The 5 Things That Will Happen With The Passing Of President Nelson

On September 27th, 2025, President Russell M. Nelson passed away. For over a million members of the church, this is the first time they have ever experienced the death of a Prophet. The question often comes up: Now what? What happens when a Prophet dies? Who is in charge? Does it work the same way as when the pope dies? Here are the 5 things that will happen with the passing of Russell M. Nelson

1st The First Presidency is immediately dissolved.

Immediately upon the death of President Nelson on September 27th, his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring, were released, and the First Presidency was dissolved. President Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring then return to their respective positions of seniority within the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. *Often, this causes there to be more than 12 Apostles. Currently, there are 14 Apostles. Who, in order of their seniority, are:

• Dallin H. Oaks.
• Jeffrey R. Holland.
• Henry B. Eyring.
• Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
• David A. Bednar.
• Quentin L. Cook
• D. Todd Christofferson
• Neil L. Andersen.
• Ronald A. Rasband
• Gary E. Stevenson
• Dale G. Renlund
• Gerrit W. Gong
• Ulisses Soares
• Patrick Kearon

“When the President of the Church dies, the quorum of the First Presidency is automatically dissolved and the counselors, if they previously had been in the Quorum of the Twelve, return to their respective places of seniority in that quorum.”
“Chapter 3: Succession in the Presidency,” Teachings of the Living Prophets Student Manual (2010), 28–41

2nd. The Quorum of the 12 Apostles leads the Church in what is called an “Apostolic Interregnum.”

With the dissolution of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the 12 Apostles becomes the ruling body of the Church. With President Dallin H. Oaks (The President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) becoming the acting President of the Church. This period is called an “apostolic interregnum.”

Of apostolic interregnums, Wilford Woodruff taught, “When the President of the Church dies, who has the presiding authority of the Church? It is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, ordained and organized by the revelation of God and none else. Then while these Twelve Apostles preside over the Church, who is the President of the Church? It is the President of the Twelve Apostles, and he is virtually as much the President of the Church while presiding over the Twelve as he is when organized as the Presidency of the Church and presiding over two men.” 

NOTE: During the early years of the Church, the Apostolic Interregnum would sometimes last years. Ever since Lorenzo Snow, the length has been in days or sometimes weeks.

3rd. All the Apostles gather together to set apart the new Prophet.

With the passing of President Nelson, we will witness one of two different things happening:

First, they will wait for the funeral. Traditionally, the Apostles will wait until after the funeral services for the prophet who has just passed. The following Thursday, the full Quorum of the 12 Apostles will gather in the Salt Lake Temple. While the Salt Lake Temple is being renovated, there is a dedicated area in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that they use for their meetings (See ChurchNewsRoom for more). It is assumed this is where they will meet. Once there, every Apostle will fast, pray, and when they have all received a personal confirmation. Once they have come to a unanimous consensus, they will sustain President Dallin H. Oaks (the President of the Quorum of the 12) as the next Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the church. All 13 of the Apostles will then lay their hands on his head, with Jeffrey R. Holland (the 2nd most senior apostle) acting as voice and set him apart as the President of the Church. We then move to steps 4 and 5.

Second, they will not wait until after the funeral to meet. General Conference is this week; the last time a prophet died this close to General Conference was George Albert Smith. President Smith died on April 4th, 1951. The General Conference was a mere two days later. Rather than waiting until after the funeral, the apostles gathered immediately, set apart David O. McKay as the new President, and moved on with steps 4 & 5 rather than waiting until after a funeral.
NOTE: The funeral services for President Smith were held on the 2nd day of General Conference and the Solemn Assembly was held Monday Morning on the 9th of April to sustain the new First Presidency. The Funeral Services for President Nelson are slated to start on Wednesday, Oct. 1st, with a tribute broadcast, and then continue on Monday, Oct. 6th, with a viewing, and conclude with the funeral services on Oct. 7th.

Whether the Apostles wait until after the actual funeral, like they have traditionally done, or they meet before General Conference and after the tribute broadcast, it is merely a matter of timing. Either way, they move to steps 4 and 5.

NOTE: President Hinckley perfectly describes this process in 1986 when he declared the New Prophet is always the President of the Quorum of the 12.

4th. The New Prophet Organizes The First Presidency.

After being set apart as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first thing President Dallin H. Oaks will do is to reorganize the First Presidency. He will select at a minimum two counselors from the worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders for the Church. Whereas there are normally only 2 counselors, there have been times when there were more! David O. McKay had 5, Spencer Kimball had 3, and Brigham Young had 8! 

Most likely, President Oaks will call his counselors from the Quorum of the 12. However, it is not required. 10 different times, a counselor was chosen who was not an apostle! If the called counselor is not an apostle, he can either be ordained one (as in the case of J. Reuben Clark) or they can simply be called into the First Presidency without becoming an apostle (as in the case of Charles W. Nibley and John R. Winder both of whom were never set apart as apostles). But regardless of their apostleship, all members of the First Presidency are still sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators, but when the prophet dies if a counselor has not been ordained as an apostle and joined the twelve previously, he is released and does not join the twelve as in the case of Alvin R. Dyer who returned to being an assistant to the 12 at the death of David O. McKay. These examples are the exception; normally, it is apostles who are called as counselors in the First Presidency.

Once his counselors are chosen, they are then set apart. There is then a press conference from Salt Lake City to announce an end to the Apostolic Interregnum and that Dallin H. Oaks will be the next President of the Church, and who his counselors in the First Presidency will be.

5th. The Church has a Solemn Assembly to accept the new Prophet.

The final step of selecting a new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Solemn Assembly. This is a special session of General Conference following the reorganization of the First Presidency. During said Solemn Assembly, the church sustains and accepts the new Prophet and First Presidency. In the words of David B. Haight, “A solemn assembly, as the name implies, denotes a sacred, sober, and reverent occasion when the Saints assemble under the direction of the First Presidency. Solemn assemblies are used for three purposes: the dedication of temples, special instruction to priesthood leaders, and sustaining a new President of the Church.“

With the proximity to General Conference, and the need to hold a Solemn Assembly to finalize the new President and First Presidency, I could see the Church going the route of David O. McKay and immediately this week reorganizing the First Presidency and holding the funeral services this weekend while everyone is in town. But whether they do that, or the more traditional route of waiting until after the funeral, and the Solemn Assembly is held in April, it is the same. All 5 steps will be followed.

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