

• Willard Richards (1847-1854)

• Jedediah M. Grant (1854-1856)

• Daniel H. Wells (1857-1877)

• Joseph F. Smith (1866-1877)

• George A. Smith (1868-1875)

• John W. Young (1873-1877)

• Lorenzo Snow (1873-1877)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1873-1877)

• Albert Carrington (1873-1877)

• George Q. Cannon (1873-1877)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS, ACTING PRESIDENTS

• Orson Hyde (1847-1875)

• John Taylor (1875-1880)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Orson Hyde (1835-1839, 1839-1878)

• Parley P. Pratt (1835-1857)

• Orson Pratt (1835-1842, 1843-1881)

• John Taylor (1838-1880)

• Wilford Woodruff (1839-1889)

• George A. Smith (1839-1868)

• Lyman Wight (1841-1848)

• Amasa M. Lyman (1842-1843, 1844-1867)

• Ezra T. Benson (1846-1869)

• Charles C. Rich (1849-1883)

• Lorenzo Snow (1849-1898)

• Erastus Snow (1849-1888)

• Franklin D. Richards (1849-1899)

• George Q. Cannon (1860-1880)

• Joseph F. Smith (1867-1880)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1868-1903)

• Albert Carrington (1870-1885)

OTHER APOSTLES

• Jedediah M. Grant (1854)

• Daniel H. Wells (1857, 1877-1891)

• John W. Young (1864-1891)

• Joseph A. Young (1864-1875)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1864-1868)

• Joseph F. Smith (1866-1867) Apostolic interregnum (1877-1880)

JOHN TAYLOR

(Oct. 10, 1880 to July 25, 1887)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• George Q. Cannon (1880-1887)

• Joseph F. Smith (1880-1887)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT

• Wilford Woodruff (1880-1889)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Orson Pratt (1835-1842, 1843-1881)

• Wilford Woodruff (1839-1889)

• Charles C. Rich (1849-1883)

• Lorenzo Snow (1849-1898)

• Erastus Snow (1849-1888)

• Franklin D. Richards (1849-1899)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1868-1903)

• Albert Carrington (1870-1885)

• Moses Thatcher (1879-1896)

• Francis M. Lyman (1880-1916)

• John Henry Smith (1880-1910)

• George Teasdale (1882-1907)

• Heber J. Grant (1882-1918)

• John W. Taylor (1884-1905)

OTHER APOSTLES

• Daniel H. Wells (1857, 1877-1891)

• John W. Young (1864-1891) Apostolic interregnum (1887-1889)

WILFORD WOODRUFF

(April 7, 1889, to Sept. 2, 1898)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• George Q. Cannon (1889-1898)

• Joseph F. Smith (1889-1898)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT

• Lorenzo Snow (1889-1898)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Lorenzo Snow (1849-1898)

• Franklin D. Richards (1849-1899)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1868-1903)

• Moses Thatcher (1879-1896)

• Francis M. Lyman (1880-1916)

• John Henry Smith (1880-1910)

• George Teasdale (1882-1907)

• Heber J. Grant (1882-1918)

• John W. Taylor (1884-1905)

• Marriner W. Merrill (1889-1906)

• Anthon H. Lund (1889-1901)

• Abraham H. Cannon (1889-1896)

• Matthias Cowley (1897-1905)

• Abraham O. Woodruff (1897-1904)

OTHER APOSTLES

• Daniel H. Wells (1857, 1877-1891)

• John W. Young (1864-1891) Apostolic interregnum (Sept. 2-13, 1898)

LORENZO SNOW

(Sept. 13, 1898 to Oct. 10, 1901)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• George Q. Cannon (1898-1901)

• Joseph F. Smith (1898-1901)

• Rudger Clawson (1901)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Franklin D. Richards (1898-1899)

• Joseph F. Smith (1899-1901)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1899-1901)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Franklin D. Richards (1849-1899)

• Brigham Young Jr. (1868-1903)

• Francis M. Lyman (1880-1916)

• John Henry Smith (1880-1910)

• George Teasdale (1882-1907)

• Heber J. Grant (1882-1918)

• John W. Taylor (1884-1905)

• Marriner W. Merrill (1889-1906)

• Anthon H. Lund (1889-1901)

• Matthias Cowley (1897-1905)

• Abraham O. Woodruff (1897-1904)

• Rudger Clawson (1898-1943)

