General authority

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In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a general authority is a member of a select body of approximately 100 men with administrative and ecclesiastical authority in the church. A general authority's responsibility is church wide, in contrast to the responsibility of a local authority, which relates to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. However, not all church leaders with church-wide jurisdiction in the church are considered general authorities.

The first scriptural use of the term general authority was in minutes of a meeting for the organization of the Presiding High Council in 1834. Though the original minutes did not refer to general authorities, the revised minutes, which were included in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, stated that decisions of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles "can only be called into question by the general authorities of the church in case of transgression." (See LDS D&C 102:32). General authorities in this is generally interpreted to include the First Presidency and the Presiding High Council.

By definition, general authorities are members of the church's priesthood, which does not include women. The most common definition of a general authority includes members of the following leadership organizations:

Excluded from the definition of a general authority are members of the following:

  • The Third through the Eighth Quorums of the Seventy (who are called Area Seventies with responsibilities relating to a specific geographical area)
  • The General Young Men's Presidency
  • The General Sunday School Presidency
  • The General Relief Society Presidency
  • The General Young Women's Presidency
  • The General Primary Presidency

The latter three groups have been traditionally composed of women, and represent the only three presidencies in which women are given church-wide authority in the church.

Leadership for the General Sunday School and Young Men's organizations have historically been called from the ranks of the Seventy. However, in April 2004 General Conference President Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency said that "a recent decision [has been made] that members of the Quorums of the Seventy not serve in the general presidencies of the Sunday School and Young Men...."

Due to this change, General auxiliary presidencies are not called from the Seventy. The Seventy will be more active in general church committees and have less jurisdiction over stakes, particularly in North America. In North America, stake presidents will now report directly to priesthood leaders who hold keys such as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency. In this way, those who hold priesthood keys will direct others with keys.

A person is typically called to be a general authority or general officer by a member of the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve. The President of the Church and members of the Quorum of the Twelve are typically called for the remainder of one's life, although there have been more than a dozen instances when an apostle has been released from his service in the Quorum of the Twelve.

In current church policy, men called to the First Quorum of the Seventy keep the designation "Elder" and typically remain general authorities until they die, but are granted emeritus status at the age of 70. This has been more flexible in recent years, and as of the October 2004 General Conference, three of the seven members of the Presidency of the Seventy, two other members of the First Quorum, and four members of the Second Quorum were aged 70 or more and continued in office.

As with any calling in the Church, general authorities and general offices serve "until they are released" - except for Apostles this usually means limited periods of time, usually from three to twenty years. While there are no revelations that state Apostles serve for life, and on a number of occasions in Church history Apostles have been released from their general authority duties, the conditions of turmoil that led to past members of the Quorum of the Twelve leaving that body are essentially a thing of the past. The excommunication of Richard R. Lyman in 1943 was the most recent such occasion since the resignation of two Apostles who defended polygamy in 1905.

In the semi-annual General Conferences of the Church held in April and October, all of the General authorities are presented to the general membership of the Church for a sustaining vote. This is a voluntary indication made by each member (usually by raising the hand) that the member assents to be led by the individuals presented as General Authorities. This procedure is dictated by Church theology, which states that the Church shall be governed by the common consent of its membership (Doctrine and Covenants 20:65). Dissenting votes are rare. General authorities are also assigned to deliver sermons during the two-day conferences.

In most cases, General authorities are given authority to use the sealing power.

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Cultural use and folklore

In the LDS church General Authorities are members of the first presidency, a quorum of the twelve apostles, or a presidency of seventy and first two quorums, or the three man presiding bishopric with a presiding bishop and two counselors. Annually General authorities visit stake conferences, as well as frequently attend devotionals at LDS institutes and church schools. It is not uncommon for a member of the church to use the phrase "A General Authority said this at so and so's stake conference". Though recently a letter for the governing first presidency said, not to tell about talks from stake conferences to people. A General authority is a friend of a friend or a friend of the family, who is never identified. On LDS message boards, and even in private conversations, someone will say "I heard a general authority said this". General authorities are individuals, but the term a general authority is often used when LDS people want to talk about something they heard without identifying the true source.

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