Biographies of Mormon Leaders
Current Leaders
The current leaders of the Mormon Church work under the direction of God to guide Church members in these tumultuous times. Though they are usually older, they are very aware of the current issues in the world. They know of the struggles of children, youth, and adults both single and married. They are guided by direct revelation from God, who knows the needs of each individual in the world. They encourage good family relations, high personal standards, and self-control, since these are things that bring happiness and peace to individuals and societies. The President of the Church, as well as his apostles, are prophets, seers, and revelators, who often give counsel from insights only they can have. They also guide all the workings of the Church–not only its congregations, but its remarkable missionary program, welfare program, building program, and humanitarian aid endeavors. You can read about many current events related to these issues at the LDS News Website.
Thomas S. Monson
President Monson was the First Counselor to President Hinckley, part of the first presidency of the Mormon Church. He was also the official (not acting) president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Upon the death of Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson became prophet and president of the Church. (Read More)
Henry B. Eyring
Henry B. Eyring is currently the First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. Elder Eyring said, “When you know something to be true, you should act upon that truth. Jesus Christ lives; he has ‘tied himself to us.’ Only we at great effort can break the tie. I pray with my whole heart that we will understand what it means to be bound to a God who loves us, who will let us climb freely—but is ready, should we slip, to break the fall.”(Read More)
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Elder Uchtdorf was the first apostle in more than fifty years who was not born in the United States, and the first ever from Germany. He is now the Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. (Read More)
Boyd K. Packer
Elder Packer’s education and career centered around teaching as his occupation. President Faust remarked, “Elder Packer is very much a teacher. While all of the Twelve are teachers, he’s a teacher in the Twelve.”(Read More)
Jeffrey R. Holland
Elder Holland feels “a deep desire to live up to the standard that the entire Christian world holds for the title ‘Apostle’, never doing anything that could ever diminish that office in anyone’s sight.”(Read More)
M. Russell Ballard
Elder Ballard humbly shares the calling of apostle, and he, too, is charged to witness, teach, and preach, and especially to be an example of Christ in all of his actions. (Read More)
Russell M. Nelson
Elder Nelson is a nationally known heart surgeon. His preparation, dedication, and devotion in the medical field and service in the Mormon Church has prepared him to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Read More)
David A. Bednar
Elder Bednar is a special witness of Jesus Christ—a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As an apostle, he is responsible, along with the other apostles and under the direction of the First Presidency, to oversee the administration of the Mormon Church and to spread and testify of the gospel throughout the world. (Read More)
Prior to his call as a church leader, Dallin H. Oaks had a distinguished career as a lawyer, clerking for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme Court, serving as counsel to the Bill of Rights Committee of the Illinois Constitutional Convention and as a consultant to the Office of Economic Opportunity during Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. He also taught at the University of Chicago and presided over Brigham Young University.
Elder Cook enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer prior to his call to church service. He is known in the professional world for his unwillingness to compromise his integrity for personal gain.
D. Todd Christofferson
Elder Christofferson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 5, 2008. Before entering full-time church service, he was a lawyer, serving as an assistant to judge Sirica who oversaw the Watergate trials. (Read more…)
L. Tom Perry
A distinguished businessman in his former professional life, L. Tom Perry never lost an opportunity to serve others.
Richard G. Scott
Richard G. Scott, an expert in nuclear energy who once served under Hyman G. Rickover, now serves as a full-time servant of God.
Robert D. Hales
Robert D. Hales was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1994. He has a business degree from Harvard, and his business experiences and church service have taken him and his family abroad, especially to England. (Read more…)
Neil L. Andersen
Neil L. Andersen was called to be an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) on April 4, 2009, to fill the vacancy left by the death of Joseph B. Wirthlin. (Read more…)
Past Presidents
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church, has always been led by prophets. These men presided over God’s true Church from its restoration through Joseph Smith down to the current president of the Church. They brought the Church from its miraculous beginning through persecution, mass exodus, the changes of a developing nation, and the moral and spiritual challenges of the past. They led with courage, never succumbing to the Church’s opponents, but only acting according to the Lord’s commandments.
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith is the founder of the Mormon Church. He was the first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Jan. 25, 1832 to June 27, 1844. Joseph Smith dedicated his life to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He died as a martyr for the Mormon Church at age 38. (Read More)
Brigham Young
Brigham Young, second Prophet and President of The Mormon Church, ranks among the most influential and important historical figures . . . not just in Mormon history, but also in American history. (Read More)
John Taylor
President Taylor worked tirelessly throughout his life to establish the kingdom of God on the earth—his personal efforts toward promoting freedom of religion and the rights of all human beings continued until his death on July 25, 1887, but the many programs he established have thrived beyond his years to benefit the membership of the Church. (Read More)
Wilford Woodruff
President Woodruff was the last living man to have served as an Apostle with Joseph Smith, and he left with the members his testimony of the Prophet Joseph and his mission on Earth. President Woodruff received revelation that the Church should cease the practice of plural marriage. (Read More)
Lorenzo Snow
President Snow emphasized the responsibility of the leaders of the Church to spread the gospel and to prepare the Saints for the Savior. He introduced missionary work to many parts of the world, oversaw the translation of the Book of Mormon into numerous languages, and prepared and published pamphlets on the Mormon Church. (Read More)
Joseph F. Smith
President Smith emphasized the importance of tithing, defended the Church before Congress in 1904, and withstood personal attacks. He taught the importance of families, and introduced the Family Home Evening program. (Read More)
Heber J. Grant
President Grant admonished the Saints to keep the following principles: the word of wisdom, the law of the fast, the payment of tithes and offerings, and the avoidance of debt. These principles tied into the Church Welfare Program that he instituted. (Read More)
George Albert Smith
President Smith admonished the Saints to seek happiness in living the gospel principles, to seek out those in need of love and comfort, and to find time to serve their fellow man. He warned the members to stay on the Lord’s side, since that was where true happiness was. (Read More)
David O. McKay
President McKay served in the Church for many years, including 50 years as an Apostle and 19 years as prophet and president of the Mormon Church. He set an example of the proper treatment of women and taught the importance of both families and missionary work. (Read More)
Joseph Fielding Smith
During his two-year presidency, President Smith encouraged youth to hold tight to standards of purity, and counseled parents to teach their children virtue and morality by example. He told the Church to prepare for the Lord’s Second Coming. (Read More)
Harold B. Lee
President Lee, in his years of Church service, worked to help members of the Mormon Church during the Great Depression. His efforts on a welfare plan for the Church helped many to recover from ills and become financially self-sufficient again. (Read More)
Spencer W. Kimball
In spite of the physical ailments that challenged President Kimball, he served long, preaching that Mormon missionaries should be better prepared to serve. During his presidency, he and his counselors declared that all worthy men (including Black men) could hold the priesthood. (Read More)
Ezra Taft Benson
President Benson held important government offices in addition to his Church service, working hard to serve a worldwide religion while he labored for the good of the nation. He loved the Book of Mormon and encouraged members to read it and other worthy books. (Read More)
Howard W. Hunter
President Hunter encouraged the members to make Christ the center of their lives, to be worthy to enter the Mormon temple, and to seek all that is good in this life. He noted the unprecedented accesibility of the scriptures in these days, and encouraged Mormons to take advantage of that great blessing. (Read More)
Gordon B. Hinckley
President Hinckley, the last president and prophet of the Mormon Church, was largely known for the building of temples, his inspired advice about families, and his incredible strength, vigor, and wisdom—as well as good health—into his late nineties. (Read More)
Other Bios:
James E. Faust, former apostle
Parley P. Pratt, early Mormon Apostle
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