• Reed Smoot (1900-1941)

Apostolic interregnum (Oct. 10-17, 1901)

JOSEPH F. SMITH

(Oct. 17, 1901 to Nov. 19, 1918)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• John R. Winder (1901-1910)

• Anthon H. Lund (1901-1918)

• John Henry Smith (1910-1911)

• Charles W. Penrose (1911-1918)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS

• Brigham Young Jr. (1901-1903)

• Francis M. Lyman (1903-1916)

• Heber J. Grant (1916-1918)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Brigham Young Jr. (1868-1903)

• Francis M. Lyman (1880-1916)

• John Henry Smith (1880-1910)

• George Teasdale (1882-1907)

• Heber J. Grant (1882-1918)

• John W. Taylor (1884-1905)

• Marriner W. Merrill (1889-1906)

• Matthias Cowley (1897-1905)

• Abraham O. Woodruff (1897-1904)

• Rudger Clawson (1898-1943)

• Reed Smoot (1900-1941)

• Hyrum Mack Smith (1901-1918)

• George Albert Smith (1903-1945)

• Charles W. Penrose (1904-1911)

• George F. Richards (1906-1950)

• Orson F. Whitney (1906-1931)

• David O. McKay (1906-1934)

• Anthony W. Ivans (1907-1921)

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-1970)

• James E. Talmage (1911-1933)

• Stephen L. Richards (1917-1951)

• Richard R. Lyman (1918-1943)

Apostolic interregnum (Nov. 19-23, 1918)

HEBER J. GRANT

(Nov. 23, 1918 to May 14, 1945)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Anthon H. Lund (1918-1921)

• Charles W. Penrose (1918-1925)

• Anthony W. Ivins (1921-1934)

• Charles W. Nibley (1925-1931)

• J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1933-1945)

• David O. McKay (1934-1945)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Anthon H. Lund (1918-1921)

• Rudger Clawson (1918-1943)

• George Albert Smith (1943-1945)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Rudger Clawson (1898-1943)

• Reed Smoot (1900-1941)

• George Albert Smith (1903-1945)

• George F. Richards (1906-1950)

• Orson F. Whitney (1906-1931)

• David O. McKay (1906-1934)

• Anthony W. Ivans (1907-1921)

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-1970)

• James E. Talmage (1911-1933)

• Stephen L. Richards (1917-1951)

• Richard R. Lyman (1918-1943)

• Melvin J. Ballard (1919-1939)

• John A. Widtsoe (1921-1952)

• Joseph F. Merrill (1931-1952)

• Charles A. Callis (1933-1947)

• J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1934)

• Alonzo A. Hinckley (1934-1936)

• Albert E. Bowen (1937-1953)

• Sylvester Q. Cannon (1939-1943)

• Harold B. Lee (1941-1970)

• Spencer W. Kimball (1943-1973)

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

OTHER APOSTLES

• Sylvester Q. Cannon (1938-1939)

Apostolic interregnum (May 14-21, 1945)

GEORGE ALBERT SMITH

(May 21, 1945 to April 4, 1951)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1945-1951)

• David O. McKay (1934-1945)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS, ACTING PRESIDENT

• George F. Richards (1945-1950)

• David O. McKay (1950-1951)

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1950-1951)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• George F. Richards (1906-1950)

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-1970)

• Stephen L. Richards (1917-1951)

• John A. Widtsoe (1921-1952)

• Joseph F. Merrill (1931-1952)

• Charles A. Callis (1933-1947)

• Albert E. Bowen (1937-1953)

• Harold B. Lee (1941-1970)

• Spencer W. Kimball (1943-1973)

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

• Matthew Cowley (1945-1953)

• Henry D. Moyle (1947-1959)

• Delbert L. Stapley (1950-1978) Apostolic interregnum (April 4-9, 1951)

DAVID O. MCKAY

(April 9, 1951 to Jan. 18, 1970)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Stephen L. Richards (1951-1959)

• J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1951-1961)

• Henry D. Moyle (1959-1963)

• Hugh B. Brown (1961-1970)

• N. Eldon Tanner (1963-1970)

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1965-1970)

• Thorpe B. Isaacson (1965-1970)

• Alvin R. Dyer (1968-1970)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1951-1970)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-1970)

• John A. Widtsoe (1921-1952)

• Joseph F. Merrill (1931-1952)

• Albert E. Bowen (1937-1953)

