Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976. As the title of the calling suggests, men who held this position assisted the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. Assistants to the Twelve were general authorities

General authority

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...

, and were generally assigned by the Twelve Apostles to preside over and speak at 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; re-organize stakes; tour missions

Mission (LDS Church)

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...

; and assist in the direction of worldwide missionary work. Like Counselor in the First Presidency

First Presidency

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...

, Assistant to the Twelve was not a distinct priesthood office—rather, it was a calling that any worthy high priest

High priest (Mormonism)

In most denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, a high priest is a member of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood order. High priests are typically older and more seasoned leaders within the priesthood. The term derives in part from the Epistle to the Hebrews which describes...

 could be called to fill.

In April 1941, Church President Heber J. Grant

Heber J. Grant

Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...

 called five men to serve as Assistants to the Twelve. No more Assistants to the Twelve were called until 1951; the church continued to call Assistants to the Twelve throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and the first half of the 1970s.

Of the 38 men who held the calling of Assistant to the Twelve, thirteen later became members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Marion G. Romney

Marion G. Romney

Marion George Romney was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...

, George Q. Morris

George Q. Morris

George Quayle Morris was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1954 until his death....

, Hugh B. Brown

Hugh B. Brown

Hugh Brown Brown was an attorney, educator and author and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

, 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...

, N. Eldon Tanner, Boyd K. Packer

Boyd K. Packer

Boyd Kenneth Packer is an American educator and religious leader, and the current president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He served as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1994 to 2008, and has been an apostle and member of...

, Marvin J. Ashton

Marvin J. Ashton

Marvin Jeremy Ashton was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1971 until his death....

, L. Tom Perry

L. Tom Perry

Lowell Tom Perry is a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , having become a member of that body in 1974...

, David B. Haight

David B. Haight

David Bruce Haight was the oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Life and career:...

, James E. Faust

James E. Faust

James Esdras Faust was an American religious leader, lawyer, and politician. Faust was Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1995 until his death, an LDS Church apostle for 29 years, and a general authority of the church for 35...

, Neal A. Maxwell

Neal A. Maxwell

Neal Ash Maxwell was an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1981 until his death.-Life:...

, Robert D. Hales

Robert D. Hales

Robert Dean Hales is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Currently, he is the eighth most senior apostle among the ranks of the Church...

, and Joseph B. Wirthlin

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Joseph Bitner Wirthlin was an American businessman, religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was sustained to the Quorum on October 4, 1986, and ordained an apostle on October 9, 1986 by Thomas S. Monson, following the...

. Additionally, two former Assistants to 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....

 and Thorpe B. Isaacson

Thorpe B. Isaacson

Henry Thorpe Beal Isaacson was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving as a counselor in the First Presidency to church president David O. McKay from 1965 to 1970....

) were ordained to the office of apostle without being made members of the Quorum of the Twelve. Seven Assistants to the Twelve (Romney, Brown, Dyer, Isaacson, Hinckley, Tanner and Faust) later served in the First Presidency of the church, and one (Hinckley) has gone on to become President of the Church.

In 1976, church president Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...

 announced that the calling of Assistant to the Twelve would be discontinued, and that the 22 men then serving in that calling would be ordained to the priesthood office of Seventy

Quorums of the Seventy

Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of several denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 and assigned to the First Quorum of the Seventy, which had been organized in 1975.

The following individuals held the calling of Assistant to Twelve: