Chronology of the First Presidency (LDS Church)

What follows is a chronological table that sets out the changes in the composition of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through time.[1]

Date range	President of the Church (and Assistant Presidents)		First Counselor	Second Counselor	Other Counselors (3C = Third Counselor) C = Counselor AC = Assistant Counselor)		Change from previous organization
8 March 1832 – 3 December 1832	Joseph Smith	Joseph Smith Oliver Cowdery Hyrum Smith John C. Bennett	Jesse Gause[2]	Sidney Rigdon[2]		Oliver Cowdery Hyrum Smith Joseph Smith, Sr. John Smith Amasa Lyman	Initial organization of First Presidency[2]
3 December 1832 – 18 March 1833				Sidney Rigdon[2]			Jesse Gause excommunicated
18 March 1833 – 5 December 1834			Sidney Rigdon	Frederick G. Williams			Sidney Rigdon called as First Counselor; Frederick G. Williams called as Second Counselor
5 December 1834 – 3 September 1837	Joseph Smith (Oliver Cowdery)						Oliver Cowdery called as Assistant President of the Church
3 September 1837 – 7 November 1837					Oliver Cowdery (AC) Hyrum Smith (AC) John Smith (AC) Joseph Smith, Sr. (AC)		Hyrum Smith, John Smith and Joseph Smith, Sr. called as Assistant Counselors; Oliver Cowdery also given the title of Assistant Counselor
7 November 1837 – 11 April 1838				Hyrum Smith	Oliver Cowdery (AC) Joseph Smith, Sr. (AC) John Smith (AC)		Frederick G. Williams rejected as Second Counselor at church conference; Hyrum Smith called as Second Counselor
11 April 1838 – 14 September 1840	Joseph Smith				Joseph Smith, Sr. (AC) John Smith (AC)		Oliver Cowdery excommunicated
14 September 1840 – 24 January 1841	Joseph Smith				John Smith (AC)		Death of Joseph Smith, Sr.
24 January 1841 – 8 April 1841	Joseph Smith (Hyrum Smith)			William Law			Hyrum Smith called as Assistant President of the Church; William Law replaces Hyrum Smith as Second Counselor
8 April 1841 – 25 May 1842	Joseph Smith (Hyrum Smith) (John C. Bennett)[3]						John C. Bennett called as Assistant President[3]
25 May 1842 – 4 February 1843	Joseph Smith (Hyrum Smith)						John C. Bennett disfellowshipped
4 February 1843 – 18 April 1844					John Smith (AC) Amasa Lyman (C)		Amasa Lyman called as Counselor
18 April 1844 – 27 June 1844					John Smith (AC) Amasa Lyman (C)		Apostasy of William Law
27 June 1844 – 27 December 1847	No organized First Presidency: Death of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith; dissolution of First Presidency
27 December 1847 – 11 March 1854	Brigham Young		Heber C. Kimball	Willard Richards		Joseph F. Smith John Willard Young George Q. Cannon Brigham Young, Jr. Lorenzo Snow Albert Carrington	First Presidency reorganized after deaths of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith
11 March 1854 – 7 April 1854							Death of Willard Richards
7 April 1854 – 1 December 1856				Jedediah M. Grant			Jedediah M. Grant called as Second Counselor
1 December 1856 – 4 January 1857							Death of Jedediah M. Grant
4 January 1857 – 1 July 1866				Daniel H. Wells			Daniel H. Wells called as Second Counselor
1 July 1866 – 22 June 1868					Joseph F. Smith (C)		Joseph F. Smith called as Counselor
22 June 1868 – 7 October 1868							Death of Heber C. Kimball
7 October 1868 – 8 April 1873			George A. Smith				George A. Smith called as First Counselor
8 April 1873 – 9 May 1874					Joseph F. Smith (C) John Willard Young (C) George Q. Cannon (C) Brigham Young, Jr. (C) Lorenzo Snow (C) Albert Carrington (C)		John Willard Young, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Lorenzo Snow, and Albert Carrington called as Counselors
9 May 1874 – 1 September 1875					Joseph F. Smith (C) John Willard Young (AC) George Q. Cannon (AC) Brigham Young, Jr. (AC) Lorenzo Snow (AC) Albert Carrington (AC)		Titles of all additional counselors (except Joseph F. Smith) changed from Counselor to Assistant Counselor
