The Presiding Bishop 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) is a priesthood calling with church-wide authority. The Presiding Bishop is the highest leadership position within the church's Aaronic priesthood.

Presiding Bishopric

Upon the Presiding Bishop's recommendation, 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 ...

calls two other men to assist the Presiding Bishop as his counselors; together these three compose the church's Presiding Bishopric. As well as being ordained to the Aaronic priesthood office of

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 c ...

, the members of the Presiding Bishopric are general authorities of the church. Like all other functioning bishops in the church they are ordained high priests 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 ...

. The Presiding Bishopric forms the governing body of the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the legal entity owning many of the church's assets and holdings in some countries around the world.

Duties

The primary duties of the Presiding Bishopric are to oversee the temporal affairs (buildings, properties, commercial corporations, etc.) of the church and to oversee the

bishoprics In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

of congregations throughout the world. Along with the First Presidency and

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 ...

, the Presiding Bishopric is a part of the

Council on the Disposition of the Tithes The Council on the Disposition of the Tithes is a leadership body in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), composed of the First Presidency, the Presiding Bishopric, and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The council determines ...

, a group that oversees and authorizes the expenditure of all

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

funds. The Presiding Bishopric is also responsible for overseeing the church's Aaronic priesthood, although most of the work in this area is delegated to the Young Men general presidency. The Presiding Bishopric holds the power to join with twelve high priests of the church in convening the

Common Council of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Common Council of the Church is a body of the church that has the power to discipline or remove the President of the Church or one of his counselors in the First Presidency due to misbehavior. Its existence and ...

, the only body of the church which may discipline or remove the

President of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

or one of his counselors in the First Presidency. However, the Common Council has only been convened twice in the history of the LDS Church, and only once has it disciplined a First Presidency member, when

Sidney Rigdon Sidney Rigdon (February 19, 1793 – July 14, 1876) was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Early life Rigdon was born in St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793. He was ...

was excommunicated in absentia, in 1844.

History

The role of Presiding Bishop shares its origin with that of

Edward Partridge Edward Partridge Sr. (August 27, 1793 – May 27, 1840) was one of the earliest converts to the Latter Day Saint movement and served as the first Bishop of the Church. Early life Edward Partridge was born on August 27, 1793 to William and Jem ...

was the first man ordained to the office of bishop in the early Church of Christ on February 4, 1831. Partridge became known as the First Bishop and later the "Presiding Bishop" to distinguish the calling from subordinate bishops who began to be called in the Nauvoo period (1839–44). The first person to be referred to as the "Presiding Bishop" of the church was

Newel K. Whitney Newel Kimball Whitney (February 5, 1795 – September 23, 1850, his first name being sometimes found as Newell) was a prominent member and leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an American businessman. Whitney married Elizabeth Ann Smith in ...

, who was given the title in 1847 when the

was reorganized. Since beginning his term of service in 2015, the church's current Presiding Bishop is

Gérald Caussé Gérald Jean Caussé (born 20 May 1963) has been the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 9 October 2015. He is the fifteenth man to serve in this position. He has been a general authority of th ...

Possible other Presiding Bishop

According to Orson Pratt and John Taylor,

Vinson Knight Vinson Knight (March 14, 1804 – July 31, 1842) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as a counselor in the bishopric in Kirtland, Ohio, from 1835 to 1838, then as bishop in Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County, Missouri, ...

was made the Presiding Bishop, with Samuel H. Smith and

Shadrach Roundy Shadrach Roundy (January 1, 1789 – July 4, 1872 Jenson, Andrew. ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia'' (Salt Lake City, utah: Deseret news Press, 1936) vol. 4, p. 717. ) was an early Latter Day Saint leader born in Rockingham, Vermont. Ro ...

as assistants, on January 19, 1841.LDS Church, , Doctrine and Covenants. However, the LDS Church does not include Vinson Knight in its list of presiding bishops but considers Knight the "third general bishop of the Church."

Chronology of the Presiding Bishopric

Notes

{{Latter-day Saints, hide, hide, hide, hide, show Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Latter Day Saint hierarchy 1831 establishments in the United States 1831 in Christianity