Presiding Bishop (LDS Church)

See also: Presiding Bishop and Bishop (Latter Day Saints)

The Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is a priesthood calling with church-wide authority. The Presiding Bishop is the highest leadership position within the church's Aaronic priesthood.

Presiding Bishopric

Upon the Presiding Bishop's recommendation, the First Presidency calls two other men to assist the Presiding Bishop as his counselors; the three together compose the Presiding Bishopric of the LDS Church. As well as being ordained to the Aaronic priesthood office of bishop, the members of the Presiding Bishopric are general authorities of the church. Like all other functioning bishops in the church they are ordained high priests in the Melchizedek priesthood. The Presiding Bishopric forms the governing body of the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the legal entity owning many of the church's assets and holdings in some countries around the world.

Duties

The primary duties of the Presiding Bishop and his counselors are to oversee the temporal affairs (buildings, properties, commercial corporations, etc.) of the church and to oversee the bishoprics of congregations throughout the world. Along with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presiding Bishopric is a part of the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes, a group that oversees and authorizes the expenditure of all tithing funds. The Presiding Bishopric is also responsible for overseeing the Aaronic priesthood of the church, although most of the work in this area is delegated to the general presidency of the Young Men Organization.

The Presiding Bishopric hold the power to join with twelve high priests of the church in convening the Common Council of the Church, the only body of the church which may discipline or remove the President of the Church or one of his counselors in the First Presidency. However, the Common Council has only been convened twice in the history of the LDS Church, and only once has it disciplined a First Presidency member, when it excommunicated Sidney Rigdon in absentia in 1844.

History

The office of Presiding Bishop shares its origin with that of bishop. Edward Partridge was the first man ordained to the office of bishop in the early Church of Christ on February 4, 1831. This office became known as the First Bishop and later the "Presiding Bishop" to distinguish the calling from subordinate bishops who began to be called in the Nauvoo period (1839–1844). The first person to be referred to as the "Presiding Bishop" of the church was Newel K. Whitney, who was given the title in 1847 when the First Presidency was reorganized.

The current Presiding Bishop of the church is Gary E. Stevenson.

Chronology of the Presiding Bishopric

No.	Dates	Presiding Bishop		First Counselor			Second Counselor
1	February 4, 1831 – May 27, 1840	Edward Partridge ("Bishop")	Edward Partridge	Isaac Morley (June 6, 1831 – May 27, 1840)	Isaac Morley		John Corrill (June 6, 1831 – August 1, 1837) Titus Billings (August 1, 1837 – May 27, 1840)	Titus Billings
	May 27, 1840 – October 7, 1844	None sustained
	October 7, 1844 – April 6, 1847	Newel K. Whitney ("First Bishop of the Church")	Newel K. Whitney	George Miller ("Second Bishop of the Church") (October 7, 1844 – latter end of 1846)
2	April 6, 1847 – September 23, 1850	Newel K. Whitney ("Presiding Bishop")		None
3	April 7, 1851 – October 16, 1883	Edward Hunter	Edward Hunter	Leonard W. Hardy (October 6, 1856 – October 16, 1883)	Leonard W. Hardy		Jesse Carter Little (October 6, 1856 – Summer 1874) Robert T. Burton (October 9, 1874 – October 16, 1883)	Jesse Carter Little	Robert T. Burton
4	April 6, 1884 – December 4, 1907	William B. Preston	William B. Preston	Leonard W. Hardy (April 6, 1884 – July 31, 1884) Robert T. Burton (October 5, 1884 – November 11, 1907)	Leonard W. Hardy	Robert T. Burton	John Q. Cannon (October 5, 1884 – September 5, 1886) John R. Winder (April 8, 1887 – October 17, 1901) Orrin P. Miller (October 24, 1901 – December 4, 1907)	John Q. Cannon	John R. Winder	Orrin P. Miller
5	December 4, 1907 – May 28, 1925	Charles W. Nibley	Charles W. Nibley	Orrin P. Miller (December 4, 1907 – July 7, 1918) David A. Smith (July 18, 1918 – May 28, 1925)	Orrin P. Miller	David A. Smith	David A. Smith (December 4, 1907 – July 7, 1918) John Wells (July 18, 1918 – May 28, 1925)	David A. Smith	John Wells
6	June 4, 1925 – April 6, 1938	Sylvester Q. Cannon	Sylvester Q. Cannon	David A. Smith	David A. Smith		John Wells	John Wells
7	April 6, 1938 – April 6, 1952	LeGrand Richards	LeGrand Richards	Marvin O. Ashton (April 6, 1938 – October 7, 1946) Joseph L. Wirthlin (December 12, 1946 – April 6, 1952)	Joseph L. Wirthlin		Joseph L. Wirthlin (April 6, 1938 – October 7, 1946) Thorpe B. Isaacson (December 12, 1946 – April 6, 1952)	Joseph L. Wirthlin	Thorpe B. Isaacson
8	April 6, 1952 – September 30, 1961	Joseph L. Wirthlin	Joseph L. Wirthlin	Thorpe B. Isaacson	Thorpe B. Isaacson		Carl W. Buehner	Carl W. Buehner
9	September 30, 1961 – April 6, 1972	John H. Vandenburg	John H. Vandenburg	Robert L. Simpson			Victor L. Brown	Victor L. Brown
10	April 6, 1972 – April 6, 1985	Victor L. Brown	Victor L. Brown	H. Burke Peterson			Vaughn J Featherstone (April 6, 1972 – October 1, 1976) J. Richard Clarke (October 1, 1976 – April 6, 1985)
11	April 6, 1985 – April 2, 1994	Robert D. Hales		Henry B. Eyring (April 6, 1985 – October 3, 1992) H. David Burton (October 3, 1992) – April 2, 1994)			Glenn L. Pace (April 6, 1985 – October 3, 1992) Richard C. Edgley (October 3, 1992) – April 2, 1994)
12	April 2, 1994 – December 27, 1995	Merrill J. Bateman		H. David Burton			Richard C. Edgley
13	December 27, 1995 – March 31, 2012	H. David Burton		Richard C. Edgley			Keith B. McMullin
14	March 31, 2012 –	Gary E. Stevenson		Gérald Caussé			Dean M. Davies