What Happens When a Prophet Dies?

Latter-day Saint families are strengthened when individuals understand how the transition between prophets takes place. President Russell M. Nelson passed away at about 10:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 27, 2025. Before his death, he was the Senior Apostle as well as the Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the time of President Nelson’s death, Dallin H. Oaks became the Senior Apostle.

Senior Apostle means the man who has held the office of Apostle for the longest period of time. President Nelson and President Oaks were ordained Apostles on the same day, but President Nelson was ordained as an Apostle prior to the ordination of President Oaks.

Before a Prophet dies, there are two quorums: the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The members of both quorums are usually Apostles. I say usually because there have been times when men were called to be counselors in the First Presidency without being called as Apostles.

While I could think of only two such men [Thorpe B. Isaacson and J. Reuben Clark], this site lists the name, position, and dates of service for eleven men who served as counselors without being called as Apostles. However, J. Reuben Clark is unique in that he was called to be a counselor as a High Priest but was later called to be an Apostle and continued serving as a counselor. 

The period of time between the death of one prophet and the setting apart of the next prophet has a special name: apostolic interregnum. Tad Walch religion reporter with a focus on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared the following information in his article published at the Deseret News. 

The death of President Russell M. Nelson automatically dissolved the First Presidency on Saturday night and launched an apostolic interregnum – a period when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles leads The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The end of a First Presidency that lasted more than seven-and-a-half years means that Presidents Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring have returned to the Quorum of the Twelve.

That means the quorum temporarily has 14 members with the senior apostle, President Oaks, as its president.

An apostolic interregnum is a rare moment in the church, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland told the Deseret News in 2018.

“It’s a great thing in the church to say goodbye to a prophet and anticipate a new one,” he said. “Through all the anticipation of it all, there’s never a moment when the keys are not in force, and there’s never any lack of revelatory experience. It’s a little bit like the Brits, who say, ‘the King is dead, God save the king.’ The transition is that fast.”

Throughout the church’s 195-year history, every apostolic interregnum has ended with the quorum selecting the senior apostle as the next church president.

President Oaks, 93, is therefore expected to succeed President Nelson – a friend he literally sat next to in leadership meetings for 41 years – and become the 18^th prophet-president of the church.

The second-most senior apostle becomes the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During President Nelson’s tenure, that meant President Oaks carried that title while he served as the first counselor in the First Presidency….

President Holland, 84, is now the second-most senior apostle and is expected to be set apart as president of the Twelve. If he were called to the new First Presidency when it is reorganized, the next-senior apostle, President Eyring, 92, would become acting president of the Twelve.

I expect that President Oaks will become the next President of the Church of Jesus Christ, but I wonder when such action will take place. Since the Church is about to hold one of its two yearly General Conferences, I wonder if President Oaks will be sustained during conference even though President Nelson’s funeral is scheduled to be held a couple of days after conference. Walch has a good explanation for why this conference may be one that is led by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Based on church precedent, the First Presidency is not expected to be reorganized before general conference this weekend, though it is possible.

In the past, out of respect for the deceased church president, the First Presidency has not been reorganized until after his funeral. President Nelson’s funeral is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

President [M. Russell] Ballard talked about that respect in a Deseret News interview during the last apostolic interregnum in 2018. “In reverence to the deceased president, we just don’t do much prior to the funeral,” he said. Part of the reason is also respect for the following First Presidency, he said. [Paragraphing altered.] …

In 2018, after the death of President Thomas S. Monson, the apostolic interregnum lasted for 12 days. That was the longest interregnum since the church’s pioneer days…. [Paragraphing altered.]

That 2018 interregnum ended when the Quorum of the Twelve set apart President Nelson as … President Monson’s successor during a Sunday morning meeting in the Salt Lake Temple.

If the quorum again chooses to hold its succession meeting the Sunday after the funeral, a new president might not be announced until Oct. 12, 13 or 14, due to this weekend’s general conference meetings.

The new church president will call two apostles from the quorum to assist him in the First Presidency. That will reduce the quorum to 11 members.

The new church president then will be expected to name a new apostle…. [Generally happens at a general conference but not always.]

Apostles serve for life and are, according to Latter-day Saint scripture, “special witnesses” of Jesus Christ to the world. Three apostles form the First Presidency. Twelve more make up the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Walch shares information about the length of apostolic interregnums. The shortest ones were four days (Joseph F. Smith to Heber J. Grant and Harold B. Lee to Spencer W. Kimball). The longest ones were the first three: Joseph Smith to Brigham Young (3 years, 6 months), Brigham Young to John Taylor (3 years, 1 month), and John Taylor to Wilford Woodruff (1 year, 9 months). The longest one in recent years is the one between Thomas S. Monson and Russell M. Nelson (12 days). Since it has already been six days as I drafted this essay, this interregnum may become the longest one since pioneer days.

I was born in the days when Heber J. Grant was the President of the Church of Jesus Christ, but David O. McKay is the first President that I remember. He was the Prophet-President throughout my childhood, youth, and early adult years and passed away after I married. He was the ninth President of the Church, and we are about to see the ninth President since President McKay.

I loved and sustained every President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I know that each of them was and is a prophet of God. However, I feel a closer connection to some of them than I do others: David O. McKay (first that I remember), Spencer W. Kimball (Prophet when I became a true disciple of Christ), Gordon B. Hinckley (reminded me a lot of my father), and Russell M. Nelson (who does not feel a special connection to the prophet who healed hearts physically and spiritually). I look forward to sustaining the next Prophet of God.