{"id":13901,"date":"2025-10-15T10:12:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=13901"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:12:33","slug":"dallin-h-oaks-chosen-as-new-president-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/10\/dallin-h-oaks-chosen-as-new-president-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints.html","title":{"rendered":"Dallin H. Oaks Chosen as New President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"
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churchofjesuschrist.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dallin H. Oaks was chosen by the Quorum of the Twelve to serve as the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The official announcement was made during a live broadcast from Salt Lake City, Utah.<\/p>\n

“I accept with humility the responsibility that God has placed upon me and commit my whole heart and soul to the service to which I’ve been called,” President Oaks said in an announcement by the Church.<\/p>\n

President Oaks succeeds President Russell M. Nelson, who died on September 27. President Nelson’s passing automatically dissolved the First Presidency of the church.<\/p>\n

The First Presidency consists of the president and the first and second counselors. President Oaks served as the first counselor for the last seven and a half years of President Nelson’s tenure.<\/p>\n

The Church of Jesus Christ, with more than 17 million members globally, is led by a group of apostles, who make up the membership of both the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. Upon President Nelson’s death, President Oaks became the oldest living apostle (age 93). Nelson, like Oaks, became President at age 93 and served until his passing at the age of 101.<\/p>\n

Church structure and practice obviously favor age and experience in those chosen as leaders. Apostles, once chosen, serve for life. The other main leaders in the Church’s new administration are similarly seasoned.<\/p>\n

President Henry Eyring, chosen as the new first counselor, is 92. President D. Todd Christofferson, the new second counselor, is 80, and President Jeffrey Holland, the new president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is 84. While some outside the Church might question the vitality of its leadership, President Nelson served for over seven years and led the Church through a number of transitions and updates.<\/p>\n

Before he was appointed an apostle, President Oaks served as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court. He was also previously the President of Brigham Young University, after practicing law and teaching law in Chicago. Upon his appointment as an apostle, he resigned his position on the Utah Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, President Oaks has evidenced an interest in the intersection between secular law and the religious sphere. Upon his appointment as an apostle, he referred to hearing the summons “from the other side of the wall” between church and state. He has frequently written and spoken about religious liberty issues, and in 2013, he received the Canterbury Medal for “courage in the defense of religious liberty” from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.<\/p>\n

One particular issue on which President Oaks has spoken numerous times over the years is same-sex marriage. He has defended the Church’s position against such marriages, while reminding people that attacking people for their sexual identity is against Church policy. His focus is on defending the rights of churches and people of faith to believe and teach against such practices, in spite of secular laws and rulings upholding those practices. He has spoken forcefully in support of Church teachings about sexuality.<\/p>\n

For example, in a speech at BYU, he encouraged professors to teach consistently with the Church’s proclamation that marriage should be “the union of a man and a woman.” In 2023, President Oaks stated that the Church should be alert to proposed state and federal legislation that might infringe on its religious freedom to teach and proclaim its position on the subject of same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

One important act that will be high on President Oaks’ agenda will be calling a new apostle to take the spot now open due to his appointment. That should happen sometime before the end of the church’s General Conference, which is scheduled for April 2026.<\/p>\n

To close Tuesday’s announcement, President Oaks emphasized the Church’s global ministry and its worldwide reach.<\/p>\n

“Our ministry is a ministry of all the children of God on the face of the earth,” President Oaks said in the announcement by the Church. “We pray for all. We seek to serve all. And we invoke the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ upon all who seek to serve Him, to do so in worthiness and commitment and optimism. We do not have the answers to all the world’s problems. They have not been revealed. But what we do know is that we are all children of heavenly parents, and that we are called to serve all of the children of God.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dallin H. Oaks was chosen by the Quorum of the Twelve to serve as the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The official announcement was made during a live broadcast from Salt Lake City, Utah. “I accept with humility the responsibility that God has placed upon me and commit my…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":13904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDallin H. Oaks Chosen as New President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dallin H. Oaks, 93, named new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, succeeding Russell M. 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