Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)
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The Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) now called the Community of Christ. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of apostle. It is responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church. Apostles are also high priests in the Melchizedek priesthood of the church.
Current members
The current members of the Council, their specific assignments, and year they joined the Council are as follows:<ref>"Church Leadership", cofchrist.org, accessed 3 May 2023.</ref>
- David H. M. Nii – South Central USA Mission Field (2019)
- Bunda C. Chibwe – Central and West Africa Mission Field; South-Central Asia Mission Field (2000)
- Catherine C. Mambwe – West, South, and East Africa Mission Field (2019)
- Carlos Enrique Mejia – Central and South America Mission Field (2007)
- Mareva M. Arnaud Tchong – President, Pacifikasia Mission Field (2013)<ref name="Letter_2013"/>
- Richard C. N. James – Eurasia Mission Field (2013)
- Arthur E. Smith – Canada Mission Field; Caribbean and Mexico-Texas Field (2013)<ref name="Letter_2013"/>
- Janné C. Grover – Central USA Mission Field (2016)
- Robin K. Linkhart – North Central USA Mission Field (2016)
- Lachlan E. Mackay – Northeast USA Mission Field (2016)
- Shandra Karine Newcom - (2023)
- Angela Alt. Ramirez de Hernandez - (2023)
1844 to present
This is a list of the members of the Council in the Community of Christ, (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) ordained after 1844. The dates are the years they served as a member of the Council of Twelve.
| Name | Began Service | Ended Service | Cause of Departure | Other Positions | Nationality & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason W. Briggs | 1853 | 1885 | Not sustained as Apostle at the 1885 conference. | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles | American. Withdrew from the church sometime after 1885 conference | |
| Zenas H. Gurley, Sr. | 1853 | 1871 | Ordained Joseph Smith III as president in 1860. | |||
| Henry Harrison Deam | 1853 | 1854 | ||||
| Reuben Newkirk | 1853 | 1873 | ||||
| John Cunningham | 1853 | 1855 | ||||
| George White | 1853 | 1859 | ||||
| Daniel B. Rasey | 1853 | 1873 | ||||
| Samuel Powers | 1855 | 1873 | ||||
| David Newkirk | 1855 | 1865 | ||||
| William W. Blair | 1858 | 10 April 1873 | Called to First Presidency | First counselor in the First Presidency | American. Served as first counselor until his death on 18 April 1896 | |
| John Shippy | 1860 | 1868 | ||||
| James Blakeslee | 1860 | 1866 | ||||
| Edmund C. Briggs | October 1860 | 18 April 1902 | Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch. | President of the Seventy | American | |
| Josiah Ells | 1865 | 1885 | ||||
| Charles Derry | 1865 | 1870 | ||||
| William H. Kelley | 1873 | 1913 | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles (1897– ) | |||
| Thomas Wood Smith | 1873 | 1894 | ||||
| James Caffall | 1873 | 1902 | ||||
| John H. Lake | 1873 | 1902 | ||||
| Alexander Hale Smith | 10 April 1873 | 12 April 1897 | Ordained a Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist. | Counselor to Joseph Smith III President of the Council of Twelve Apostles (1890–97) |
American. Third surviving son of Joseph and Emma Smith. | |
| Zenas H. Gurley, Jr. | 1874 | 1885 | ||||
| Joseph R. Lambert | 1873 | 1902 | ||||
| James W. Gillen | 11 April 1887<ref name = "D&C119">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> ||1899|| |
||||
| Heman C. Smith | 11 April 1887<ref name = "D&C119"/> | 1909 | Church Historian | |||
| Joseph Luff | 11 April 1887<ref name = "D&C119"/> | 1909 | Canadian | |||
| Gomer T. Griffiths | 11 April 1887<ref name = "D&C119"/> | 1922 | ||||
| Isaac N. White | 12 April 1897<ref name = "D&C124">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> ||1913|| |
||||
| John W. Wight | 12 April 1897<ref name = "D&C124"/> | 1913 | ||||
| R. C. Evans | 12 April 1897<ref name = "D&C124"/> | 1902 | Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency | Counselor in the First Presidency Bishop (With specific jurisdiction over the church in Canada) |
Canadian. Broke with the church in 1918 and formed the Church of the Christian Brotherhood | |
| Peter Andersen | 1901 | 1920 | ||||
| Frederick A. Smith | 1902 | 1913 | ||||
| Francis M. Sheehy | 1902 | 1920 | ||||
| Ulysses W. Greene | 1902 | 1922 | ||||
| Cornelius A. Butterworth | 1901 | 1922 | ||||
| John W. Rushton | 1902 | 1947 | ||||
| James F. Curtis | 1909 | 7 April 1938 | Honorably released | |||
| Robert C. Russell | 1909 | 1922 | ||||
| James E. Kelley | 1913 | 1917 | ||||
| William Murray Aylor | 1913 | 1922 | ||||
| Paul M. Hanson | 1913 | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 145:3, 5b, 6b, 6c, & 7</ref> | ||||
| James A. Gillen | 1913 | 1934 | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles (1922– ) | |||
| Thomas W. Williams | 1920 | 1925 | ||||
| Myron A. McConley | 1920 | 1948 | ||||
| Clyde F. Ellis | 1923 | 1945 | ||||
| John F. Garver | 13 October 1922 | 9 April 1946 | Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency | Counselor in the First Presidency | American. Was president of the Board of Trustees for Graceland College | |
| Daniel T. Williams | 1922 | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145"/> | Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist | |||
