Of the major U.S. religions, the LDS Church is the only one whose top leader serves until he dies. That wasn’t an issue in the 19th century when medicine rarely prolonged life after a serious illness. But today, researcher Gregory Prince says that as Church presidents live longer, they’re more likely to experience age-related conditions like dementia. It’s something he explores in a forthcoming article, and Tuesday, he joins us to explain what this “gerontocracy” means for the future of Mormonism.

Gregory A. Prince, along with Lester E. Bush, Jr. and Brent N. Rushforth, is co-author of an article entitled Gerontocracy and the Future of Mormonism. It's due out in the Fall 2016 issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.

We received this statement from Eric Hawkins, Senior Manager of Media Relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. October 3, 2016.