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Seventy is a priesthood office in the
Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Rig ...
of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
, charged with the mission of preaching the gospel to the entire world under the direction of the Twelve
Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
. The church teaches that the office of seventy was anciently conferred upon the
seventy disciples The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomik ...
mentioned in the
Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascensi ...
. Multiple individuals holding the office of seventy are referred to collectively as seventies.


History of the seventy in the LDS Church


Place in church hierarchy

In practical terms, the priesthood office of seventy is one which has varied widely over the course of history. As originally envisioned by church founder,
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...
, in the 1830s, the seventy were to be a body composed of several separate quorums of up to seventy members each, all of which would be led by seven presidents. These presidents, chosen from the first quorum, would appoint and direct the other quorums of seventy. As introduced by Smith, the apostles and the seventy had authority only outside the main body of church members in
Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Isra ...
, and in the outlying stakes. Members in Zion and the stakes were led by the High Council of Zion (under the direction of the
First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
) and stake high councils.


Early quorums of the seventy

Historically, the First Quorum of the Seventy came into being in 1835 when seven men were set apart as the First Seven Presidents of the Seventy. In 1837, six of the seven presidents were released because it was discovered that they had previously been ordained high priests. Five of these men were ultimately replaced by others. The other two— Levi W. Hancock and
Joseph Young __NOTOC__Joseph Young (April 7, 1797 – July 16, 1881) was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement and was a missionary and longtime general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was an elder br ...
—remained members of the First Seven Presidents for the rest of their lives. The quorums of the seventy are directed and supervised hierarchically by the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
, who are in turn directed by the
First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
. As a body, the seventy in the church are considered to be equal in priesthood authority with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This presumably means that if the apostles were killed or incapacitated, the seventy could take over the function of the apostles. However, in such circumstances, the seventy would be required to act unanimously.


Structure and history of the seventy in the church

Members of the First and the
Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
Quorums of the Seventy are general authorities of the church with responsibilities covering the church as a whole. Members of additional Quorums of the Seventy (currently numbered Third through Twelfth) are called an area seventy. Members of these quorums are ordained to the priesthood office of seventy, but they are not general authorities of the church. Area seventies generally have authority only within a geographical unit of the church called an ''
area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...
''.


Expanding membership

By the time Joseph Smith was killed, he had already organized four incomplete quorums of seventy. By 1845, there were ten quorums of seventy. The seventies in the first quorum became the seven presidents for each of the other quorums; that is, there were 63 presidents, 7 for each of the 9 other quorums, and the seven remaining members were the presidency of the first quorum. The members of the first quorum were thus spread out across the church, making meetings of the first quorum rare. Elders were often ordained to the office of seventy immediately before they left on a
mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. Quorums were not restricted to geography, so individual quorums were scattered all over the world. In 1883, church president John Taylor localized the quorums of seventy. Each stake was given a quorum of seventy, and seventies in that stake would belong to that quorum. Taylor also prescribed that the senior president of the first 64 quorums could meet with the seven presidents of the first quorum and that would constitute a meeting of the first quorum. This never happened, however. This organization continued until church president
Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day ...
's reorganization of the seventies in 1976. Though the number of seventies in the church grew, the number of presidents remained at seven. By the late 1930s, the First Seven Presidents were exclusively referred to by the church as the First Council of the Seventy. Eventually, the stake quorums of seventy were no longer numbered and in 1936 they were put under the local responsibility of
stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...
s. Subsequently, in 1961, church president
David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...
ordained those of the First Council of the Seventy who wished to be high priests.


First Quorum of the Seventy formed

In 1975, under Kimball's direction, the First Quorum of the Seventy was reconstituted. The First Quorum was composed of the former members of the First Council of the Seventy as well as new individuals selected by Kimball. The reason for the change was that the growth of the church necessitated the call of more general authorities. In 1976, the First Council of the Seventy, the First Quorum of the Seventy, and the
Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976. As the title of t ...
were all merged into a new ''First Quorum of the Seventy'' under a seven-member Presidency of the Seventy. In 1978, some of the older members of the seventy were "retired" as the first general authorities to be given
emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
status. However, members appointed through 1981 were still granted life tenure.


Discontinuance of local quorums of seventy

In 1986, all stake quorums of the seventy were discontinued. The church encouraged local leaders to have ordained seventies meet with the local elders quorum or to ordain them as high priests.


