Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)

Community of Christ
v · d · e
Classification	Restorationist
Orientation	Latter Day Saint movement
Theology	Trinitarian, Mormonism
Polity	Hierarchical
Leader	Stephen M. Veazey
Headquarters	Independence, Missouri
Origin	April 1830[1] Reorganized: April 6, 1860 Fayette, New York Reorganized: Amboy, Illinois
Separations	Community of Christ sects
Members	250,000[2]
Temples	2
Official website	www.CofChrist.org

In the Community of Christ, The Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of Apostle, and are responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church. Apostles are also High Priests in the Melchisedec priesthood of the Church.

Calling

As with all priesthood in the Community of Christ, members of the Council of Twelve are considered to be "called by God." The President of the Church "receives" the call, and after consultation with the other two members of the First Presidency, "presents" the call to the candidate. If the candidate accepts, the candidates name is presented to the World Conference and the call is sustained by majority vote. New apostles are ordained in a special worship service held during the World Conference. Prior to the Presidency of W. Grant McMurray, the call of Apostles and other members of presiding quorums of the church were named in an "inspired document" that was added to the Scriptures of the Church in the Doctrine and Covenants. McMurray and others believed that the lengthy passages related to priesthood calls reduced the readability of the Doctrine and Covenants. Since that time, these priesthood calls have been presented in a separate document that is not included in the Doctrine and Covenants. Most appointee ministers live in the Independence, Missouri area, however, the current trend is to base Apostles in the field. Each apostle has an office in The Temple at Independence and they share administrative staff.

Responsibilities

Individual apostles may be assigned to various responsibilities of church leadership, including field administration. Together with the First Presidency and the Presiding Bishopric, this council is a part of the "World Church Leadership Council." Each of the apostles is called to serve as a "special witness of the gospel", and each is appointed by the First Presidency to oversee one or more of the church's mission fields. In recent years, some members of the Council are also given responsibility for certain areas of program ministry. If for any reason the First Presidency is dissolved or otherwise unable to preside over the World Conference, the Council of Twelve Apostles presides over the conference until such time as the First Presidency resumes functioning or is reorganized. Assigned by the First Presidency, they carry major responsibility for church expansion, and serve as administrative supervisors of field jurisdictions. The Council of Twelve Apostles elects one of its members to serve as President of the Council of Twelve and another member to serve as Secretary of the Council of Twelve. Members of the Council of Twelve Apostles are normally full-time paid ministers, called "Appointee Ministers" in the Community of Christ.

Members of the Council of Twelve Apostles directly supervise Mission Center Presidents and missionaries holding the priesthood office of Seventy. They have the authority to call Mission Center Conferences and frequently preside over certain portions of the various conferences. Apostles usually initiate calls to the Office of High Priest, Evangelist and Seventy, often in consultation or at the behest of Mission Center Presidents. Apostles usually hold annual or semi-annual meetings of the appointee ministers and key staff members in their fields. Apostles have the authority to organize or dissolve congregations and ministry groups. If a Mission Center President takes over operation of a congregation (usually only in situations of extreme dissent), an appeal of this decision may be made to the Apostle that supervises that field. Apostles typically travel to missionary fields around the world, even when they have fields entirely within the United States. This international missionary experience is believed to enrich both the recipients of the ministry as well as the experience of the Apostles' themselves. Most jurisdictions of the Community of Christ hold summertime family camps called "reunions." Apostles usually spend much of their summer attending various reunions.

Progressive Influence

The Council of Twelve Apostles has long been regarded as the primary advocates for the growing international presence of the church and its international witness of Jesus Christ. In addition, the Council has frequently strived to lead the church towards progressive stances on issues such as homosexuality, women in the priesthood, open communion, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, environmentalism, peace and justice ministries. Former Apostle Charles D. Neff (1958-1984), led the Council of Twelve in developing relativistic viewpoints towards both ritual and doctrine in order to make the gospel relevant across cultures. Presently, the Council contains three female apostles and one native African.