• Harold B. Lee (1941-1970)

• Spencer W. Kimball (1943-1973)

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

• Matthew Cowley (1945-1953)

• Henry D. Moyle (1947-1959)

• Delbert L. Stapley (1950-1978)

• Marion G. Romney (1951-1972, 1985-1988)

• LeGrand Richards (1952-1983)

• Adam S. Bennion (1953-1958)

• Richard L. Evans (1953-1971)

• George Q. Morris (1954-1962)

• Hugh B. Brown (1958-1961, 1970-1975)

• Howard W. Hunter (1959-1994)

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1961-1981)

• N. Eldon Tanner (1962-1963)

• Thomas S. Monson (1963-1985)

OTHER APOSTLES

• Alvin R. Dyer (1967-1977) Apostolic interregnum (Jan. 18-23, 1970)

JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH

(Jan. 23, 1970 to July 2, 1972)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Harold B. Lee (1970-1972)

• N. Eldon Tanner (1970-1972)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Harold B. Lee (1970-1972)

• Spencer W. Kimball (1970-1972)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Spencer W. Kimball (1943-1973)

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

• Delbert L. Stapley (1950-1978)

• Marion G. Romney (1951-1972, 1985-1988)

• LeGrand Richards (1952-1983)

• Richard L. Evans (1953-1971)

• Hugh B. Brown (1958-1961, 1970-1975)

• Howard W. Hunter (1959-1994)

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1961-1981)

• Thomas S. Monson (1963-1985)

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• Marvin J. Ashton (1971-1994)

Apostolic interregnum (July 2-7, 1972)

HAROLD B. LEE

(July 7, 1972 to Dec. 26, 1973)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• N. Eldon Tanner (1972-1973)

• Marion G. Romney (1972-1973)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT

• Spencer W. Kimball (1972-1973)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Spencer W. Kimball (1943-1973)

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

• Delbert L. Stapley (1950-1978)

• LeGrand Richards (1952-1983)

• Hugh B. Brown (1958-1961, 1970-1975)

• Howard W. Hunter (1959-1994)

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1961-1981)

• Thomas S. Monson (1963-1985)

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• Marvin J. Ashton (1971-1994)

• Bruce R. McConkie (1972-1985) Apostolic interregnum (Dec. 26-30, 1973)

SPENCER W. KIMBALL

(Dec. 30, 1973 to Nov. 5, 1985)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• N. Eldon Tanner (1973-1982)

• Marion G. Romney (1973-1985)

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1981-1985)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT

• Ezra Taft Benson (1973-1985)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Ezra Taft Benson (1943-1985)

• Mark E. Petersen (1944-1984)

• Delbert L. Stapley (1950-1978)

• LeGrand Richards (1952-1983)

• Hugh B. Brown (1958-1961, 1970-1975)

• Howard W. Hunter (1959-1994)

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1961-1981)

• Thomas S. Monson (1963-1985)

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• Marvin J. Ashton (1971-1994)

• Bruce R. McConkie (1972-1985)

• L. Tom Perry (1974-2015)

• David B. Haight (1976-2004)

• James E. Faust (1978-1995)

• Neal A. Maxwell (1981-2004)

• Russell M. Nelson (1984-2018)

• Dallin H. Oaks (1984-2018)

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023) Apostolic interregnum (Nov. 5-10, 1985)

EZRA TAFT BENSON

(Nov. 10, 1985 to May 30, 1994)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1985-1994)

• Thomas S. Monson (1985-1994)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Marion G. Romney (1985-1988)

• Howard W. Hunter (1985-1994)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Marion G. Romney (1951-1972, 1985-1988)

• Howard W. Hunter (1959-1994)

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• Marvin J. Ashton (1971-1994)

• L. Tom Perry (1974-2015)

• David B. Haight (1976-2004)

• James E. Faust (1978-1995)

• Neal A. Maxwell (1981-2004)

• Russell M. Nelson (1984-2018)

• Dallin H. Oaks (1984-2018)

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023)

• Joseph B. Wirthlin (1986-2008)

• Richard G. Scott (1988-2015)

• Robert D. Hales (1994-2017) Apostolic interregnum (May 30–June 5, 1994)

HOWARD W. HUNTER

(June 5, 1994 to March 3, 1995)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1994-1995)

• Thomas S. Monson (1994-1995)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Gordon B. Hinckley (1994-1995)

