The death of a President of the Church occurs so infrequently that much speculation within and outside the Church inevitably arises over how the new President and Prophet is chosen, or elected or determined. At the death of a prophet, many wonder what procedure is followed in choosing a new Prophet. Many people, in and out of the Church, have different understandings and ideas about what happens when the President of the Church dies. A careful review of statements made by former Presidents and other General Authorities reveals and brings clearly to light what takes place when death (or possibly some other eventuality) dissolves the First Presidency of the Church.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles form a quorum "equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned. " (1) This has been misunderstood by some to mean that these two quorums are equal in power and authority in the Church. President Joseph F. Smith states, however, "Therefore, so long as there is a First Presidency in the Church they hold supreme authority in the Church, and the Twelve Apostles are subject unto them and do not possess the same authority as they do as a presiding quorum. "(2) What then does this statement from the Doctrine and Covenants quoted above mean? It means that when the First Presidency is dissolved by the death of the President, the Quorum of the Twelve now becomes the presiding quorum of the Church and carries on all the functions of the First Presidency. President Smith goes on to say, "When the [First] Presidency are not here, or when the Lord takes away the man who is called to be the President of the Church, and the Quorum of the three Presidents is thereby dissolved, then the authority of the Twelve rises to the dignity of Presidents of the Church and not until them." (2)

Upon the death of the Prophet and the subsequent dissolution of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles clearly becomes the presiding Quorum of the Church. But who becomes the President and new Prophet to the Church and how is that decision reached? The answer is, it isn't ! It is automatic ! President Wilford Woodruff declared, "At the death of the President of the Church, the Twelve Apostles become the presiding authority of the Church, and the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, becomes the President of the Church by virtue of his office as much while presiding over the Twelve Apostles as while presiding over his two counselors..." (2) President John Taylor likewise states, "...I occupied the senior position in the quorum, and occupying that position which was thoroughly understood by the quorum of the twelve, on the death of President Young, as the twelve assumed the presidency, and I was their president, it placed me in a position of president of the Church..." (2) Elder Bruce R. McConkie states, "The senior apostle is always chosen and set apart as the President of the Church... (3) President Joseph Fielding Smith also states, "The fact is the senior apostle automatically becomes the presiding officer of the Church on the death of the President." (4)

Could there be any exceptions and under what circumstances might they occur? President Smith continues, "If some other man were to be chosen, then the senior would have to receive the revelation setting himself aside." (4)

Another important aspect of succession is Priesthood Keys.  "There is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred." (5) Since according to this revelation the President of the Church is the only man who holds all the keys of the Priesthood we may ask what happens to them when he dies? A very common misconception is that they revert back to the Quorum of the Twelve who hold them jointly and that they then confer them upon the new President. In reality each apostle at the time he is ordained to that office in the Quorum of the Twelve receives all the keys to the Priesthood. Wilford Woodruff quotes Joseph Smith as having taught, "I have sealed upon your heads all the keys of the Kingdom of God. I have sealed upon you every key, power, principle that the God of Heaven has revealed to me. Now, no matter where I may go or what I may do, the Kingdom rests upon you." (6) But how can this be when only one man at a time holds them? Elder McConkie explains, "Since keys are the right of presidency and the Kingdom of God on earth is the Church, it follows that each apostle so set apart receives the inherent power and authority to preside over the Church and direct all its affairs. The fullness of these keys can be exercised only in the event an apostle becomes the senior apostle of God on earth, for unless he does there will always be someone above him to direct his labors." (3) We can now better understand in what sense apostles are ordained and sustained Prophets, Seers and Revelators. They receive the inherent right and potential to one day become the Prophet, Seer and Revelator in the same way that they are given all the Keys of the Priesthood but do not exercise them until they become the senior apostle.

What then, might we ask, is the procedure followed by the Quorum of the Twelve in the succession to the Presidency? The President of the Quorum of the Twelve becomes instantaneously, upon the death of the President, the Presiding High Priest of the Church and its President. Under his direction, as he is inspired of the Lord, the Quorum of the Twelve proceeds to reorganize the First Presidency. Do they lay their hands upon him and ordain him to the office of President? They do not: They sustain him and set him apart as the President of the Quorum of the First Presidency. They confer nothing in the way of keys or ordination. He received all the keys and was ordained a Prophet, Seer and Revelator (the inherent right) at the tine of his call and ordination to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Joseph Fielding Smith explains, "Therefore, after the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Twelve assumed the authority of their office, the duty to preside over the Church. Later, when through revelation the quorum of the First Presidency was reorganized with three Presidents, Brigham Young and Counselors Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, they claimed, and rightfully, that since they were ordained under the hands of Joseph Smith, and from him received all the keys and powers of the Priesthood which the prophet held, it would have been superfluous to have been ordained again. They were in this capacity, however, set apart, and sustained by the unanimous vote of the saints, which was essential to make such an ordination of force in the Church." (7) Thus it should be noted that the finalizing act necessary to complete the chain of events in the succession to the Presidency is the sustaining vote of the people. "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." (8)

Many members of the Church seem to feel rather uncomfortable with the idea that a matter as important as succession to the Presidency of the Church is automatic. What they fail to remember is that each man who is called to the Holy Apostleship in the Quorum of the Twelve is called by God to that office through the living prophet. They have also not recognized the hand of God in grooming the man whom he would have succeed to the Presidency, so that he is, as it were, "standing in the wings," ready and prepared to become the Lord's annointed. What a great and marvelous thing it is that God in His infinite wisdom and mercy has removed all questions and doubt from the minds of His faithful Saints who the "mouthpiece" of the Lord shall be, and that at no time is His Church and Kingdom ever left without a Prophet. Part of the genius of God's true Church is that the matter of succession is not a matter of voting or lobbying, quarreling or bickering. The membership of the Church do not have to wait in eager anticipation until a "smoke signal" spirals up from the top of the Salt Lake Temple announcing a new President has been chosen.

1-Doctrine & Covenants 107:24

2-Latter-day Prophets Speak, pp. 214

3-Mormon Doctrine, pp. 47

4-Church History and Modern Revelation, pp. 189

5-Doctrine & Covenants 132:7

6-Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 72

7-Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. I, pp. 259

8-Doctrine & Covenants 20:65