A general authority is a member of the highest levels of leadership within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints1 who has administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church. A general authority's jurisdiction is church-wide, in contrast to the responsibilities of a local authority or an area authority, which relate to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. As a group, the general authorities are often referred to as "the Brethren."1 As of October 2025, the church listed 130 general authorities.2
Composition and distinction from general officers
By definition, general authorities are members of the church's priesthood.1 In order of precedence,1 the general authorities include the members of the following leadership organizations:
| Organization | Membership | Title given to members (e.g., Title Smith or Title John J. Smith) |
Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Presidency | President of the Church and his chosen counselors | President1 | President of the Church: Life Counselors: Until own death, death of the President of the Church, or release at the discretion of the president |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | 12 apostles | Elder;1 president or acting president of the Quorum: President1 |
Typically life; may be removed from Quorum to join First Presidency |
| Presidency of the Seventy | 7 seventies, typically drawn from the First or Second Quorum of the Seventy | Elder1 | Variable (usually 5–8 years); until release at the discretion of the church president; may remain a member of the First or Second Quorum of the Seventy when released |
| First Quorum of the Seventy | Up to 70 seventies | Elder1 | Life; will typically be relieved of active duties and granted emeritus status around age 70 |
| Second Quorum of the Seventy | Up to 70 seventies | Elder1 | Variable (usually 5–7 years); until release at the discretion of the church president |
| Presiding Bishopric | 3 bishops: one presiding bishop and two counselors | Bishop1 | Variable (usually 9–12 years); until release at the discretion of the church president; will typically become a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy upon their release3 |
| Presiding Patriarch | Defunct (was 1 patriarch) | Elder | Defunct; Life; In 1979, Eldred G. Smith was released from active duties and given general authority emeritus status. A new presiding patriarch has not been called since his death in 2013. |
| Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | Defunct (was variable) | Elder | Defunct; All Assistants to the Twelve were added to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976 and the position was eliminated. |
Tenure
A person is typically called to be a general authority or general officer by a member of the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve. The president of the church and members of the Quorum of the Twelve are typically called for life, although there have been more than a dozen instances when an apostle has been released from his service in the Quorum of the Twelve due to disfellowshipment, excommunication, or resignation.4
As with any calling in the church, general authorities and general officers serve "until they are released." In current church practice, men called to the First Quorum of the Seventy typically remain general authorities for life, but are granted emeritus status in the October following their seventieth birthday.5 Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy are typically called for a period of five to seven years. When members of the Second Quorum are released, they are no longer general authorities of the church. When members of the Presiding Bishopric are released, they typically become members of the First Quorum of the Seventy and are therefore retained as lifetime general authorities, including later being granted emeritus status.6
Common consent
In the church's biannual general conferences, held in April and October, all the general authorities and general officers of the church are presented to the Latter-day Saints for a sustaining vote, in accordance with the church's interpretation of the principle of "common consent."1
See also
See also
References
References
- Gardner, Marvin K. (1992). "General Authorities". In Ludlow, Daniel H. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. pp. 538–540. ISBN 0028796055.
- "General Authority Chart" (PDF). Church News. 2025-10-25.
- From 1961 to 2012, every member of the Presiding Bishopric had been called to be a general authority in another capacity upon being released from the Presiding Bishopric. Most have become Assistants to the Twelve or members of the First Quorum of Seventy; Robert D. Hales was called as member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 2012, H. David Burton and his counselors were released and designated as emeritus general authorities.
- Flake, Lawrence R. (2001), "Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Called By Each President of the Church", Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, pp. 321–322.
- This practice had become more flexible for a period of time when Gordon B. Hinckley was church president. For example, as of the October 2004 General Conference, three of the seven members of the Presidency of the Seventy, two other members of the First Quorum, and four members of the Second Quorum were aged 70 or more and continued in office. During the administration of Thomas S. Monson, the typical pattern described has been used.
- The April 2012 release of H. David Burton and his counselors was an exception to this, as they were simply designated as emeritus general authorities, rather than members of the First Quorum.
External links
External links
- Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages : brief biographies of every LDS Church general authority in history