SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a new First Presidency.
On Tuesday, in a live broadcast from Temple Square, President Dallin H. Oaks was named the new leader of the global faith. Henry B. Eyring, 92, and D. Todd Christofferson, 80, were both announced as counselors in the First Presidency, which is the highest governing body of the Church.
Jeffrey R. Holland, 84, has been announced as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“I humbly accept the responsibility God has given me and devote my whole heart and soul to the service to which I have been called,” President Oaks, 93, said in a brief speech after the announcement. “I testify that the Lord speaks to and through the apostles of his church according to the arrangement which has been revealed to us in these last days.”
This is President Eyring’s fourth time serving in the First Presidency. On Tuesday’s show, he declared his love and support for President Oaks.
“I know that he is by inspiration the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” President Eyring said. “I saw the power of God come upon him and it comforted me to know that, just as in times past when Peter and others led the Church, people would be able to recognize that it was the servant of the Lord who led His church.”
This is President Christofferson’s first time serving in the First Presidency. A lawyer, he was first called an apostle in 2008.
“I confess that this is not what I expected when I woke up this morning, but I am deeply honored by this call and I am confident that it will bear fruit,” said President Christofferson. “At the same time, I recognize that I am called not to be honored but to serve, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside President Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring.”
President Holland also expressed his support for President Oaks as he takes leadership of the Church.
“We love him. We knew him,” President Holland said. “We watched him prepare and had confirmation that this was the will of the Lord today, and it was a unanimous and very, very moving experience to see that mantle fall fully on President Oaks.”
The announcement comes more than two weeks after the death of President Russell M. Nelson, who led the Church since 2018. President Nelson died at his home in Salt Lake City on September 27 at the age of 101.
Since the death of President Nelson, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has led the Church. This is the longest period since the late 1800s between the death of a prophet and the reorganization of the First Presidency.
President Oaks hailed the late president as a “magnificent prophet of the Lord” and added that “there is much to be done” for the ministry of Christ on Earth.
“We pray for all. We seek to serve all and we invoke the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ on all who seek to serve Him with dignity, commitment and optimism,” he said. “We do not have the answers to all of the world’s problems. They have not been revealed. But what we do know is that we are all children of heavenly parents and we are called to serve all of God’s children in this wonderful restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
The announcement of the new First Presidency was posted on the Church website and social media. Unlike previous announcements, no press conference took place.
President Oaks recently served as First Counselor in the First Presidency, alongside President Nelson, since January 14, 2018. As the most senior Apostle, he was next in line to serve as President of the Church.
President Oaks was born in Provo on August 12, 1932 and is the father of six children. June Dixon Oaks, his first wife and mother of his children, died in 1998. In 2000, he married Kristen M. McMain in the Salt Lake Temple. He has 29 grandchildren and over 60 great-grandchildren.
President Oaks believes strongly in education, something passed on to him by his mother, who earned an advanced degree from Columbia University in New York and became director of adult education for the Provo School District and, in 1955, the first female council member in the history of the City of Provo.
President Oaks graduated from BYU in 1954 and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1957. He practiced law and taught law in Chicago for several years before serving as president of BYU from 1971 to 1980, during which time the J. Reuben Clark School of Law was founded.
In 1980, President Oaks became a Justice of the Utah Supreme Court until he resigned in 1984 to accept his calling as an Apostle. President Oaks was only 51 years old at the time and was the youngest member of the quorum since 1970, when Boyd K. Packer was called at age 45.
“I have enjoyed my work in the legal profession. It has been a delight. I never anticipated that I would do anything outside of that field,” Elder Oaks told Church-produced Ensign magazine at the time of his appointment. “But just as service in the Church is never sought, it is not refused. …Many years ago, Thomas Jefferson coined the metaphor: “The wall between Church and State.” I heard the call from the other side of the wall. I’m busy transitioning from one side of the wall to the other.”
According to the Church, President Oaks has served as an officer or board member of numerous business, educational, and charitable organizations. He is also the author or co-author of books and articles on religious and legal topics. In 2013, he was awarded the Canterbury Medal for “courage in defending religious freedom” by the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom.
Because of his legal experience, President Oaks is a strong supporter of religious freedom and has often spoken passionately about the U.S. Constitution and contemporary legal affairs.
During his tenure as an Apostle, President Oaks met with various government leaders in the United States and abroad on behalf of the Church. He hosted former President Gerald Ford during his tenure as president of BYU, and on June 20, 2009, presented a set of family historical data to then-President Barack Obama, as well as President Thomas S. Monson, during a visit to the Oval Office.
Contribute : Cassidy Wixom
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