LDS Church to sustain President Monson on Saturday

LDS Church to sustain President Monson on Saturday


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Marc Giauque and Sam Penrod reportingHistory will be made in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Saturday as millions of members around the world vote to sustain the Church's 16th president. They'll meet in a solemn assembly as part of the Church's General Conference.

The last time it happened was in 1995, when President Gordon B. Hinckley was sustained. "Yesterday morning, members of the Church across the world met together in a solemn assembly. You raised your hands without compulsion and of your own free will to confirm the action taken by the apostles," President Hinckley said.

LDS Church to sustain President Monson on Saturday

"It's a very sacred time," said Church history specialist Grant Anderson. "This initial sustaining gives us pause to think and rethink how committed we are to praying for and sustaining a new president in the Church."

President Thomas S. Monson became the Church's 16th president on Feb. 3. He vowed to continue the commitment of those who've gone before. "We know the future of this work will be in good hands. We desire to cultivate a spirit of kindness, of understanding, of love. We seek always to follow our Savior, who went about doing good," President Monson said.

Anderson says this will leave another historical footnote. "This is the first opportunity we've had to hold a solemn assembly in the new Conference Center, and I think that's one of the things that makes this special," he said.

LDS Church to sustain President Monson on Saturday

"One of the main purposes of a solemn assembly is to sustain Church officers. That's become the standard use of the procedure; and sustaining, of course, means to uphold and support, and it's an opportunity for members of the Church to vocally and also physically show that support," explained Dr. Richard Holzapfel, BYU professor of Church history.

Unlike other church conferences, where church members vote all at once, Saturday they will vote separately in quorums and groups, before a final church-wide sustaining will occur.

Church leadership is also expected to name a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He'll fill a vacancy left by the reorganization of the Church's First Presidency.

Generally in the past, new members of the Quorum of Twelve have been called from the Church's Presidency of the Seventy or Quorums of Seventy, but could come from within the general membership of the Church.

LDS General Conference begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. You can see all general sessions of the conference, on both Saturday and Sunday, on KSL-5.

E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com

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