Second Quorum of the Seventy formed

In 1984, some seventies were appointed to the First Quorum of the Seventy who were not to serve for life, but for terms of three to five years. In 1989, these limited-term members were separated into a new '' Second Quorum of the Seventy''. At the same time, the general practice was instituted of releasing all members of the First Quorum at the October general conference following their 70th birthdays, or earlier in the case of serious health problems. Some flexibility on the terms of service has emerged in recent years. Since 1989, members of the First and Second Quorums have continued as general authorities of the church. Sometimes members are called from the Second Quorum into the First Quorum. Since the 1976 merger of First Quorum of the Seventy, seventies are the most usual candidates to become members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Since 1976, three have been called as apostles who did not serve as general authority seventies prior to their call:
Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...
, Dallin H. Oaks, and
David A. Bednar David Allan Bednar (born June 15, 1952) is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A former educator, Bednar was president of Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) fro ...
, Nelson and Oaks were ordained apostles in 1984 under church president Kimball and Bednar in 2004 under church president
Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...
. Additionally, having served previously as members of the First Quorum of the Seventy, both
Robert D. Hales Robert Dean Hales (August 24, 1932 – October 1, 2017) was an American businessman and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 until his death. As a member of the Quorum ...
and Gary E. Stevenson were serving as the Presiding Bishop at the time of their call to the Quorum of the Twelve.


Area seventies and additional quorums of seventy

At the church's April 1995 general conference, Hinckley announced the creation of a new leadership position known as the area authority. The area authorities were to replace the regional representatives who had served as bridge of leadership between the general authorities and the local stake and
mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...
s. In 1997, it was decided that area authorities would be ordained to the office of seventy. As a result, these area authorities were renamed area authority seventies, and the church announced that these new seventies would become members of the newly created Third, Fourth, and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy. Later, the title "area authority seventy" was shortened to area seventy, which is the title currently in use. Area seventies serve in the various geographic regions of the world called '' areas'' in which the church is governed by area presidencies. Each of the Church's area presidency members usually consist of members of the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy (with the most recent exception, beginning in April 2022, being the presidency of the Europe East Area, which consists of 3 area seventies), . In 2004, the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy was divided to create the Sixth Quorum. In May 2005, the Seventh and Eighth quorums were created. The Fourth Quorum, which had served
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
, had grown to 72 members, and was split into the Fourth and Seventh Quorums. The Eighth Quorum was created to allow better geographic organization of the Third Quorum (not because the number of members exceeded seventy). The Third Quorum previously covered all of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the western islands of the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. The new Eighth Quorum serves Southern Asia,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, and the western islands of the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. The Third Quorum continued to serve
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, northern
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. By August 2019, with new areas having been created or existing areas consolidated with others, the Third Quorum then included area seventies in Africa and Europe, with the Fourth Quorum including those serving in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and South America Northwest areas. The Fifth Quorum had been composed of those area seventies serving in the North America West and Utah areas, with the Sixth Quorum composed of the North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, and North America Southwest areas. The Seventh Quorum included those serving in the Brazil and South America South areas, while the Eighth Quorum was composed of area seventies serving in the Asia, Asia North, Philippines, and Pacific areas. Subsequently, effective June 1, 2020, four new Quorums of the Seventy were created, and the geographical distribution of the now-eight quorums of area seventies were constituted in the following manner:First Presidency announces the creation of 4 additional quorums of Area Seventies
''
Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...
'', 19 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
*Third Quorum–Africa Central, Africa South, and Africa West areas. *Fourth Quorum–Asia and Asia North areas. *Fifth Quorum–Brazil Area. *Sixth Quorum–Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico areas. *Seventh Quorum–Europe Central, Europe East, Europe North, and Middle East/Africa North areas. *Eighth Quorum–Philippines and Pacific areas. *Ninth Quorum–South America Northwest and South America South areas; *Tenth Quorum–North America Central, North America Northeast, and North America Southeast areas. *Eleventh Quorum–North America Southwest and North America West Areas. *Twelfth Quorum–Utah Area.