Current members

The current members of the Council and the Mission Fields and other assignments they oversee, are as follows:

• K. Scott Murphy — President, Council of Twelve (2011), Director of Field Ministries, World Service Corps, Military Chaplains(2010)
• Linda L. Booth — Secretary, Council of Twelve, Southern USA Mission Field; Church Planting Ministries, Contemporary Christian Ministries (1998)
• Barbara L. Carter — North East USA Mission Field, SPECTACULAR, International Youth Forum (Apostle-designate 2011)
• Bunda C. Chibwe — Africa and Haiti Mission Field (2000)
• Stassi D. Cramm — North Central USA/Canada Mission Field(2005)
• Ronald D. Harmon Jr. — Western USA Mission Field(2005)
• Dale E. Luffman — Ecumenical and Interfaith Relationships, Singles Ministries; Theological Education Ministries (1994)
• Rick W. Maupin — Caribbean, Mexico and South Central USA Mission Field; Hispanic Ministries (2005)
• Carlos Enrique Mejia — Central and South America Mission Field (2007)
• Susan D. Skoor — Canada and Pacific Mission Field (2005)

The fields have currently been reorganized and each Apostle has been paired with an assistant and a president of Seventy.

1844 to present

This is a list of the members of the Council in the Community of Christ, (formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) ordained after 1844. The dates are the years they served as a member of the Council of Twelve.

