How latter-day Apostles are called in the Church of Jesus Christ (2024)

The Friday, Dec. 8, announcement that Elder Patrick Kearon had been called and ordained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles the previous day may have caught some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a little off-guard.

President M. Russell Ballard, the late acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had died less than month before, on Nov. 12. And the next general conference — when new apostles are most often announced and sustained — was still some four months away, in April 2024.

That’s what happened the last time new apostles were called — Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares were announced and sustained during the April 2018 general conference. And likewise before that, when Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Elder Dale G. Renlund were announced and sustained during the October 2015 general conference.

In fact, that’s been the common practice for the past three decades, including nearly all the 15 apostles who comprise the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles today.

But the timing of filling a vacancy at the next possible general conference to fill a vacancy created by the passing of an apostle isn’t the set pattern that some may think it is.

Special witnesses of Christ

Jesus Christ used the title “apostle” for the Twelve whom He chose and ordained (Luke 6:13;John 15:16), sending these closest disciples to represent Him and to minister for Him after His Ascension. Anciently, as well as in latter days, an apostle is a special witness of Christ to all the world. (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23).

“The call to the holy apostleship is one of witness to the world of the divinity of the Lord Jesus the Christ,” said President Russell M. Nelson, at the time of his call to serve in that capacity in 1984.

Apostles devote their lives to full-time Church service, with significant administrative responsibilities in overseeing the operation and development of a global Church.

Members of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles hold the keys of the priesthood (Doctrine and Covenants 107:35). The quorum is the second-highest body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the First Presidency — also comprised of men having been ordained as apostles — is the highest.

By inspiration, apostles are chosen by the President of the Church, sustained or ratified by the general membership of the Church and ordained by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by the laying on of hands.

No balloting, no set timetable

There is no balloting by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve to determine a new apostle, although the members of those two may be asked to suggest names to the President of the Church, who then makes the ultimate decision through revelation.

Any worthy priesthood holder may be called as an apostle. Historically, most new Apostles have been called from among the current general authorities, but that is not always the case. Of the Church’s 15 Apostles today, President Nelson; President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency; and Elder David A. Bednar of the Twelve were not serving as general authorities at the time of their respective calls.

While most vacancies are filled at the next possible general conference, that too is not always the case. Sometimes new apostles are called outside of general conference — either before an upcoming general conference or for a period of time after such a general conference.

Of the Church’s current 15 apostles, two were called and ordained outside of a general conference setting — President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and Elder Kearon.

And there have been general conferences where a vacancy in the quorum has not been filled — President Nelson told the Church News of one such time during the first half of the 1900s. “President Heber J. Grant had announced to the Twelve that ‘so and so’ would be called, but it didn’t happen. Members of the Twelve asked him when the conference was over why he didn’t fill the vacancy. He replied that the man he said would be called wasn’t ready yet.”

Four decades ago, President Nelson’s own call to the Twelve filled a vacancy that had lasted for more than a year. Elder LeGrand Richards died on Jan. 11, 1983, and no new apostle was sustained during the April or October general conferences of that year.

President Nelson, a world-renowned heart surgeon and regional representative for the Church, was was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on April 7, 1984.

During the same session, President Oaks, at the time a lawyer and a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, was called to fill the vacancy created by the death of Elder Mark E. Petersen on Jan. 11, 1984.

Transitioning to apostolic service

Both then-Elders Nelson and Oaks provided examples of the transitional periods needed for new apostles preparing to serve, as two who were not serving as Church general authorities at the time of their call to the apostleship.

Speaking in 2015 to the Church News of his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 31 years earlier, President Nelson said: “It doesn’t seem like that long ago. It was April 6, 1984. I was doing my duty as a doctor at the hospital, making rounds that morning, and attending a meeting of the regional representatives at their seminar before conference. I was summoned to the telephone by Arthur Hayco*ck (secretary to President Spencer W. Kimball), who said, ‘Can you come to the office of the First Presidency?’ I said, ‘Of course, I’ll be happy to — but where is it?’ I didn’t have any idea where it was. That was how green I was.

“After being called, I said to President Gordon B. Hinckley, a counselor to President Kimball with whom I was conversing, ‘I’m planning to go to China as a professor of surgery in the month of May. What do you want me to do about that?’ He asked, ‘Have you made a commitment?’ I said I had. He said, ‘Be faithful to it.’ So, as an ordained Apostle, I went to China.”

President Nelson also mentioned the transitional period then-Elder Oaks faced between his service on the Utah Supreme Court and service as an apostle. He had to write opinions on cases that had been tried in his court before he could come join the quorum. As such, he wasn’t ordained until May 3, nearly a month after his call and sustaining.

“We may see that where a man is called to the Quorum of the Twelve,” President Nelson said, “he has to have a transitional period of disengagement from whatever he is doing to his new calling.”

‘A wonderful system’ of sustained leadership

In his 2015 interview with the Church News, President Nelson marveled how the Lord gives authority and responsibility — “that irony of imperfect people doing the work of a perfect Lord” — in what he called “a wonderful system” of sustained leadership.

