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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

from 1941 to 1976. As the title suggests, men who held this position assisted the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. Assistants to the Twelve were general authorities and were generally assigned by the Twelve Apostles to preside over and speak at

stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

conferences; re-organize stakes; tour missions; and assist in the direction of worldwide missionary work. Like counselors in 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 ...

, the calling of Assistant to the Twelve was not a distinct priesthood ''office''—rather, it was a ''calling'' that any worthy

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 organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

could be asked to fill. In April 1941, church president Heber J. Grant called five men to serve as Assistants to the Twelve. No additional Assistants to the Twelve were called until 1951. The church continued to call Assistants to the Twelve throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and the first half of the 1970s. Of the 38 men who held the calling of Assistant to the Twelve, 13 later became members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

Marion G. Romney Marion George Romney (September 19, 1897 – May 20, 1988) was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life Romney was born in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico ...

George Q. Morris George Quayle Morris (February 20, 1874 – April 23, 1962) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1954 until his dea ...

Hugh B. Brown Hugh Brown Brown (October 24, 1883 – December 2, 1975) was an American attorney, educator, author and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency ...

, Gordon B. Hinckley, N. Eldon Tanner,

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until h ...

, Marvin J. Ashton, L. Tom Perry, David B. Haight, James E. Faust, Neal A. Maxwell,

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 Quoru ...

, and

Joseph B. Wirthlin Joseph Bitner Wirthlin (June 11, 1917 – December 1, 2008) was an American businessman, religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was sustained to th ...

. Additionally, a former Assistant to the Twelve, Alvin R. Dyer, was ordained to the office of

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

without being made a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Seven Assistants to the Twelve (Romney, Brown, Dyer, Isaacson, Hinckley, Tanner, and Faust) later served in the church's First Presidency, with one (Hinckley) later becoming the church's president. In 1976, church president

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American 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 Saint apostle Heber ...

announced that the calling of Assistant to the Twelve would be discontinued. The 22 men then serving in that calling were ordained to the priesthood office of seventy and assigned to the

First Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints), Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesth ...

, which had been organized in 1975. The following people held the calling of Assistant to Twelve:.

References

{{LDSpriesthood Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Christian organizations established in 1941 Religious organizations disestablished in 1976 Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1941 in Christianity 20th-century Mormonism Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)

See also

References