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This material supplements my post on the calling of President Nelson to the First Presidency.

During yesterday’s press event—and in materials furnished by various Church entities, now and in the past—the narrative advances the idea that there was never any doubt that President Nelson would be President Nelson, that this is just as the Lord wished it, and that this is as it always has been—they even used the phrase “no mystery”. But Church history tells us this claim is incomplete.

Mystery is not a four-letter word.

God, himself, works in mysterious ways, and mystery fills the daily workings of members the world-round, as they seek His will in advancing the Kingdom. Imagine if we did this in our wards and stakes—just let people languish in their callings until they died and then let the next in line fill the position? It would be madness.

Below is the Succession process, as outlined in a write-up on succession in the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

When the President of the Church passes away, the following events take place:

The First Presidency is automatically dissolved. The two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership. The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions: Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time? Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding? After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The new president chooses two counselors and the three of them become the new First Presidency. Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized. Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. When the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve. The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands.

So let’s work through this, one point at a time:

The First Presidency is automatically dissolved [and t]he two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. No qualms here; when the President of the Church dies, his counselors are released. This follows the order of all presidencies in the Church (with the notable exception of the Presidency of Seventy, since all members of the Presidency of the Seventy are presidents in and of themselves [ D&C 107:93–94 ]).

Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age. Seniority has not always been thus. Joseph Smith instructed the apostles to arrange their seniority according to birth dates and this was the order of things for almost three decades. In 1861, that changed when President Young reordered the Apostleship, assigning seniority by order of ordination. In 1875, President Young again reordered the Twelve, assigning seniority according to the longest uninterrupted time as an apostle, which affected Orson Hyde, whose time as an apostle had been interrupted by being disfellowshipped.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership. While this is certainly the current practice, there is nothing in canon dictating this as the order of things. This organizational feature is a direct result of Brigham Young ’s ascendancy to the Presidency, in the wake of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom.

The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions. No qualms here (assuming we can agree on how seniority is assigned), as this is also how things are done throughout the Church: the senior officer in a meeting presides.

Proposition 1: Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time? The period between the passing of the President of the Church and the installation of his successor is called an apostolic interregnum, during which (traditionally) the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles manages the affairs of the Church. The first such interregnum (between Joseph Smith and Brigham Young) was 3 years and 5 months ( Wilford Woodruff commented in his journal that a revelation was required, but none was forthcoming); the second (between Brigham Young and John Taylor ) was 3 years and 1 month; the third (between John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff) was 1 year and 8 months. Since that time, interregnums have lasted mere days—this latest one was a remarkable 12 days in length. At any rate, the answer to “Should it be reorganized at this time?” has varied greatly.

Proposition 2: Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding? This is an odd proposition, unless the question on the table is “Should some other arrangement entirely be employed”, which could certainly give us a different result than what is otherwise laid out as a settled question; it’s either settled, and this question is a vain repetition… or it’s not settled at all.

After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This wording would have us believe that the motion is both made and accepted (a fait accompli, if you will), but that’s belied by the next point. So I’m going to give the Newsroom the benefit of the doubt and assume they meant to write “made and seconded”.

If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The wording is spot-on and leaves room for anyone to be selected—not just the most senior apostle.

The new president chooses two counselors and the three of them become the new First Presidency. This is correct, as far as it goes, but it doesn’t mention that more than two counselors can be called and that counselors need not be apostles

Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized. This has been very carefully worded to skirt the issue of the changing face of seniority (which I’ve already commented upon) and the odd story of John Willard Young , one of Brigham Young’s sons, whom Brigham ordained an apostle in 1864 at the tender age of 11 (!), and who served as a counselor in the First Presidency under his father from 1873, until Brigham’s death in 1877. John, for whatever reason, was never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1900—a year before the death of President Lorenzo Snow —Snow, George Q. Cannon , and Joseph F. Smith changed the seniority policy from “longest serving apostle” to “longest member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles”.

Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. When the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve. This is current practice, yet the history of this position is much, much more complex (see, for example, the notes in list of Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ).

The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands. Straight forward enough, I guess.

NB: I want to thank Justin Browne, a recent graduate of BYU (History, with honors!), whose comments on a couple recent Daily Universe articles outlined several of the points I make above.