“Can you imagine an organization that might lose a chief financial officer or a chief executive officer, high-level positions, and lose them in a short period of time and still have the organization run as if nothing happened?” he asked. “That’s what you see here. The system of redundancy, backup and training is such that the work of the Lord progresses regardless of who sits in the chairs. It’s a really inspiring thing.”

A university or big business with a leadership vacancy often turns to a search committee to find suitable successors. “They do well, but it’s always a worry,” he continued. “Here, it is not a worry. You know the work of the Lord will be done by His servants. They are called by Him, and they will respond to His direction.”

Of one’s call to the apostleship, President Nelson said: “There is no way you can describe it. It is the most sacred thing that can happen to a man in this life. It is life-changing, yes. But hopefully, he, in turn, will be able to change the lives of many other people toward the Lord.

“This is what we do. We are servants of the Lord. We are His agents, and that means salvation and exaltation for the people who come under the sphere of His influence.”

Calls to the apostleship

A timeline of the calling of the apostles who currently comprise the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

April 7, 1984

Russell M. Nelson

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984, and ordained an apostle on April 12, 1984, at age 59.
• Called by President Spencer W. Kimball.
• Serving at the time as a regional representative and, in his career, as a renowned heart surgeon and medical researcher.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Jan. 11, 1983, death of Elder LeGrand Richards.
• Served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles following the July 3, 2015, death of President Boyd K. Packer.
• Set apart as President of the Church on Jan. 14, 2018, by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Dallin H. Oaks

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984, and ordained an apostle May 3, 1984, at age 51.
• Called by President Kimball.
• Serving at the time as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Jan. 11, 1984, death of Elder Mark E. Petersen.
• As the second-most senior apostle, is the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a position he has held since January 2018. Because of his call since then as first counselor in the First Presidency, other apostles —first President M. Russell Ballard and now President Jeffrey R. Holland — have served as the quorum’s acting president

June 23, 1994

Jeffrey R. Holland

• Ordained an apostle June 23, 1994, and sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 1, 1994, at age 53.
• Called by President Howard W. Hunter.
• Serving as a General Authority Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the May 30, 1994, death of President Ezra Taft Benson and subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency.
• Currently serving as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, following the Nov. 12, 2023, death of President Ballard.

April 1, 1995

Henry B. Eyring

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 1, 1995, and ordained an apostle April 6, 1995, at age 61.
• Called by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
• Was serving as a General Authority Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the March 3, 1995, death of President Hunter and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency.
• Served Oct. 6, 2007, through Jan. 27, 2008, as second counselor to President Hinckley in the First Presidency, then served Feb. 3, 2008, through Jan. 2, 2018, as first counselor to President Thomas S. Monson in the First Presidency.
• Currently serving since Jan. 14, 2018, as second counselor to President Russell M. Nelson in the First Presidency.

Oct. 2, 2004

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 2, 2004, and ordained an apostle Oct. 7, 2004, at age 63.
• Called by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the July 21, 2004, death of Elder Neal A. Maxwell.
• Served from Feb. 3, 2008, to Jan. 2, 2018, as second counselor to President Monson in the First Presidency.

David A. Bednar

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 2, 2004, and ordained an apostle Oct. 7, 2004, at age 52.
• Called by President Hinckley.
• Serving as president of Brigham Young University–Idaho at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the July 31, 2004, death of Elder David B. Haight.

Oct. 6, 2007

Quentin L. Cook

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 6, 2007, and ordained an apostle Oct. 11, 2007, at age 67.
• Called by President Hinckley.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Aug. 10, 2007, death of President James E. Faust and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency.

April 5, 2008

D. Todd Christofferson

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 5, 2008, and ordained an apostle April 10, 2008, at age 63.
• Called by President Monson.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Jan. 27, 2008, death of President Hinckley and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency.

April 4, 2009

Neil L. Andersen

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 2009, and ordained an apostle April 9, 2009, at age 57.
• Called by President Monson.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Dec. 1, 2008, death of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

Oct. 3, 2015

Ronald A. Rasband

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015, and ordained an apostle Oct. 8, 2015, at age 64.
• Called by President Monson.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the May 30, 2015, death of Elder L. Tom Perry.

Gary E. Stevenson

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015, and ordained an apostle Oct. 8, 2015, at age 60.
• Called by President Monson.
• Serving as Presiding Bishop at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the July 3, 2015, death of President Packer.

Dale G. Renlund

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015, and ordained an apostle Oct. 8, 2015, at age 62.
• Called by President Monson.
• Serving as a General Authority Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Sept. 22, 2015, death of Elder Richard G. Scott.

March 31, 2018

Gerrit W. Gong

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018, and ordained an apostle April 5, 2018, at age 64.
• Called by President Nelson.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Oct. 1, 2017, death of Elder Robert D. Hales.

Ulisses Soares

• Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018, and ordained an apostle April 5, 2018, at age 59.
• Called by President Nelson.
• Serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Jan. 2, 2018, death of President Monson and the subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency.

Dec. 7, 2023

Patrick Kearon

• Ordained an apostle Dec. 7, 2023, at age 62.
• Called by President Nelson.
• Was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy at the time of his call.
• Filled the quorum vacancy created by the Nov. 12, 2023, death of President Ballard.

Correction: A previous version incorrectly had three of the 15 current apostles called and ordained outside of general conference. There are two.

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