1 September 1875 – 8 October 1876					Joseph F. Smith (C) John Willard Young (AC) George Q. Cannon (AC) Brigham Young, Jr. (AC) Lorenzo Snow (AC) Albert Carrington (AC)		Death of George A. Smith
8 October 1876 – 29 August 1877			John Willard Young		Joseph F. Smith (C) George Q. Cannon (AC) Brigham Young, Jr. (AC) Lorenzo Snow (AC) Albert Carrington (AC)		John Willard Young called as First Counselor
29 August 1877 – 10 October 1880	No organized First Presidency; Death of Brigham Young; dissolution of First Presidency
10 October 1880 – 25 July 1887	John Taylor		George Q. Cannon	Joseph F. Smith			First Presidency reorganized after death of Brigham Young
25 July 1887 – 7 April 1889	No organized First Presidency; Death of John Taylor; dissolution of First Presidency
7 April 1889 – 2 September 1898	Wilford Woodruff		George Q. Cannon	Joseph F. Smith			First Presidency reorganized after death of John Taylor
2 September 1898 – 13 September 1898	No organized First Presidency; Death of Wilford Woodruff; dissolution of First Presidency
13 September 1898 – 12 April 1901	Lorenzo Snow		George Q. Cannon	Joseph F. Smith			First Presidency reorganized after death of Wilford Woodruff
12 April 1901 – 6 October 1901				Joseph F. Smith			Death of George Q. Cannon
6 October 1901 – 10 October 1901			Joseph F. Smith	Rudger Clawson			Joseph F. Smith called as First Counselor; Rudger Clawson called as Second Counselor. NOTE: These counselors were sustained but not set apart due to the death of Snow 4 days later
10 October 1901 – 17 October 1901	No organized First Presidency; Death of Lorenzo Snow; dissolution of First Presidency
17 October 1901 – 27 March 1910	Joseph F. Smith		John R. Winder	Anthon H. Lund			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Lorenzo Snow
27 March 1910 – 7 April 1910				Anthon H. Lund			Death of John R. Winder
7 April 1910 – 13 October 1911			Anthon H. Lund	John Henry Smith			Anthon H. Lund called as First Counselor; John Henry Smith called as Second Counselor
13 October 1911 – 7 December 1911							Death of John Henry Smith
7 December 1911 – 19 November 1918				Charles W. Penrose			Charles W. Penrose called as Second Counselor
19 November 1918 – 23 November 1918	No organized First Presidency; Death of Joseph F. Smith; dissolution of First Presidency
23 November 1918 – 2 March 1921	Heber J. Grant		Anthon H. Lund	Charles W. Penrose			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Joseph F. Smith
2 March 1921 – 10 March 1921				Charles W. Penrose			Death of Anthon H. Lund
10 March 1921 – 16 May 1925			Charles W. Penrose	Anthony W. Ivins			Charles W. Penrose called as First Counselor; Anthony W. Ivins called as Second Counselor
16 May 1925 – 28 May 1925				Anthony W. Ivins			Death of Charles W. Penrose
28 May 1925 – 11 December 1931			Anthony W. Ivins	Charles W. Nibley			Anthony W. Ivins called as First Counselor; Charles W. Nibley called as Second Counselor
11 December 1931 – 6 April 1933							Death of Charles W. Nibley
6 April 1933 – 23 September 1934				J. Reuben Clark			J. Reuben Clark called as Second Counselor
23 September 1934 – 11 October 1934				J. Reuben Clark			Death of Anthony W. Ivins
11 October 1934 – 14 May 1945			J. Reuben Clark	David O. McKay			J. Reuben Clark called as First Counselor; David O. McKay called as Second Counselor
14 May 1945 – 21 May 1945	No organized First Presidency; Death of Heber J. Grant; dissolution of First Presidency
21 May 1945 – 4 April 1951	George Albert Smith		J. Reuben Clark	David O. McKay			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Heber J. Grant
4 April 1951 – 9 April 1951	No organized First Presidency; Death of George Albert Smith; dissolution of First Presidency
9 April 1951 – 19 May 1959	David O. McKay		Stephen L Richards	J. Reuben Clark			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of George Albert Smith