• Boyd K. Packer (1994-1995)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• L. Tom Perry (1974-2015)

• David B. Haight (1976-2004)

• James E. Faust (1978-1995)

• Neal A. Maxwell (1981-2004)

• Russell M. Nelson (1984-2018)

• Dallin H. Oaks (1984-2018)

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023)

• Joseph B. Wirthlin (1986-2008)

• Richard G. Scott (1988-2015)

• Robert D. Hales (1994-2017)

• Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-2025) Apostolic interregnum (March 3-12, 1995)

GORDON B. HINCKLEY

(March 12, 1995 to Jan. 27, 2008)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Thomas S. Monson (1995-2008)

• James E. Faust (1995-2007)

• Henry B. Eyring (2007-2008)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENT

• Thomas S. Monson (1995-2008)

• Boyd K. Packer (1995-2008)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• L. Tom Perry (1974-2015)

• David B. Haight (1976-2004)

• Neal A. Maxwell (1981-2004)

• Russell M. Nelson (1984-2018)

• Dallin H. Oaks (1984-2018)

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023)

• Joseph B. Wirthlin (1986-2008)

• Richard G. Scott (1988-2015)

• Robert D. Hales (1994-2017)

• Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-2025)

• Henry B. Eyring (1995-2007)

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2004-2008, 2018-current)

• David A. Bednar (2004-current)

• Quentin L. Cook (2007-current) Apostolic interregnum (Jan. 27–Feb. 3, 2008)

THOMAS S. MONSON

(Feb. 3, 2008 to Jan. 2, 2018)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Henry B. Eyring (2008-2018)

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2008-2018)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENTS

• Boyd K. Packer (2008-2015)

• Russell M. Nelson (2015-2018)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Boyd K. Packer (1970-2015)

• L. Tom Perry (1974-2015)

• Russell M. Nelson (1984-2018)

• Dallin H. Oaks (1984-2018)

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023)

• Joseph B. WIrthlin (1986-2008)

• Richard G. Scott (1988-2015)

• Robert D. Hales (1994-2017)

• Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-2025)

• David A. Bednar (2004-current)

• Quentin L. Cook (2007-current)

• D. Todd Christofferson (2008-2025)

• Neil L. Andersen (2009-current)

• Ronald A. Rasband (2015-current)

• Gary E. Stevenson (2015-current)

• Dale G. Renlund (2015-current) Apostolic interregnum (Jan. 2-14, 2018)

RUSSELL M. NELSON

(Jan. 14, 2018 to Sept. 27, 2025)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Dallin H. Oaks (2018-2025)

• Henry B. Eyring (2018-2025)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENTS

• Dallin H. Oaks (2018-2025)

• M. Russell Ballard (2018-2023)

• Jeffrey R. Holland (2023-2025)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• M. Russell Ballard (1985-2023)

• Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-2025)

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2004-2008, 2018-current)

• David A. Bednar (2004-current)

• Quentin L. Cook (2007-current)

• D. Todd Christofferson (2008-2025)

• Neil L. Andersen (2009-current)

• Ronald A. Rasband (2015-current)

• Gary E. Stevenson (2015-current)

• Dale G. Renlund (2015-current)

• Gerrit W. Gong (2018-current)

• Ulisses Soares (2018-current)

• Patrick Kearon (2023-current) Apostolic interregnum (Sept. 27–Oct. 14, 2025)

DALLIN H. OAKS

(Oct. 14, 2025 to current)

FIRST PRESIDENCY COUNSELORS

• Henry B. Eyring (2025-current)

• D.Todd Christofferson (2025-current)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES PRESIDENT, ACTING PRESIDENTS

• Jeffrey R. Holland (2025)

• Henry B. Eyring (2025-current)

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2026-current)

QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES MEMBERS

• Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-2025)

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2004-2008, 2018-current)

• David A. Bednar (2004-current)

• Quentin L. Cook (2007-current)

• Neil L. Andersen (2009-current)

• Ronald A. Rasband (2015-current)

• Gary E. Stevenson (2015-current)

• Dale G. Renlund (2015-current)

• Gerrit W. Gong (2018-current)

• Ulisses Soares (2018-current)

• Patrick Kearon (2023-current)

• Gérald Caussé (2025-current)

• Clark G. Gilbert (2026-current)

Burley, Idaho

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, arrive for the Burley Idaho Temple dedication in Burley, Idaho, on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News

‘ GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD’

From Azerbaijan to Zambia, see how latter-day prophets and apostles are heeding the Savior’s commission and testifying of Him around the globe

By Joel Randall

Among His final words before ascending into heaven, the resurrected Savior exhorted His New Testament disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

With faith and fervor they followed, obediently preaching the name of Jesus Christ far and wide for the rest of their days — preparing the world for their Master’s return.

