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Apostle (Mormonism)
Encyclopedia
In the Latter Day Saint movement
, an Apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ
who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an Apostle is a priesthood
office of high authority within the church hierarchy. In many churches, apostles may be members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of the church. In most Latter Day Saint churches, modern-day apostles are considered to have the same status and authority as the Biblical
Apostles.
In the Latter Day Saint tradition, Apostles and prophets
are believed to be the foundation of the church, with Jesus Christ
himself the chief cornerstone. The Articles of Faith
, written by Joseph Smith, Jr., also mentions Apostles: "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Apostle is the highest priesthood
office of the Melchizedek Priesthood
. The President of the Church is always an Apostle, as are the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In practice, counselors in the First Presidency
are almost always Apostles as well. There are always twelve Apostles in the LDS Church. Thomas S. Monson
is President of the church and Henry B. Eyring
and Dieter F. Uchtdorf
are first and second counselors respectively. President Uchtdorf was called to the First Presidency in February 2008 as part of the reorganization necessitated by Gordon B. Hinckley
's death and Monson's appointment as president. The vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve was filled by D. Todd Christofferson in the April 2008 General Conference.
Some Apostles have been ordained to that office without being included within the Quorum of the Twelve. Alvin R. Dyer
, for example, was ordained an Apostle in 1967. Although he served as a counselor in the First Presidency between 1968 and 1970, upon the death of David O. McKay
he returned to his previous position as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve. Joseph Angell Young
was ordained an Apostle in 1864 but was never a member of either the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency.
Due to a precedent established after the Succession Crisis which occurred after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith Jr., the senior apostle, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, becomes the new President of the Church upon the death of his predecessor. On these occasions, it is at the next general conference
of the church that the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is formally sustained by the members of the Church as the "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator
" and President of the Church. The next most senior Apostle becomes President of the Quorum of the Twelve. If he is called into the First Presidency, the most senior Apostle remaining in the Quorum of the Twelve is called to be the Acting President of that Quorum.
Following their calling to the Apostleship, members of the Quorum are sustained in general conference
as Apostles and prophets, seers, and revelators. This procedure also takes place at other large meetings of church members such as ward and stake
conferences. Each is sustained by name.
Usually the President of the Church ordains a new Apostle, although any other Apostle may ordain a person to that priesthood office. If the President of the Church is unable due to infirmity to ordain a new Apostle, the ordination is usually performed by an Apostle who is a member of the First Presidency or by the President of the Quorum of the Twelve.
The Bible Dictionary of the LDS Church
defines apostle as meaning "one sent forth" and elaborates as follows:
Bruce R. McConkie
also describes each elder and member of the Church as an apostle:
McConkie also explained the meaning of the word "in the ordained sense":
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, an Apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an Apostle is a priesthood
Priesthood (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.Priesthood denotes elements...
office of high authority within the church hierarchy. In many churches, apostles may be members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...
of the church. In most Latter Day Saint churches, modern-day apostles are considered to have the same status and authority as the Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
Apostles.
In the Latter Day Saint tradition, Apostles and prophets
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
are believed to be the foundation of the church, with Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
himself the chief cornerstone. The Articles of Faith
Articles of Faith
Articles of faith are sets of beliefs usually found in creeds, sometimes numbered, and often beginning with "We believe...", which attempt to more or less define the fundamental theology of a given religion, and especially in the Christian Church....
, written by Joseph Smith, Jr., also mentions Apostles: "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Priesthood (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind...
office of the Melchizedek Priesthood
Melchizedek priesthood
The Melchizedek priesthood is the greater of the two orders of priesthood recognized in Mormonism. The others are the Aaronic priesthood and the rarely recognized Patriarchal priesthood...
. The President of the Church is always an Apostle, as are the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In practice, counselors in the First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
are almost always Apostles as well. There are always twelve Apostles in the LDS Church. Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson
Thomas Spencer Monson is an American religious leader and author, and the 16th and current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As president, Monson is considered by adherents of the religion to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" of God's will on earth...
is President of the church and Henry B. Eyring
Henry B. Eyring
Henry Bennion Eyring is an American educational administrator, author, and religious leader. In 2008 Eyring became First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Eyring was the Second Counselor to Gordon B. Hinckley in the First Presidency from October...
and Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf is a German former aviator and airline executive. He currently serves as the Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is the eleventh most senior apostle in the ranks of the Church.-Early life and education:Uchtdorf...
are first and second counselors respectively. President Uchtdorf was called to the First Presidency in February 2008 as part of the reorganization necessitated by Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
's death and Monson's appointment as president. The vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve was filled by D. Todd Christofferson in the April 2008 General Conference.
