What If the Church President Can't Serve Due to Poor Health? | Succession, Ep. 7

Between the presidencies of Lorenzo Snow in 1898 and Russell M. Nelson today, there have been a few key clarifications relative to the inner workings of Church government at the level of the Church presidency. And on this episode of Church History Matters we want to talk about them! The first of these clarifications deals with the confusion introduced during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency surrounding the role and position of the presiding Church Patriarch within the Church’s hierarchy. The second is regarding the important question about who can serve in the First Presidency? Is it entirely the prerogative of the President of the Church to choose who serves as his counselors, or are there constraints in place which he must abide by when doing so? And the third clarification deals with what happens when you have a Church president who is incapacitated due to poor health, and therefore cannot actively lead the Church? To what degree can his counselors lead the Church without him? And what, if any, restraints are there to their authority in this circumstance?

This is the seventh episode of our podcast series on succession in the presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/what-if-the-church-president-cant-serve-due-to-poor-health/

You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us.

Originally published September 3, 2024

DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.