Dallin H. Oaks is the new prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No surprises there, as succession in leadership has long been determined by seniority, and Oaks was the church’s longest serving apostle. He assumed that role in 1984.
The two men chosen to join the First Presidency, however, said they were surprised. Henry B. Eyring is first councilor and D. Todd Christofferson is second councilor. Oaks said that he chose them after an “extended process of fasting and prayer.”
After the church’s announcement, Oaks said that Russell M. Nelson, who died last month of old age, was a “magnificent” prophet and that there is a lot of work to do to fulfill the hopes and directives he had for the church and its members.
“There is much to be done, for our ministry is a ministry of all the children of God on the face of the earth,” Oaks said. “We pray for all.“
Matthew Bowman, religion and history professor at Claremont Graduate University, was also a little surprised at the choice of Christofferson. The First Presidency is often a training ground for future prophets, he said, but Bowman believes Christofferson is unlikely to rise that level because he’s older in age and lower in seniority.
But in another way, Bowman said the pick makes sense. Like Oaks, Christofferson is an attorney. Before he became a full-time general authority for the church, he was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corporation — now Bank of America.
“For both of them, I think being religious has to do with clear parsing of ideas with real attention given to reason and logic and rationality,” Bowman said. “They're both people who care a lot about institution, who care a lot about what is written and doing things according to what is written.”
Eyring was part of the last First Presidency of the church as second counselor to Nelson. He is also a former president of Ricks College — now called Brigham Young University-Idaho.
The two expressed honor and gratitude at their new positions.
“I recognize that I'm not called to be honored, but called to serve,” said Christofferson.
Eyring added that he’s “grateful for the people whose faith I know will sustain us in this great work of the restoration and the final preparation of the Lord's church for His coming.”
Keeping Eyring in the First Presidency shows an adherence to tradition, Bowman said.
“This is an institution that really values that kind of constancy and leadership. And the retention of Eyring, I think, really nods to that.”
All three leaders are known for being even-handed, Bowman added, saying they’re not inclined to anger. Combined with Oaks’ and Christofferson’s legal backgrounds, Bowman predicts this administration won’t be one for radical change. Instead, they’ll “take incremental steps, to experiment with things, and to move fairly slowly in whatever direction they may be going.”
Brittany Romanello, professor of sociology and Latin American Latino Studies at the University of Arkansas, believes the First Presidency choice “was a very strategic and smart decision.”
She explained that Eyring and Oaks have a long working relationship, and picking another attorney — Christofferson — makes sense, “especially given the current socio-political context that we are in.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle since 1994 and former president of Brigham Young University, has also gone from acting to official president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Based on seniority, he is next in line to become the prophet.
“All four of them have been extremely vocal about religious freedom and protecting religious freedom, especially in the past 10 years,” Romanello said.
In 2021, Holland gave a controversial speech at BYU that doubled down on the church’s stance against same-sex marriage. He used a “musket fire” metaphor to talk about defending the church.
In speaking after the announcement Tuesday, he gave his support to Oaks and said, “We’ve watched him be prepared.”
Oaks has also long been outspoken about his beliefs against same-sex marriage. Setting aside her academic hat, Romanello said she’s nervous as a gay member of the church.
“It's difficult because you just don't know what's coming down the line,” she said. “It's just so much unknown.”
In Oaks’ talk at the church’s October General Conference, he focused on families, saying, “Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family.”
He quoted the church’s Family Proclamation that “the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.” Oaks is concerned about declining U.S. birth rates, adding that church birth rates have also declined “significantly.”
Bowman observed that Oaks’ speech focused a lot on the “nuts and bolts” of raising a family.
“It may be an indication on Oaks’ part, that there might be a kind of backing away from the culture war,” Bowman said. “Oaks is certainly someone who has been concerned, I think, about the heated nature of political rhetoric in the United States.”
Bowman believes Christofferson may feel the same way because of his legal training and because he has a younger brother who is an openly gay member of the church.
With the church’s leadership announcement, Oaks said, “I accept with humility the responsibility that God has placed upon me and commit my whole heart and soul to the service to which I’ve been called.”