Some Apostles have been ordained to that office without being included within the Quorum of the Twelve. Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin Rulon Dyer was an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a member of the church's First Presidency from 1968 to 1970....
, for example, was ordained an Apostle in 1967. Although he served as a counselor in the First Presidency between 1968 and 1970, upon the death of David O. McKay
David O. McKay
David Oman McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving from 1951 until his death. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was a general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church...
he returned to his previous position as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve. Joseph Angell Young
Joseph Angell Young
Joseph Angell Young was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Young is one of the few Latter-day Saints in history to have been ordained to the office of apostle without ever becoming a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency of the...
was ordained an Apostle in 1864 but was never a member of either the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency.
Due to a precedent established after the Succession Crisis which occurred after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith Jr., the senior apostle, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, becomes the new President of the Church upon the death of his predecessor. On these occasions, it is at the next general conference
General conference (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a general conference is a meeting for all members of the church for conducting general church business and instruction....
of the church that the President of the Quorum of the Twelve is formally sustained by the members of the Church as the "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator
Prophet, seer, and revelator
Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is currently applied to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
" and President of the Church. The next most senior Apostle becomes President of the Quorum of the Twelve. If he is called into the First Presidency, the most senior Apostle remaining in the Quorum of the Twelve is called to be the Acting President of that Quorum.
Following their calling to the Apostleship, members of the Quorum are sustained in general conference
General conference (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a general conference is a meeting for all members of the church for conducting general church business and instruction....
as Apostles and prophets, seers, and revelators. This procedure also takes place at other large meetings of church members such as ward and stake
Stake (Mormonism)
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations...
conferences. Each is sustained by name.
Usually the President of the Church ordains a new Apostle, although any other Apostle may ordain a person to that priesthood office. If the President of the Church is unable due to infirmity to ordain a new Apostle, the ordination is usually performed by an Apostle who is a member of the First Presidency or by the President of the Quorum of the Twelve.
The Bible Dictionary of the LDS Church
Bible Dictionary (LDS Church)
Bible Dictionary is an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Since 1979, Bible Dictionary has been published as an appendix to most copies of the King James Version of the Bible printed by the LDS Church. The dictionary contains 1285 entries on 196 pages...
defines apostle as meaning "one sent forth" and elaborates as follows:
[Apostle] was the title Jesus gave (Luke 6: 13) to the twelve whom he chose and ordained (John 15: 16) to be his closest disciples during his ministry on earth, and whom he sent forth to represent him after his ascension into heaven. The calling of an apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, particularly of his divinity and of his bodily resurrection from the dead (Acts 1: 22; D&C 107: 23). Twelve men with this high calling constitute an administrative council in the work of the ministry. When a vacancy occurred with the death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was divinely appointed to that special office as a member of the council (Acts 1: 15-26). Today twelve men with this same divine calling and ordination constitute the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The title was also applied to others who, though not of the number of the original twelve, yet were called to serve as special witnesses of the Lord. Paul repeatedly spoke of himself as an apostle (Rom. 1: 1; 1 Cor. 1: 1; 1 Cor. 9: 1; Gal. 1: 1). He applied the titles to James, the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1: 19), and also to Barnabas (1 Cor. 9: 5-6; cf. Acts 14: 4, 14). The New Testament does not inform us whether these three brethren also served in the council of the Twelve as vacancies occurred therein, or whether they were apostles strictly in the sense of being special witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to as an apostle in Heb. 3: 1-2, a designation meaning that he is the personal and select representative of the Father.
Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce Redd McConkie was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 until his death...
also describes each elder and member of the Church as an apostle:
Every elder in the Church is or should be an apostle; that is, as a minister of the Lord and as a recipient of personal revelation from the Holy Ghost, every elder has the call to bear witness of the truth on all proper occasions. Indeed, every member should have apostolic insight and revelation, and is under obligation to raise the warning voice. (D&C 88:81; Mosiah 18:9)
McConkie also explained the meaning of the word "in the ordained sense":
...an apostle is one who is ordained to the office of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Ordinarily those so ordained are also set apart as members of the Council of the Twelve and are given all of the keys of the kingdom of God on earth. This apostleship carries the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel in all the world and also of administering the affairs of the Church. Christ "chose twelve, whom also he named apostles" (Luke 6:13), and upon their shoulders the burden of the kingdom rested after he ascended to his Father (1 Cor. 12:28.) The original Twelve in latter-days were selected by revelation by the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon (D. & C. 18:26-47.)
See also
- List of Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)
- Three WitnessesThree WitnessesThe Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
- Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)In the Community of Christ, The Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of Apostle, and are responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church...