Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mourned the passing of Russell M. Nelson, their beloved prophet and president, on September 27, 2025. While his death at age 101 was not a shock to the faith's adherents, the loss of such a dynamic, innovative leader impacted the global church's community.
Succession in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The pattern of peaceful transition of presidents of the Church is understood and expected. The Lord calls Apostles as members of The Quorum of Twelve Apostles as vacancies arise. Apostles are called at various ages and for life, so vacancies occur when one of them passes away.
When a Church president dies, the next senior is appointed to be the new President. Apostlic seniority is based on tenure in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles rather than age.
Russell M. Nelson
Russell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks were appointed as Apostles and members of The Quorum of Twelve Apostles on the same day in 1984. Russell M. Nelson was sustained before Dallin H. Oaks, and so was senior to Dallin H. Oaks. President Nelson was the senior Apostle at the death of President Thomas S. Monson in 2018 and became the President of the Church. He served as prophet and president for seven years.
Now, at the passing of Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks is the senior Apostle.
Who is Dallin H. Oaks?
Dallin Harris Oaks was born August 12, 1932, in Provo, Utah. He majored in accounting at Brigham Young University and graduated in 1954. He then attended law school at the University of Chicago Law School, graduating as a Juris Doctor in 1957. While there, he was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review. He clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the US Supreme Court and then practiced law privately, specializing in corporate litigation, before returning to the University of Chicago Law School as a professor.
In 1971, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked Dallin H. Oaks to become the president of Brigham Young University. He accepted the assignment and served as BYU's president from 1971 to 1980, when he was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court. He served on the Utah Supreme Court until he was appointed an Apostle in The Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1984.
Dallin H. Oaks served as chairman of the Public Broadcasting Service's board of directors from 1979 to 1984. He also served as a director of the Union Pacific Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad.
Notably, while president of Brigham Young University, Dallin H. Oaks championed equal treatment of women in the workplace. The university hired more women and equalized the salaries of its employees. When women faculty still lagged behind norms across the United States, Oaks established an ad hoc committee to investigate gender discrimination.
As a Utah Supreme Court justice, Oaks authored an opinion on a Division of Family Services case to terminate the parental rights of a child in that case. Dallin H. Oaks opined that while the Constitution fundamentally protects parents' rights to a relationship with their child, a parent can be deprived of those rights if demonstrating unfitness, abandonment, and substantial neglect of the child.
Decorated with many honors and awards, including "Judge of the Year" and the "Canterbury Medal" for religious liberty, one notable honor was that students at the University of Chicago Law School created the Dallin H. Oaks Society to "increase awareness within the law school community of the presence, beliefs, and concerns of law students who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Dallin H. Oaks married June Dixon in 1952. They have six children. June Oaks died of cancer in 1998. In 2000, Dallin H. Oaks married Kristen McMain.
Dallin H. Oaks and Religious Freedom
Well-versed in Constitutional law, Dallin H. Oaks speaks broadly in support of religious and constitutional freedom. As an apostle, he supported compromises between state and federal governments to preserve the rights of the LGBTQ+ community while ensuring that religious groups did not dictate policy about LGBTQ+ membership.
As an Apostle, Dallin H. Oaks often approaches difficult social subjects with legalistic rationale. His talks in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' General Conference are practical and logically directed to spiritual doctrine and practice.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the Lord has chosen Dallin H. Oaks to be the prophet and President of the Church at this tumultuous time in history prepared by his in-depth knowledge and insight of the Constitution, inherent rights provided by the Constitution, and one who is deeply devoted to the cause of the exercise of those rights by all United States citizens and humanity in general.