Seventies who became apostles or members of the First Presidency


Other noteworthy seventies


Current organization

As of 2021, the Quorums of the Seventy are organized into twelve quorums with a presidency of seven. The seventy act as emissaries of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency of the church in organizing, training, proselytizing, and administering to millions of people scattered all across the globe. The seventy are the layer between local church administration and general church administration. In general, seventies must first be at least elders in the
Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Rig ...
, but in practice most have previously been ordained to the office of
high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rev ...
. Seventies, being equal in authority, act under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as they labor in their apostolic ministry."When they are ordained, members of the Seventy do receive apostolic authority to bear witness that Jesus is the Christ and to go forth in all the world as the Twelve may send them." Earl C. Tingey
"Area Authority Seventies: 'To Bear Record of My Name in All the World'"
'' Liahona'', October 2002, pp. 50–55.
Members of the LDS Church understand that being “equal in authority”
D&C 107:26
means they preside over the church when the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve are not constituted. This means that the seventies have the power to do anything required to organize and administer the church, as long as they do so under the direction of the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve
D&C 107:33–34
. They do not, as quorums, preside over the church by their own authority unless the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve are no longer in existence. Apart from the seven presidents of the seventy, seventies do not hold priesthood keys but are delegated the necessary keys to perform their duties. Seventies hold apostolic authority in the sense of being “especial witnesses of Christ.” and the Quorums of the Seventy may become the presiding authority over the church if the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve cease to exist.


Presidency of the Seventy

Historically, seven members of the First Quorum of the Seventy were called to serve as the Presidency of the Seventy. This precedent was broken, however, when in 2004
Robert C. Oaks Robert Charles Oaks (born February 14, 1936) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) general who served as commander of Air Training Command and United States Air Forces in Europe. Oaks was also a general authority of the Church of Jesus Chri ...
of the Second Quorum of the Seventy was sustained to fill the vacancy created by
Dieter F. Uchtdorf Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf (born 6 November 1940) is a German aviator, airline executive and religious leader. He is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Called as an apostl ...
's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The church now states that the seven presidents are drawn from General Authority Seventies.Earl C. Tingey
“The Quorums of the Seventy”
'' Liahona'', August 2005, pp. 30–32.
Historically, members of the Presidency of the Seventy would often serve as heads of various church ecclesiastical departments. This practice changed in 2004, when area presidencies in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
were dissolved; these areas were put directly under the jurisdiction of the Presidency of the Seventy. The management of these areas is currently the primary responsibility of the Presidency of the Seventy. In April 2018, church leaders announced that, effective August 1, 2018, three-man presidencies composed of General Authority Seventies would once again oversee areas in the US and Canada. These areas will continue to be administered from church headquarters. The church indicated this will enable the Presidency of the Seventy to more fully assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and to fill other assignments as needed. The Presidency of the Seventy is unique in the church in that not only are there seven members but all seven hold the priesthood "keys" of presidency. The man with the longest tenure of uninterrupted service in the presidency is called to preside over the other six as the presiding president or senior president of the seventy. As of August 2021, the current Presidency of the Seventy and the dates they began in that role are: *
Patrick Kearon Patrick Kearon (born 18 July 1961) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2010 and a member of the Presidency of the Seventy since August 2017. On August 1, 2020, Kearon became the Seni ...
(August 1, 2017).2017 Area Leadership Assignments
''
Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
'', August 2017, pp. 14-15. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
* Carl B. Cook (March 31, 2018).
''Mormon Newsroom'', 31 March 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
* Jose A. Teixeira (August 1, 2018).Church Adds Area Presidencies for U. S. and Canada, Announces Other 2018 Assignments
churchofjesuschrist.org, 5 April 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
In an unusual move, President Dallin H. Oaks led the Church in sustaining these changes during the April 2018 General Conference, 4 months before they would go into effect, marking perhaps the first time this occurred in Church history. That can be verifie
here
.
* Carlos A. Godoy (August 1, 2018). * Brent H. Nielson (August 1, 2020). * Paul V. Johnson (August 1, 2021). * S. Mark Palmer (August 1, 2021).


First Quorum of the Seventy

The First Quorum of the Seventy are general authorities, meaning they have authority throughout the church. They usually serve until their 70th birthday or until their health fails them, at which time they are given
emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
status and released from active service as a general authority. Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy serve under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve and the Presidency of the Seventy. They do not generally visit local units of the church, teach or give sermons in church meetings except when given specific assignment. Often, members of this quorum will accompany the Twelve on their visits to missions and stakes throughout the church. Other times, they will be sent to act in behalf of the Quorum of the Twelve to stake conferences and to provide training and support to stakes, missions, areas, and temples. As general authorities, members of the First Quorum are often asked to speak at church general conferences.


