Composition and Distinction From General Officers
By definition, general authorities are members of the church's priesthood, which does not include women. The most common definition of the general authorities includes the members of the following leadership organizations:
| Organization | Membership | Title given to members (e.g., Title Smith or Title John J. Smith) |
Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Presidency | President of the Church and his chosen counselors | President | President of the Church: Life counselors: Until own death, death of the President of the Church, or release at the discretion of the president |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | 12 Apostles | Elder; President or Acting President of the Quorum |
Typically life; may be removed from Quorum to join First Presidency; on rare occasions may be removed from the Quorum due to an excess of Apostles |
| Presidency of the Seventy | 7 Seventies, typically drawn from the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy | Elder | Variable (usually 5-8 years); until release at the discretion of the church president; will typically remain a member of the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy when released |
| First Quorum of the Seventy | Up to 70 Seventies | Elder | Life; will typically be relieved of active duties and granted emeritus status around age 70 |
| Second Quorum of the Seventy | Up to 70 Seventies | Elder | Variable (usually 5-7 years); until release at the discretion of the Church President |
| Presiding Bishopric | 3 Bishops: one presiding bishop and two counselors | Bishop | Variable (usually 9-12 years); until release at the discretion of the church president; will typically become a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy upon their release |
| Presiding Patriarch | 1 Patriarch, usually a descendant of Joseph Smith, Sr. | Elder | Life; current presiding patriarch has been released of active duties and given general authority emeritus status |
| Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | Defunct (was variable) | Defunct (was Elder) | All Assistants to the Twelve were added to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976 and the position was eliminated |
Read more about this topic: General Authority
Famous quotes containing the words composition, distinction, general and/or officers:
“Every thing in his composition was little; and he had all the weaknesses of a little mind, without any of the virtues, or even the vices, of a great one.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.”
—Don Barthelme (1931–1989)
“A private should preserve a respectful attitude toward his superiors, and should seldom or never proceed so far as to offer suggestions to his general in the field. If the battle is not being conducted to suit him, it is better for him to resign. By the etiquette of war, it is permitted to none below the rank of newspaper correspondent to dictate to the general in the field.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“In the weakness of one kind of authority, and in the fluctuation of all, the officers of an army will remain for some time mutinous and full of faction, until some popular general, who understands the art of conciliating the soldiery, and who possesses the true spirit of command, shall draw the eyes of all men upon himself. Armies will obey him on his personal account. There is no other way of securing military obedience in this state of things.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)