So it’s no surprise that latter-day apostles of the Lord have been given a similar charge to prepare the world for Christ’s Second Coming.

Through revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 112:28, the Lord commands His Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“Go ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it.”

This past year, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints saw apostolic visits across six continents and their many nations, from Azerbaijan to Zambia.

Each country they visit, congregation they instruct and civic leader they meet brings the restored gospel closer to Joseph Smith’s 1842 prophecy that “the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear.”

Here’s a sampling of various regions of the world that saw an apostle visit since January 2025.

UNITED STATES / CANADA

Grand Blanc, Michigan

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, embrace each other as they look at the remains of a Church meetinghouse in Grand Blanc, Michigan — the scene of a fire and shooting — on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Salt Lake City

President Dallin H. Oaks, left, and President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, right, meet His Holiness Brahmavihari Swamiji, head of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Hindu Mandir Abu Dhabi, on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Washington, D.C.

Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles embraces Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, ambassador of Mexico to the United States, at the Festival of Lights at the Washington D.C. Temple grounds in Kensington, Maryland, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

MEXICO / CENTRAL AMERICA / CARIBBEAN

Mexico City, Mexico

Then-Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testifies of God’s “divine support” in a radio interview with well-known radio host Mariano Osorio in Mexico City, Mexico, in late May 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Gerrit W.

|

Then-Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks with a young man at a church near San José, Costa

|

Kingston, Jamaica

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets a sister missionary in Kingston, Jamaica, on Feb. 8, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

San José, Costa Rica

Rica, in January 2025.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Mexico City, Mexico

Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets attendees at a devotional in Mexico City, Mexico, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

SOUTH AMERICA

Lima, Peru

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, center right, speaks at a centennial celebration in Santiago, Chile, to commemorate 100 years of having the restored gospel in South America, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Bogotá, Colombia

Then-Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets meeting attendees in Bogotá, Colombia, during his ministry there in January 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Santiago, Chile

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets young adults at a devotional in Santiago, Chile, on May 28, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Curitiba, Brazil

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, left, talks with Paraná Gov. Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior in Curitiba, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

EUROPE

Paris, France

Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Valérie Caussé, speak with the Pelous family in Paris, France, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Elder Caussé ministered to Sylvian Pelous for many years more than 20 years ago. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

London, England

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, right, and Catholic Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, left, listen as Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Angaelos talks about his church on Thursday, May 29, 2025, before an interfaith meeting in London, England. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Istanbul, Türkiye

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shakes hands with H.A.H. Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, after a session of the World Council of Religions for Peace in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Brussels, Belgium

President Dallin H. Oaks, then first counselor in the First Presidency, greets members and friends of the Church gathered for a devotional in Brussels, Belgium, on July 13, 2025. The devotional was also broadcast live in 24 languages for 37 countries in Europe. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Then-Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gives a replica of the Christus statue to Julius Maada Wonie Bio, president of Sierra Leone, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Feb. 20, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Nairobi, Kenya

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets young adults from South Sudan, some who are currently serving missions, in Nairobi, Kenya, Oct. 25, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, center, and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, left, meet Latter-day Saints at a stake conference in Cotonou, Benin, in August 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Lusaka, Zambia

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, greet women following a meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Cotonou, Benin

ASIA

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, greet members following a district conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 23, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Members of the Amarbayasgalan family listen to Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, talk about the upcoming Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple inside their home, also known as a ger, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Albay, Philippines

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invites Latter-day Saints to reflect on why the Lord is building so many temples in the Philippines, during a devotional in Albay, Philippines, in February 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Busan, South Korea

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets young children and their mother after a devotional in Busan, South Korea, where he testified to youth of their divine worth, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder

after

on Tuesday, March

Solomon Islands

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, make a heart sign with their hands following a devotional in the Solomon Islands on May 16, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Auckland, New Zealand

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles waves

speaking in a devotional in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea,

18, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets Keira Aiono after the Auckland New Zealand Temple dedication in Auckland, New Zealand, on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News