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I would guess that the Quorum of the Fourteen Apostles will gather in a temporary Holy of Holies (given that the Salt Lake Temple is closed) on Sunday to put an ignominious end to the so-called apostolic interregnum (a decidedly non-scriptural term) by reorganizing the First Presidency and ordaining a new apostle. A press conference or announcement will probably then follow on Monday or Tuesday. In any case, I’m seeking predictions as to who will be the counselors in the new First Presidency as well as who will be the new apostle. Please cast your vote for each position. No voter ID or valid temple recommend is needed to vote.

For the apostolic picks, I’ve opted to include the names of the members of the Presidency of the Seventy as the first seven options, since the Presidency seems to function as a farm team for the Quorum of the Twelve.

Note: If you select the “General Authority Seventy,” “Presiding Bishopric Member,” or “Other” options, please name your pick in a comment.

Hopefully, they will meet and be inspired to return to the organization of the first-century organization, meaning no new apostles, but they wait until, through attrition, they are at 12. Each passing still allows a first presidency, but the ideal is 12 apostles that include a first presidency.

yellowstone123 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 11, 2025 1:10 pm

Hopefully, they will meet and be inspired to return to the organization of the first-century organization, meaning no new apostles, but they wait until, through attrition, they are at 12. Each passing still allows a first presidency, but the ideal is 12 apostles that include a first presidency.

I have never understood this quorum of the fifteen.

No pressure here, but if you voted for “General Authority Seventy” or “Other,” I would love to see the name of the specific person you believe will be the new apostle.

Posted from Koosharem, Utah

We currently have a six-way tie. Please note that the polls will be open at least through Sunday afternoon. I hope SeN posters and the Brethren will weigh in.

Posted from Koosharem, Utah

Church precedent for ordaining a new apostle following the reorganization of a First Presidency may be instructive in predicting when church leaders will ordain an apostle to fill the vacancy created by Russell Nelson’s death. Here is precedent since 1900:

10 October 1901: Snow dies
17 October 1901: First Presidency reorganized
24 October 1901: Hyrum Smith ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 7 days

19 November 1918: Joseph F. Smith dies
23 November 1918: First Presidency reorganized
7 January 1919: Ballard ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 45 days

14 May 1945: Grant dies
21 May 1945: First Presidency reorganized
11 October 1945: Cowley ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 145 days

4 April 1951: George Albert Smith dies
9 April 1951: First Presidency reorganized
11 October 1951: Romney ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 185 days

18 January 1970: McKay dies
23 January 1970: First Presidency reorganized
9 April 1970: Packer ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 76 days

2 July 1972: Joseph Fielding Smith dies
7 July 1972: First Presidency reorganized
12 October 1972: McConkie ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 92 days

26 December 1973: Lee dies
30 December 1973: First Presidency reorganized
11 April 1974: Perry ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 102 days

5 November 1985: Kimball dies
10 November 1985: First Presidency reorganized
9 October 1986: Wirthlin ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 333 days (why the significant gap?)

30 May 1994: Benson dies
5 June 1994: First Presidency reorganized
23 June 1994: Holland ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 18 days

3 March 1995: Hunter dies
12 March 1995: First Presidency reorganized
6 April 1995: Eyring ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 25 days

27 January 2008: Hinckley dies
3 February 2008: First Presidency reorganized
10 April 2008: Christofferson ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordination of new apostle: 67 days

1 October 2017: Hales dies
2 January 2018: Monson dies
14 January 2018: First Presidency reorganized
5 April 2018: Gong and Soares ordained
Time between reorganization of First Presidency and ordinations of new apostles: 81 days

Doctrine and Covenants 20:65 states: “No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that church.” Does this instruction apply to new apostles? In the past 125 years, church leaders have usually waited until the next general conference to allow church members to sustain the person picked to be an apostle. The ordination follows the sustaining. In a number of cases, however, church leaders have chosen to ordain a new apostle prior to the next general conference. (Patrick Keaton is the most recent example.) In other words, church members did not sustain the new apostle before he was ordained.

Perhaps LDS leaders would say that members “ratified” such ordinations at the following general conferences, although I don’t know that church leaders have ever used this non-scriptural terminology for apostolic ordinations. (Note: Section 18.10.3 of the General Handbook states: “In some cases, a brother may need to be ordained an elder or high priest before he can be presented in stake conference. When this happens, he is presented in his ward sacrament meeting for sustaining. He is then presented in the next stake conference to ratify the ordination (adapting the process for sustaining, described above).”)

Will Oaks wait to have the next apostle sustained at the April 2026 general conference before the ordination takes place or will he decide to ordain someone in the next few months? We shall see.

I’ve extended the voting period. If a new apostle is not named in the next 30 days, I will extend the voting period again. Please vote!

I’m pleased to announce that Gérald Caussé is the newest apostle. I am not making this up. Congratulations to those who picked him in the poll.

As the presiding bishop (2015-2025) and counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (2012-2015), Caussé was a member of Ensign Peak Advisors’ four-member Board of Trustees. That means that he played a significant role in the SEC scandal.

https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/ad ... -96951.pdf

Tom wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 07, 2025 12:11 am

I’m pleased to announce that Gérald Caussé is the newest apostle. I am not making this up. Congratulations to those who picked him in the poll.

As the presiding bishop (2015-2025) and counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (2012-2015), Caussé was a member of Ensign Peak Advisors’ four-member Board of Trustees. That means that he played a significant role in the SEC scandal.

https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/ad ... -96951.pdf

Merde alors.