Name	Began Service	Ended Service	Cause of Departure	Other Positions	Nationality & Notes
BriggsJason W. Briggs	1853	1885	Not sustained as Apostle at the 1885 conference.		American. Withdrew from the church sometime after 1885 conference
GurleyZenas H. Gurley, Sr.	1853	1871			Ordained Joseph Smith III as president in 1860.
DeamHenry Harrison Deam	1853	1854
NewkirkReuben Newkirk	1853	1873
CunninghamJohn Cunningham	1853	1855
WhiteGeorge White	1853	1859
RaseyDaniel B. Rasey	1853	1873
PowersSamuel Powers	1855	1873
NewkirkDavid Newkirk	1855	1865
BlairWilliam W. Blair	1858	10 April 1873	Called to First Presidency	First counselor in the First Presidency	American. Served as first counselor until his death on 18 April 1896
ShippyJohn Shippy	1860	1868
BlakesleeJames Blakeslee	1860	1866
BriggsEdmund C. Briggs	October 1860	18 April 1902	Ordained as Evangelist/Patriarch.	President of the Seventy	American.
EllsJosiah Ells	1865	1885
DerryCharles Derry	1865	1870
KelleyWilliam H. Kelley	1873	1913
SmithThomas Wood Smith	1873	1894
CaffallJames Caffall	1873	1902
LakeJohn H. Lake	1873	1902
SmithAlexander Hale Smith	10 April 1873	12 April 1897	Ordained a Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist.	Counselor to Joseph Smith III President of the Quorum of the Twelve	American. Third surviving son of Joseph and Emma Smith.
GurleyZenas H. Gurley, Jr.	1874	1885
LambertJoseph R. Lambert	1873	1902
GillenJames W. Gillen	11 April 1887[3]	1899
SmithHeman C. Smith	11 April 1887[3]	1909
LuffJoseph Luff	11 April 1887[3]	1909
GriffithsGomer T. Griffiths	11 April 1887[3]	1922
WhiteIsaac N. White	12 April 1897[4]	1913
WightJohn W. Wight	12 April 1897[4]	1913
EvansR. C. Evans	12 April 1897[4]	1902	Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency	Counselor in the First Presidency Bishop (With specific jurisdiction over the church in Canada)	Canadian. Broke with the church in 1918 and formed the Church of the Christian Brotherhood
AndersenPeter Andersen	1901	1920
SmithFrederick A. Smith	1902	1913
SheehyFrancis Sheehy	1902	1920
GreeneUlysses W. Greene	1902	1922
ButterworthCornelius A. Butterworth	1901	1922
RushtonJohn W. Rushton	1902	1947
CurtisJames F. Curtis	1909	7 April 1938	Honorably released
RussellRobert C. Russell	1909	1922
KelleyJames E. Kelley	1913	1917
AylorWilliam Murray Aylor	1913	1922
HansonPaul M. Hanson	1913	8 October 1958[5]
GillenJames A. Gillen	1913	1934
WilliamsThomas W. Williams	1920	1925
McConleyMyron A. McConley	1920	1948
EllisClyde F. Ellis	1923	1945
GarverJohn F. Garver	13 October 1922	9 April 1946	Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency	Counselor in the First Presidency	American. Was president of the Board of Trustees for Graceland College
WilliamsDaniel T. Williams	1922	8 October 1958[5]	Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist
EdwardsF. Henry Edwards	13 October 1922	9 April 1946	Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency	Secretary of the Council of Twelve Apostles	English. Honorably released from First Presidency on 18 April 1966,
GleazerEdmund J. Gleazer	1922	8 October 1958[5]	Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist
BuddRoy S. Budd	1922	1936
LewisGeorge G. Lewis	1932	1948
MesleyGeorge C. Mesley	7 April 1938	1954
OakmanArthur Alma Oakman	7 April 1938	1964	Ordained an Evangelist	Evangelist	English
HieldCharles R. Hield	7 April 1938	6 April 1964[6]	Honorably released
JensenD. Blair Jensen	1946	18 April 1966[7]	Honorably released
DaveyRoscoe E. Davey	1947	6 April 1964[6]	Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist
DraperMaurice L. Draper	1947	8 October 1958[5]	Ordained as counselor in the First Presidency
SmithW. Wallace Smith	1947	1950
FarrowPercy E. Farrow	1948	18 April 1966[7]	Honorably released
HolmesReed M. Holmes	1948	1 April 1974[8].	Ordained as Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist
ChesworthDonald O. Chesworth	1950	14 April 1972 [9].	Ordained as Patriarch/Evangelist
LentsDonald Victor Lents	1954	8 April 1980 [10]	Ordained as Evangelists/Patriarch
NeffCharles D. Neff	8 October 1958[5]	5 April 1984[11]	Honorably released		American
ColeClifford A. Cole	8 October 1958[5]	8 April 1980 [10]	Called to ministries of teaching and writing
EttingerCecil R. Ettinger	2 April 1960[12]	1 April 1974[8]	Honorably released
CoueyDuane E. Couey	2 April 1960[12]	18 April 1966[7]	Ordained counselors in the First Presidency	Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist	American
RalstonRussell F. Ralston	6 April 1964[6]	29 March 1976[13]
TimmsWilliam E. Timms	6 April 1964[6]	3 April 1978[14]	Ordained as Evangelists/Patriarch
HigdonEarl T. Higdon	18 April 1966[7]	1 April 1974[8]	Honorably released
TyreeAlan D. Tyree	18 April 1966[7]	29 March 1982[15]	Ordained counselor in the First Presidency
KouryAleah G. Koury	18 April 1966[7]	8 April 1980 [10]	Ordained as Evangelists/Patriarch
