Presiding Bishop (LDS Church)

The Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is a priesthood calling with church-wide authority. The Presiding Bishop is the highest leadership position within the church's Aaronic priesthood, although most of the work in this area is delegated to the church's Young Men general presidency.

Duties

The primary duties^[1] of the Presiding Bishopric are to oversee the temporal affairs (buildings, properties, commercial corporations, etc.) of the church and to oversee the bishoprics of congregations throughout the world. Along with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presiding Bishopric is a part of the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes, a group that oversees and authorizes the expenditure of all tithing 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, the only body of the church which may discipline or remove the President of the Church 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 was excommunicated in absentia, in 1844.

History

Possible other Presiding Bishop

According to Orson Pratt and John Taylor, Vinson Knight was made the Presiding Bishop, with Samuel H. Smith and Shadrach Roundy as assistants,^[2] on January 19, 1841.^[3] 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."^[2]

Chronology of the Presiding Bishopric

No.	Dates	Presiding Bishop	First Counselor		Second Counselor
1	February 4, 1831 – May 27, 1840	Edward Partridge ("Bishop")	Isaac Morley (June 6, 1831 – May 27, 1840)		John Corrill (June 6, 1831 – August 1, 1837) Titus Billings (August 1, 1837 – May 27, 1840)	Billings
	May 27, 1840 – October 7, 1844	None sustained
	October 7, 1844 – April 6, 1847	Newel K. Whitney ("First Bishop of the Church")	Reynolds Cahoon (1832–?)^[4]^: 35 George Miller ("Second Bishop of the Church") (October 7, 1844 – latter end of 1846)^[5]	Cahoon
2	April 6, 1847 – September 23, 1850	Newel K. Whitney ("Presiding Bishop")	None
3	April 7, 1851 – October 16, 1883	Edward Hunter	Leonard W. Hardy (October 6, 1856 – October 16, 1883)		Jesse C. Little (October 6, 1856 – Summer 1874) Robert T. Burton (October 9, 1874 – October 16, 1883)	Little Burton
4	April 6, 1884 – December 4, 1907	William B. Preston	Leonard W. Hardy (April 6, 1884 – July 31, 1884) Robert T. Burton (October 5, 1884 – November 11, 1907)	Hardy Burton	Robert T. Burton (April 6, 1884 – October 5, 1884) John Q. Cannon (October 5, 1884 – September 5, 1886) John R. Winder (April 8, 1887 – October 17, 1901) Orrin P. Miller (October 24, 1901 – December 4, 1907)	Cannon Winder Miller
5	December 4, 1907 – May 28, 1925	Charles W. Nibley	Orrin P. Miller (December 4, 1907 – July 7, 1918) David A. Smith (July 18, 1918 – May 28, 1925)	Miller Smith	David A. Smith (December 4, 1907 – July 7, 1918) John Wells (July 18, 1918 – May 28, 1925)	Smith Wells
6	June 4, 1925 – April 6, 1938	Sylvester Q. Cannon	David A. Smith		John Wells
7	April 6, 1938 – April 6, 1952	LeGrand Richards	Marvin O. Ashton (April 6, 1938 – October 7, 1946) Joseph L. Wirthlin (December 12, 1946 – April 6, 1952)	Ashton Wirthlin	Joseph L. Wirthlin (April 6, 1938 – October 7, 1946) Thorpe B. Isaacson (December 12, 1946 – April 6, 1952)	Wirthlin Isaacson
8	April 6, 1952 – September 30, 1961	Joseph L. Wirthlin	Thorpe B. Isaacson		Carl W. Buehner
9	September 30, 1961 – April 6, 1972	John H. Vandenberg	Robert L. Simpson		Victor L. Brown
10	April 6, 1972 – April 6, 1985	Victor L. Brown	H. Burke Peterson		Vaughn J Featherstone (April 6, 1972 – October 1, 1976) J. Richard Clarke (October 1, 1976 – April 6, 1985)
11	April 6, 1985 – April 2, 1994	Robert D. Hales	Henry B. Eyring (April 6, 1985 – October 3, 1992) H. David Burton (October 3, 1992 – April 2, 1994)	Eyring	Glenn L. Pace (April 6, 1985 – October 3, 1992) Richard C. Edgley (October 3, 1992 – April 2, 1994)
12	April 2, 1994 – December 27, 1995	Merrill J. Bateman	H. David Burton		Richard C. Edgley
13	December 27, 1995 – March 31, 2012	H. David Burton	Richard C. Edgley		Keith B. McMullin
14	March 31, 2012 – October 9, 2015	Gary E. Stevenson	Gérald Caussé		Dean M. Davies
15	October 9, 2015 – present	Gérald Caussé^[6]	Dean M. Davies (October 9, 2015 – October 3, 2020) W. Christopher Waddell (October 3, 2020 – present)		W. Christopher Waddell (October 9, 2015 – October 3, 2020) L. Todd Budge (October 3, 2020 – present)

Notes

^ McMullin, Keith B. "The Presiding Bishopric". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ensign, July 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b Quinn, D. Michael (December 1973), "After Edward Partridge was called to be a bishop there were others who were called to be bishops. Did the Lord call Bishop Partridge to be a presiding bishop?", I Have a Question, Ensign, p. 32
^ LDS Church, Doctrine and Covenants 124:141, Doctrine and Covenants.
^ Van Orden, Bruce A. (2003). "Newel K. Whitney". In Winder, Michael K. (ed.). Presiding bishops. Salt Lake City, Utah: Eborn Books. ISBN 1890718106.
^ George Miller was dropped as "Second Bishop of the Church" prior to 1847 due to apostasy .
^ Though the new Presiding Bishopric was announced after the October 2015 General Conference (see Mormon Newsroom article "Presiding Bishopric Announced," 9 Oct 2015), it was not specifically ratified by a sustaining vote of the church in the April 2016 conference. The general sustaining of the "other General Authorities, Area Seventies, and general auxiliary presidencies as presently constituted" would have included the Presiding Bishopric (see Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Sustaining of Church Officers," April 2016 General Conference).

[1] McMullin, Keith B. "The Presiding Bishopric". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ensign, July 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2013.

[Quinn-2] Quinn, D. Michael (December 1973), "After Edward Partridge was called to be a bishop there were others who were called to be bishops. Did the Lord call Bishop Partridge to be a presiding bishop?", I Have a Question, Ensign, p. 32

[LDSOD1-3] LDS Church, Doctrine and Covenants 124:141, Doctrine and Covenants.

[Van_Orden-4] Van Orden, Bruce A. (2003). "Newel K. Whitney". In Winder, Michael K. (ed.). Presiding bishops. Salt Lake City, Utah: Eborn Books. ISBN 1890718106.

[5] George Miller was dropped as "Second Bishop of the Church" prior to 1847 due to apostasy .

[6] Though the new Presiding Bishopric was announced after the October 2015 General Conference (see Mormon Newsroom article "Presiding Bishopric Announced," 9 Oct 2015), it was not specifically ratified by a sustaining vote of the church in the April 2016 conference. The general sustaining of the "other General Authorities, Area Seventies, and general auxiliary presidencies as presently constituted" would have included the Presiding Bishopric (see Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Sustaining of Church Officers," April 2016 General Conference).

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