| F. Henry Edwards | 13 October 1922 | 9 April 1946 | Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency | Secretary of the Council of Twelve Apostles | English. Honorably released from First Presidency on 18 April 1966, | |
| Edmund J. Gleazer | 1922 | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145"/> | Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist | |||
| Roy S. Budd | 1922 | 1936 | ||||
| George G. Lewis | 1932 | 1948 | ||||
| George C. Mesley | 7 April 1938 | 1954 | ||||
| Arthur Alma Oakman | 7 April 1938 | 1964 | Ordained an Evangelist | Evangelist | English | |
| Charles R. Hield | 7 April 1938 | 6 April 1964<ref name = "D&C147">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 147:1, 2 & 4</ref> | Honorably released | |||
| D. Blair Jensen | 1946 | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 148:1 - 4</ref> | Honorably released | |||
| Roscoe E. Davey | 1947 | 6 April 1964<ref name = "D&C147"/> | Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist | |||
| Maurice L. Draper | 1947 | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145"/> | Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency | |||
| W. Wallace Smith | 1947 | 1950 | Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency | Prophet-President | ||
| Percy E. Farrow | 1948 | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148"/> | Honorably released | |||
| Reed M. Holmes | 1948 | 1 April 1974.<ref name = "D&C151">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 151:2 - 7</ref> | Ordained as Presiding Patriarch/Evangelist | |||
| Donald O. Chesworth | 1950 | 14 April 1972.<ref name = "D&C150">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 150:1A & 2A</ref> | Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist | |||
| Donald Victor Lents | 1954 | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 154:1 - 3</ref> | Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch | |||
| Charles D. Neff | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145"/> | 5 April 1984<ref name = "D&C156">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 156:1 & 2</ref> | Honorably released | American | ||
| Clifford A. Cole | 8 October 1958<ref name = "D&C145"/> | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154"/> | Called to ministries of teaching and writing | |||
| Cecil R. Ettinger | 2 April 1960<ref name = "D&C146">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 146:1</ref> | 1 April 1974<ref name = "D&C151"/> | Honorably released | |||
| Duane E. Couey | 2 April 1960<ref name = "D&C146"/> | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148"/> | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | Presiding Patriarch/Evangelist | American | |
| Russell F. Ralston | 6 April 1964<ref name = "D&C147"/> | 29 March 1976<ref name = "D&C152">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 152:2a & 3</ref> | ||||
| William E. Timms | 6 April 1964<ref name = "D&C147"/> | 3 April 1978<ref name = "D&C153">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 153:5 - 6</ref> | Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch | |||
| Earl T. Higdon | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148"/> | 1 April 1974<ref name = "D&C151"/> | Honorably released | President of Graceland College | ||
| Alan D. Tyree | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148"/> | 29 March 1982<ref name = "D&C155">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 155:3 - 5</ref> | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | |||
| Aleah G. Koury | 18 April 1966<ref name = "D&C148"/> | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154"/> | Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch | Canadian | ||
| Howard S. Sheehy, Jr. | 1 April 1968<ref name = "D&C149">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 149:1</ref> | 1980 | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | Counselor in the First Presidency | American. Ordained counselor on 3 April 1978, but remained as a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles until 1980. | |
| John C. Stuart | 14 April 1972 <ref name = "D&C150"/> | 29 March 1982<ref name = "D&C155"/> | Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch | |||
| William T. Higdon | 1 April 1974<ref name = "D&C151"/> | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 158:3-6</ref> | President of Graceland College | |||
| Lloyd B. Hurshman | 1 April 1974<ref name = "D&C151"/> | 14 April 1988<ref name = "D&C157">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 157:1-3</ref> | Honorably released | |||
| Paul W. Booth | 1 April 1974<ref name = "D&C151"/> | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158"/> | Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist | |||
| Eugene C. Austin, Sr. | 29 March 1976<ref name = "D&C152"/> | 10 April 1994<ref name = "D&C159">Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 159:2 - 5</ref> | Honorably released | |||
| Roy H. Schaefer | 3 April 1978<ref name = "D&C153"/> | 14 April 1988<ref name = "D&C157"/> | Honorably released | |||
| Phillip M. Caswell | 3 April 1978<ref name = "D&C153"/> | 1998 | ||||
| Kisuke Sekine | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154"/> | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158"/> | Honorably released | Japanese | ||
| Everett S. Graffeo | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154"/> | 1994<ref name = "D&C159"/> | Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist | |||
