Bishop (Latter Day Saints) - History of The Office

History of The Office

Edward Partridge became the first man called to the office of bishop in the early Latter Day Saint church on February 4, 1831. The duties of the office were to oversee the temporal affairs and accounts of the church through the implementation of the law of consecration. Partridge was called to preside over the Missouri Church in Joseph Smith's absence and soon thereafter Edward and his family emigrated to the church's growing colony in Jackson County, Missouri, and continued to act as Bishop of the Branch of the Church there. Newel K. Whitney was then called as Bishop to oversee the temporal affairs of the church in Kirtland, Ohio.

When the Latter Day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois, the membership was separated into three "wards" or geographical precincts ("Upper," "Middle" and "Lower") and a bishop was called to oversee the temporal affairs of each ward. Edward Partridge presided over the "Upper Ward," Newel K. Whitney presided over the "Middle Ward" and Vinson Knight presided over the "Lower Ward." (See Jessee et al., Joseph Smith Papers:Journals, Volume 1 1832-1839, pp. 455–60) Through time in Church History the position of Presiding Bishop was created. Edward Partridge is considered the "First Presiding Bishop" of the Church, however neither he nor his contemporaries saw him as a superior to other Bishops of the Church in that time period.

After the 1844 succession crisis, the offices of bishop and presiding bishop developed separately in the various resulting denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.