Dies ist eine alte Version dieser Seite, zuletzt bearbeitet am 19. August 2007 um 15:39 Uhr durch 71.98.95.216(Diskussion)(→Membership). Sie kann sich erheblich von der aktuellen Version unterscheiden.
The First Presidency is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. Most First Presidencies have been composed of the president and two counselors, but circumstances have occasionally required additional ones (for example, David O. McKay had five during the final years of his presidency and at one point Brigham Young had eight). These additional counselors, while full members of the First Presidency, are not members of the Quorum of the First Presidency—a Priesthood quorum consisting of only the President and his first two counselors.
Counselors are usually chosen from the among the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, although there have been a number of exceptions where members of the church's Presiding Bishopric or the church at large were called to be counselors. Any high priest of the church is eligible to be called as a counselor in the First Presidency. There have also been a few cases where counselors have been ordained to the priesthood office of apostle and became members of the Quorum of the Twelve after already being set apart as counselors in the First Presidency (e.g., J. Reuben Clark). There have been other cases where counselors have been ordained to the office of apostle but not set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve (e.g., Alvin R. Dyer). Other counselors in the First Presidency were never ordained to the office of apostle (e.g., Charles W. Nibley; John R. Winder). Whether or not a counselor is an apostle, all members of the First Presidency are sustained by the church as prophets, seers, and revelators.
Counselors are formally designated as "First Counselor in the First Presidency" and "Second Counselor in the First Presidency" based on the order they were selected by the president. Additional counselors have been designated in different ways, including "Third Counselor in the First Presidency" (e.g., Hugh B. Brown), "Assistant Counselor to the President" (e.g., John Willard Young), and simply "Counselor in the First Presidency" (e.g., Thorpe B. Isaacson).
Counselors serve in the First Presidency until their own deaths, until the death of the church president who called them, or until they are released by the church president. The death of a church president dissolves the First Presidency, and leaves the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as the senior leader of the church. The death or release of a counselor does not dissolve the First Presidency.
Often, the surviving counselors of the late president will be called as counselors in the new First Presidency, but a notably infirm counselor may revert to his place among the Twelve Apostles with a healthier man called as counselor in his place. On the death or release of a first counselor, the second counselor usually succeeds and a new second counselor is named. Although this is a fairly common occurrence, there are no hard and fast rules about such practices and each president is free to choose the counselors he prefers.
Though there has not been a popular movement in the church to have a member of the First Presidency removed or punished for many years, a member could theoretically be removed from his position or otherwise disciplined by the Common Council of the Church.
Duties
The First Presidency is the highest ranking priesthoodquorum of the church. The counselors assist the church president and work closely with him in guiding the entire church and carrying out the duties of the president of the church. The First Presidency has the theoretical authority to make the final decision on nearly all issues which might affect the church or its operations, though in practice the First Presidency has delegated much of its decision-making power to members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, and local leaders of the church. Nevertheless, the First Presidency has retained its overarching decision-making power in a number of significant areas and may at any time choose to overrule the decisions of a lesser church quorum or authority.
In the case of an infirm president, his counselors may be called upon to perform more of the duties of the First Presidency that would normally be performed by the president. If needed, any number of additional counselors may be called to assist them, though the president of the church remains the only person on the earth authorized to use allpriesthood keys. All members of the First Presidency are sustained by the membership of the church as prophets, seers, and revelators.
The current First Presidency is composed of Gordon B. Hinckley, President, and Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor. The position of Second Councilor is currently vacant since the death of James E. Faust on 10 August, 2007. Prior to his death, the composition of the First Presidency had remained unchanged since 12 March, 1995 and had been the longest consecutive presidency in church history. Traditionally vacancies among counselors are filled at the subsequent General Conference of the Church. It is expected a new second counselor will be announced in October 2007.
Joseph F. Smith called as First Counselor; Rudger Clawson called as Second Counselor. NOTE: These counselors were sustained but not set apart due to the death of Snow 4 days later
Members of the First Presidency who were not Apostles
There is no requirement that counselors in the First Presidency be apostles of the church. The following men served as a counselor in the First Presidency during the years indicated and were never ordained to the priesthood office of Apostle:
The church employs a secretary to assist the First Presidency in its administrative duties. The position is paid employment and its holder is not formally considered to be a member of the First Presidency or a general authority of the church. However, it is common for letters from the office of the First Presidency to private individuals to bear the signature of the Presidency's secretary as opposed to any of the members of the Presidency.
The First Presidency also employs assistant secretaries and press secretaries.