| Kenneth N. Robinson | 8 April 1980 <ref name = "D&C154"/> | 1996 | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | Counselor in the First Presidency | Australian | |
| Joe A. Serig | 29 March 1982<ref name = "D&C155"/> | 1998 | ||||
| James C. Cable | 29 March 1982<ref name = "D&C155"/> | 1996 | ||||
| Geoffrey F. Spencer | 5 April 1984<ref name = "D&C156"/> | 10 April 1994<ref name = "D&C159"/> | Honorably released | Australian | ||
| A. Alex Kahtava | 14 April 1988<ref name = "D&C157"/> | 2002 | Canadian | |||
| John P. Kirkpatrick | 14 April 1988<ref name = "D&C157"/> | 2007 | ||||
| David R. Brock | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158"/> | 27 March 2007 | Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist | President of Seventy Presiding Evangelist |
American | |
| Lawrence W. Tyree | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158"/> | 2002 | ||||
| Stephen M. Veazey | 5 April 1992<ref name = "D&C158"/> | 2005 | Ordained as the Prophet-President | President of the Council of Twelve Prophet-President |
American | |
| Danny A. Belrose | 10 April 1994<ref name = "D&C159"/> | 2000 | Ordained as Presiding Evangelist | Canadian | ||
| Dale E. Luffman | 10 April 1994<ref name = "D&C159"/> | January 3, 2013<ref name="Letter_2013"/> | American | |||
| Kenneth L. McLaughlin | 10 April 1994<ref name = "D&C159"/> | 2005 | ||||
| Peter A. Judd | 1996 | 2000 | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | Counselor in the First Presidency | English | |
| James E. Slauter | 1996 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Early retirement, family health<ref name ="Slauter"/> | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles Secretary of the Council of Twelve Apostles |
American |
| Gail E. Mengel | 31 March 1998 | 2005 | Called as Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer | President of Church Women United Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer |
American, along with Linda L. Booth, the first women to be ordained apostles. | |
| Linda L. Booth | 1998 | 2019 | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles, Director of Communications | American, along with Gail E. Mengel, the first woman to be ordained apostles. Also first female president of the Council of Twelve. | ||
| Leonard M. Young | April 2000 | 2010 | Ordained an Evangelist in 2010 | President of the Quorum of High Priests, President of Michigan Region, Director of Field Resources | American - Served as World Church Parliamentarian from 1988 to 2020 | |
| Bunda C. Chibwe | April 2000 | present | President of the Sixth Quorum of Seventy | Zambian | ||
| Mary Jacks Dynes | 2002 | 2010 | Retired | President of the Fifth Quorum of Seventy. | American | |
| David D. Schaal | 2002 | 2005 | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency | President of the Tri Stake Mission Center Counselor in the First Presidency |
American | |
| Stassi D. Cramm | 2005<ref name="4 June 2005">"Official Minutes of Business Session" Template:Webarchive, Community of Christ World Conference 2005, 4 June 2005.</ref> | 2016<ref name = veazey2016>Stephen M. Veazey, "Letter of Counsel about World Church Leadership" Template:Webarchive, cofchrist.org, March 31, 2016.</ref> | Ordained counselor in the First Presidency<ref name = veazey2016/> and Presiding Bishop<ref name = veazey2016/> | Counselor to the Presiding Bishop Presiding Bishop Counselor in the First Presidency |
American | |
| Ronald D. Harmon Jr. | 2005<ref name = "4 June 2005"/> | 2023 | Ordained to Office of Presiding Bishop | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles | American | |
| Rick W. Maupin | 2005<ref name = "4 June 2005"/> | 2019 | American | |||
| Susan D. Oxley | 2005<ref name = "4 June 2005"/> | 2015 | American | |||
| Andrew Bolton | 2007 | 2016<ref name = veazey2016/> | English | |||
| Carlos Enrique Mejia | 2007 | present | Honduran | |||
| Richard C.N. James | 2010 | present | Secretary of the Council of Twelve Apostles (incumbent) | Welsh | ||
| K. Scott Murphy | 2010 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>||Ordained counselor in the First Presidency ||Director of Field Ministries (incumbent) | |||
| Barbara L. Carter | 2013<ref name="Letter_2013"/> | 2023 | American | |||
| Mareva Arnaud Tchong | 2013<ref name="Letter_2013"/> | present | President of the Council of Twelve Apostles | French Polynesian (Tahitian) | ||
| Arthur E. Smith | 2013<ref name="Letter_2013"/> | present | Canadian | |||
| Janné C. Grover | 2016<ref name = veazey2016/> | present | American | |||
| Robin K. Linkhart | 2016<ref name = veazey2016/> | present | American | |||
| Lachlan E. Mackay | 2016<ref name = veazey2016/> | present | American | |||
| Catherine Mambwe | 2019 | present | Zambian | |||
| David Nii | 2019 | present | American | |||
| Shandra Karine Newcom | 2023 | present | American | |||
| Angela Alt. Ramirez de Hernandez | 2023 | present | Dominican |
Notes
References
- The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with Some Additions by his Successors in the Presidency of the Church, Intellectual Reserve: Salt Lake City, UT, 1981.
- Book of Doctrine and Covenants: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God and Given in the Order of their Dates, Herald Publishing House: Independence, MO, 2000.
- Template:Cite book
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