What happens when an LDS president dies?

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Posted: 9:17 PM- The church is governed by a president and two counselors in the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. All 15 men serve until their deaths.

When the president dies, his two counselors, who were chosen from among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, resume their places in the seniority, which is determined by the date on which an apostle was ordained. A counselor is not necessarily the next man in line.

By long-standing tradition, the senior apostle, or the man who has served the longest, becomes the new president.

He then chooses two counselors from among the apostles.

When the new First Presidency is in place, there will be a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that will have to be filled. That man will be the most junior apostle.