19 May 1959 – 12 June 1959				J. Reuben Clark			Death of Stephen L Richards
12 June 1959 – 22 June 1961			J. Reuben Clark	Henry D. Moyle			J. Reuben Clark called as First Counselor; Henry D. Moyle called as Second Counselor
22 June 1961 – 6 October 1961			J. Reuben Clark		Hugh B. Brown (3C)		Hugh B. Brown called as Third Counselor
6 October 1961 – 12 October 1961					Hugh B. Brown (3C)		Death of J. Reuben Clark
12 October 1961 – 18 September 1963			Henry D. Moyle		Hugh B. Brown			Henry D. Moyle called as First Counselor; Hugh B. Brown called as Second Counselor
18 September 1963 – 4 October 1963						Death of Henry D. Moyle
4 October 1963 – 28 October 1965			Hugh B. Brown	N. Eldon Tanner	Hugh B. Brown			Hugh B. Brown called as First Counselor; N. Eldon Tanner called as Second Counselor
28 October 1965 – 29 October 1965					Thorpe B. Isaacson (C)	Isaacson Smith Dyer	Thorpe B. Isaacson called as Counselor
29 October 1965 – 6 April 1968					Thorpe B. Isaacson (C) Joseph Fielding Smith (C)		Joseph Fielding Smith called as Counselor
6 April 1968 – 18 January 1970					Thorpe B. Isaacson (C) Joseph Fielding Smith (C) Alvin R. Dyer (C)		Alvin R. Dyer called as Counselor
18 January 1970 – 23 January 1970	No organized First Presidency; Death of David O. McKay; dissolution of First Presidency
23 January 1970 – 2 July 1972	Joseph Fielding Smith		Harold B. Lee	N. Eldon Tanner			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of David O. McKay
2 July 1972 – 7 July 1972	No organized First Presidency; Death of Joseph Fielding Smith; dissolution of First Presidency
7 July 1972 – 26 December 1973	Harold B. Lee		N. Eldon Tanner	Marion G. Romney			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Joseph Fielding Smith
26 December 1973 – 30 December 1973	No organized First Presidency; Death of Harold B. Lee; dissolution of First Presidency
30 December 1973 – 23 July 1981	Spencer W. Kimball		N. Eldon Tanner	Marion G. Romney			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Harold B. Lee
23 July 1981 – 27 November 1982			N. Eldon Tanner		Gordon B. Hinckley (C)		Gordon B. Hinckley called as Counselor
27 November 1982 – 2 December 1982					Gordon B. Hinckley (C)		Death of N. Eldon Tanner
2 December 1982 – 5 November 1985			Marion G. Romney	Gordon B. Hinckley			Marion G. Romney called as First Counselor; Gordon B. Hinckley called as Second Counselor
5 November 1985 – 10 November 1985	No organized First Presidency; Death of Spencer W. Kimball; dissolution of First Presidency
10 November 1985 – 30 May 1994	Ezra Taft Benson		Gordon B. Hinckley	Thomas S. Monson			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Spencer W. Kimball
30 May 1994 – 5 June 1994	No organized First Presidency; Death of Ezra Taft Benson; dissolution of First Presidency
5 June 1994 – 3 March 1995	Howard W. Hunter		Gordon B. Hinckley	Thomas S. Monson			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Ezra Taft Benson
3 March 1995 – 12 March 1995	No organized First Presidency; Death of Howard W. Hunter; dissolution of First Presidency
12 March 1995 – 10 August 2007	Gordon B. Hinckley		Thomas S. Monson	James E. Faust			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Howard W. Hunter
10 August 2007 – 6 October 2007							Death of James E. Faust[4]
6 October 2007 – 27 January 2008				Henry B. Eyring			Henry B. Eyring called as Second Counselor
27 January 2008 – 3 February 2008	No organized First Presidency; Death of Gordon B. Hinckley; dissolution of First Presidency
3 February 2008 – 2 January 2018	Thomas S. Monson		Henry B. Eyring	Dieter F. Uchtdorf			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Gordon B. Hinckley[5]
2 January 2018 – 14 January 2018	No organized First Presidency; Death of Thomas S. Monson; dissolution of First Presidency
14 January 2018 –	Russell M. Nelson		Dallin H. Oaks	Henry B. Eyring			Reorganization of First Presidency after death of Thomas S. Monson[6]

