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SALT LAKE CITY — President Russell M. Nelson was named the 17th president of the LDS Church Tuesday. The following is the process the church went through to select a new president.
Once President Thomas S. Monson, the church's 16th president, died on Jan. 2, the First Presidency, which includes the president of the church and his two counselors, was dissolved. His counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, returned to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
President Nelson, who was the senior member and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, oversaw the duties of the church in the 12 days without a president.
Following the funeral of President Monson on Friday, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came together in a meeting to determine one of two outcomes: should the First Presidency be reorganized or should the church continue to be governed by the Quorum of the Twelve for the time being?
After a discussion, the group voted unanimously, per church policy, to reorganize the First Presidency. President Nelson was ordained as the president of the church. He then selected President Dallin H. Oaks as first counselor and President Eyring as second counselor to serve in the First Presidency.
President Oaks, who was called as an apostle at the same time as President Nelson in 1984, became the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, Elder M. Russell Ballard was named Acting President of the quorum because Elder Oaks was called to the First Presidency.
The church has yet to select two new apostles to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Presumably, this will take place in the upcoming general conference of the church, which is scheduled to take place from March 31-April 1.