Second Quorum of the Seventy

Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy serve in the same role to that of the First Quorum. They are general authorities, which means they have authority throughout the church and are frequently asked to speak in general conference. They are typically called to serve for approximately five to six years. Prior to October 2015, upon their release, these men ceased to be general authorities or members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. However, although no specific change in policy or practice was announced, at the church's general conference in October 2015, those released from the Second Quorum of the Seventy were designated as emeritus general authorities for the first time. One of these men, Bruce A. Carlson, is not 70 years old, having it appear the practice may continue to be related to length of service for their release and emeritus designation, rather than specifically age. Also in October 2015, some former members of the Second Quorum of Seventy who had been released in prior years, received letters from the church's First Presidency designating them as emeritus general authorities. In all cases, they retain the priesthood office of seventy.


General Authority Seventies no longer identified by quorum affiliation

In 2015, the church stopped publicly differentiating between members of the First and Second Quorums of the Seventy, using the more generic term "General Authority Seventies." In April 2016, eleven men were called to be General Authority Seventies. However, they were not sustained to a specific quorum. By April 2016, biographies of all members of both quorums used only the generic designation. Though all general authority seventies still serve in one of those two quorums (First or Second), such affiliations are now no longer publicized, which constituted an official change in church practice.


Emeritus general authorities

Although no longer fully functioning general authorities,
emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
general authorities may be asked to be
temple president Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual ...
s or
mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...
s. Prior to October 2015, with the exception of
Eldred G. Smith Eldred Gee Smith (January 9, 1907 – April 4, 2013) was the patriarch to the church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1947 to 1979. From 1979 to his death he was the patriarch emeritus of the church. He was th ...
(Patriarch to the Church) and three other men (who were formerly in the Presiding Bishopric) all emeritus general authorities in church history had served as members of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Although no specific change in policy or practice was announced, at the church's general conference in October 2015, those released from the Second Quorum of the Seventy were designated as emeritus general authorities for the first time. They remain general authorities until their deaths, but an emeritus general authority is not a member of a seventies quorum.
John K. Carmack John Kay Carmack (born May 10, 1931) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1984. He is currently an emeritus general authority and was the managing director of the church's Perpetual ...
, the former head of the Perpetual Education Fund and
W. Rolfe Kerr William Rolfe Kerr (born June 29, 1935) is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served previously as the fifteenth Commissioner of Church Education and as president of the Logan Utah ...
, a former
Church Commissioner of Education The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...
, are both emeritus general authorities. Jacob de Jager served as a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
after he was given emeritus status. In the general conference meeting in which Ezra Taft Benson was first sustained as president of the church, the emeritus general authorities were sustained. However, when Howard W. Hunter was sustained as president of the church the emeritus general authorities were not mentioned in the list of church officials that were sustained.


Area Seventies Quorums formed (Third–Twelfth Quorums)

Members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the Third through Twelfth Quorums of the Seventy are not general authorities, and generally maintain their non-religious vocations. Unlike apostles and members of the First and Second quorums, they do not relocate to
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
in order to be close to church headquarters. Members of these quorums are area seventies. As assigned, they carry out the duties typically carried out by members of the First and Second quorums of Seventy, which include reorganizing and creating stakes, training stake presidencies, presiding at stake conferences, serving in area presidencies, touring missions, and training mission presidents. They serve in their callings for approximately six to ten years. Upon their release, they cease to be area seventies and members of a quorum of the seventy, but retain the priesthood office of seventy. They live and serve in the respective areas of the church shown below. * Third Quorum–
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
Central, Africa Southeast, and Africa West areas. * Fourth Quorum–
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and Asia North areas. * Fifth Quorum–
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
area. * Sixth Quorum–
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
,
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
areas. * Seventh Quorum–
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, Europe East, and
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
/ Africa North areas. * Eighth Quorum–
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
and
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
areas. * Ninth Quorum–
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
Northwest and South America South areas. * Tenth Quorum–
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
Central, North America Northeast, and North America Southeast areas. * Eleventh Quorum–North America Southwest and North America West areas. * Twelfth Quorum–
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
area.


Sealing power

Members of the First and Second Quorums of Seventy receive the sealing power which authorizes them to
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
husbands to wives, and children to their parents, in any of the church's temples. Members of the other Quorums of the Seventy do not receive this as part of their calling.


Notes


References

*.


Further reading

* * * *


External links


The Twelve and the Seventy, Part One: Revelation and the Role of the Seventy
The Twelve and the Seventy Series, churchofjesuschrist.org {{Latter-day Saints 1835 establishments in the United States 1835 in Christianity Latter Day Saint hierarchy Priesthood offices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints *LDS Church