Notes

For purposes of this chart, the First Presidency of the LDS Church is assumed to be a continuation of the First Presidency established by Joseph Smith in 1832.
Gause and Rigdon were never formally designated as "first" and "second" counselor. However, one researcher has provided several pieces of circumstantial evidence which suggest that Gause could be regarded in today's terms as Smith's "first" counselor. See Quinn, D. Michael (1983). "Jesse Gause: Joseph Smith's Little Known Counselor". BYU Studies. 23 (4): 487–493 at 489–490.
Smith appointed Bennett to serve "as Assistant President until President [Sidney] Rigdon's health should be restored.": History of the Church, 4:341. However, since Rigdon was a member of the First Presidency but not the Assistant President, many have speculated that Bennett's intended role was as a fill-in for Rigdon as a counselor in the First Presidency. Unlike both Oliver Cowdery and Hyrum Smith, Bennett was not ordained to the priesthood office of apostle and he was not given all of the keys of the priesthood. Therefore, it appears that Bennett's status as "Assistant President" may not have been commensurate with the position held by Cowdery and Hyrum Smith.
"President James E. Faust dies at age 87". Deseret Morning News. 2007-08-10. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
"LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97". Deseret Morning News. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
"President Monson Dies at Age 90". Church News. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-16.

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[1] For purposes of this chart, the First Presidency of the LDS Church is assumed to be a continuation of the First Presidency established by Joseph Smith in 1832.

[GauseRigdon-2] Gause and Rigdon were never formally designated as "first" and "second" counselor. However, one researcher has provided several pieces of circumstantial evidence which suggest that Gause could be regarded in today's terms as Smith's "first" counselor. See Quinn, D. Michael (1983). "Jesse Gause: Joseph Smith's Little Known Counselor". BYU Studies. 23 (4): 487–493 at 489–490.

[Bennett-3] Smith appointed Bennett to serve "as Assistant President until President [Sidney] Rigdon's health should be restored.": History of the Church, 4:341. However, since Rigdon was a member of the First Presidency but not the Assistant President, many have speculated that Bennett's intended role was as a fill-in for Rigdon as a counselor in the First Presidency. Unlike both Oliver Cowdery and Hyrum Smith, Bennett was not ordained to the priesthood office of apostle and he was not given all of the keys of the priesthood. Therefore, it appears that Bennett's status as "Assistant President" may not have been commensurate with the position held by Cowdery and Hyrum Smith.

[4] "President James E. Faust dies at age 87". Deseret Morning News. 2007-08-10. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-08-10.

[5] "LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97". Deseret Morning News. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-01-27.

[6] "President Monson Dies at Age 90". Church News. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-16.

Members of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Presidents of the Church	J. Smith Jr. (1830–44) B. Young Sr. (1847–77) Taylor (1880–87) Woodruff (1889–98) Snow (1898–1901) J.F. Smith Sr. (1901–18) Grant (1918–45) G.A. Smith (1945–51) McKay (1951–70) J.F. Smith Jr. (1970–72) Lee (1972–73) Kimball (1973–85) Benson (1985–94) Hunter (1994–95) Hinckley (1995–2008) Monson (2008–18) Nelson (2018–)
First Counselors	Gause (1832) Rigdon (1832–44) Kimball (1847–68) G.A. Smith (1868–75) J.W. Young (1876–77) Cannon (1880–1901) J.F. Smith Sr. (1901) Winder (1901–10) Lund (1910–21) Penrose (1921–25) Ivins (1925–34) Clark (1934–51; 1959–61) S.L. Richards (1951–59) Moyle (1961–63) Brown (1963–70) Lee (1970–72) Tanner (1972–82) Romney (1982–85) Hinckley (1985–95) Monson (1995–2008) Eyring (2008–18) Oaks (2018–)
Second Counselors	Rigdon (1832) Williams (1833–37) H. Smith (1837–41) Law (1841–44) W. Richards (1847–54) Grant (1854–56) Wells (1857–77) J.F. Smith Sr. (1880–1901) Clawson (1901) Lund (1901–10) J.H. Smith (1910–11) Penrose (1911–21) Ivins (1921–25) Nibley (1925–31) Clark (1933–34) McKay (1934–51) Clark (1951–59) Moyle (1959–61) Brown (1961–63) Tanner (1963–72) Romney (1972–82) Hinckley (1982–85) Monson (1985–95) Faust (1995–2007) Eyring (2007–08) Uchtdorf (2008–18) Eyring (2018–)

Chronology of the First Presidency (LDS Church)

See also

Notes