SheehyHoward S. Sheehy, Jr.	1 April 1968[16]	1980	Ordained counselor in the First Presidency	Counselor in the First Presidency	American. Ordained counselors on 3 April 1978, but remained as a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles until 1980.
StuartJohn C. Stuart	14 April 1972 [9]	29 March 1982[15]	Ordained as Evangelists/Patriarch
HigdonWilliam T. Higdon	1 April 1974[8]	5 April 1992[17]		President of Graceland College
HurshmanLloyd B. Hurshman	1 April 1974[8]	14 April 1988[18]	Honorably released
BoothPaul W. Booth	1 April 1974[8]	5 April 1992[17]	Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist
AustinEugene C. Austin, Sr.	29 March 1976[13]	10 April 1994[19]	Honorably released
SchaeferRoy H. Schaefer	3 April 1978[14]	14 April 1988[18]	Honorably released
CaswellPhillip M. Caswell	3 April 1978[14]	1998
SekineKisuke Sekine	8 April 1980 [10]	5 April 1992[17]	Honorably released
GraffeoEverett S. Graffeo	8 April 1980 [10]	1994[19]	Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist
RobinsonKenneth N. Robinson	8 April 1980 [10]	1996	Ordained counselor in the First Presidency	Counselor in the First Presidency	Australian
SerigJoe A. Serig	29 March 1982[15]	1998
CableJames C. Cable	29 March 1982[15]	1996
SpencerGeoffrey F. Spencer	5 April 1984[11]	10 April 1994[19]	Honorably released		Australian
KahtavaA. Alex Kahtava	14 April 1988[18]	2002
KirkpatrickJohn P. Kirkpatrick	14 April 1988[18]	2007
BrockDavid R. Brock	5 April 1992[17]	27 March 2007	Ordained as the Presiding Evangelist	President of Seventy Presiding Evangelist	American
TyreeLawrence W. Tyree	5 April 1992[17]	2002
VeazeyStephen M. Veazey	5 April 1992[17]	2005	Ordained as the Prophet-President	President of the Council of Twelve Prophet-President	American
BelroseDanny E. Belrose	10 April 1994[19]	2000
LuffmanDale E. Luffman	10 April 1994[19]	present			American. Longest serving member of the current Council
McLaughlinKenneth L. McLaughlin	10 April 1994[19]	2005
JuddPeter A. Judd	1996	2000	Ordained counselor in the First Presidency	Counselor in the First Presidency	English
SlauterJames E. Slauter	1996	August 1, 2011[20]		President of the Council of Twelve Secretary of the Council of Twelve	American.
MengelGail E. Mengel	31 March 1998	2005	Called as Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer	President of Church Women United Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer	Along with Linda L. Booth, the first women to be ordained apostles.
BoothLinda L. Booth	1998	present			American. Along with Gail E. Mengel, the first women to be ordained apostles.
YoungLeonard M. Young	2000	2010
ChibweBunda C. Chibwe	April 2000	present		President of the Sixth Quorum of Seventy	Zambian
DynesMary Jacks Dynes	2002	2010		President of the Fifth Quorum of Seventy.
SchaalDavid D. Schaal	2002	2005	Ordained counselor in the First Presidency	President of the Tri Stake Mission Center Counselor in the First Presidency	American
CrammStassi D. Cramm	4 June 2005[21]	present		Counselor to the Presiding bishop
HarmonRonald D. Harmon, Jr.	4 June 2005[21]	present
MaupinRick W. Maupin	4 June 2005[21]	present			American
SkoorSusan D. Skoor	4 June 2005[21]	present			American
Andrew BoltonAndrew Bolton	2007
MejiaCarlos Enrique Mejia	2007	present
JamesRichard C.N. James	2010	present
MurphyK. Scott Murphy	2010	present
CarterBarbara L. Carter	2011	present			Currently an Apostle-designate

References

1. ^ The Early Church (1830), Community of Christ website (accessed July 16, 2008)
2. ^ "CofChrist General Denominational Information". Community of Christ. 2009. http://www.cofchrist.org/news/GeneralInfo.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 119
4. ^ ^{a b c} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 124:4A
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 145:3, 5b, 6b, 6c, & 7
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 147:1, 2 & 4
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 148:1 - 4
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 151:2 - 7
9. ^ ^{a b} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 150:1A & 2A
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 154:1 - 3
11. ^ ^{a b} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 156:1 & 2
12. ^ ^{a b} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 146:1
13. ^ ^{a b} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 152:2a & 3
14. ^ ^{a b c} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 153:5 - 6
15. ^ ^{a b c d} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 155:3 - 5
16. ^ Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 149:1
17. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 158:3-6
18. ^ ^{a b c d} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 157:1-3
19. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Community of Christ (RLDS): Doctrine and Covenants: Section 159:2 - 5
20. ^ Letter of Counsel Regarding the Presiding Quorums
21. ^ ^{a b c d} "Official Minutes of Business Session", Community of Christ World Conference 2005, 4 June 2005.