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frstprs4 (intervals between the deaths of presidents ** )

 Intervals between the death of a Church president and the reorganization of the First Presidency


 

                                                    1st Presidency        New             Interval between
                      Prophet         Death date    Reorganization      Prophet           1st Presidencies

 

                   Joseph Smith       27 Jun 1844    05 Dec 1847    Brigham Young         3 yr 5 mo 08 dy 

                   Brigham Young      29 Aug 1877    08 Oct 1880    John Taylor           3 yr 1 mo 10 dy 

                   John Taylor        25 Jul 1887    09 Apr 1889    Wilford Woodruff      1 yr 8 mo 14 dy

                   Wilford Woodruff   02 Sep 1898    13 Sep 1898    Lorenzo Snow              11 days 

                   Lorenzo Snow       10 Oct 1901    17 Oct 1901    Joseph F Smith            07 days 

                   Joseph F Smith     19 Nov 1918    23 Nov 1918    Heber J Grant             04 days

                   Heber J Grant      14 May 1945    21 May 1945    George Albert Smith       07 days 

                   George A Smith     04 Apr 1951    09 Apr 1951    David O McKay             05 days 

                   David O McKay      18 Jan 1970    23 Jan 1970    Joseph Fielding Smith     05 days 

                   Joseph F Smith     02 Jul 1972    07 Jul 1972    Harold B Lee              05 days 

                   Harold B Lee       26 Dec 1973    30 Dec 1973    Spencer W Kimball         04 days 

                   Spencer W Kimball  05 Nov 1985    10 Nov 1985    Ezra Taft Benson          05 days 

                   Ezra Taft Benson   30 May 1994    04 Jun 1984    Howard W Hunter           05 days 

                   Howard W Hunter    03 Mar 1995    12 Mar 1995    Gordon B Hinckley         09 days 

                   Gordon B Hinckley  27 Jan 2008    03 Feb 2008    Thomas S Monson           07 days

                   Thomas S Monson    02 Jan 2018    14 Jan 2018    Russell M Nelson          12 days

Notes:
1/ Before his death, President Wilford Woodruff instructed Lorenzo Snow and others of the presiding brethren that, after his death, the First Presidency should be reorganized as soon as possible. He said to Lorenzo Snow in 1892, “… and when I go I want you, Brother Snow, not to delay but organize the First Presidency”. Elder Francis M. Lyman stated that President Woodruff reiterated that sentiment several times to the Council of Twelve.   Succession in the Church, by Durham and Heath, pages 103-105
2/ The definition of the word ‘interregnum’ is – a period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes; an interval or pause.  Thus, the period of time between the death of one prophet and the ordination of the next prophet, a time when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles oversees the functioning of the Church, is appropriately called an ‘apostolic interregnum’.


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