Presiding Patriarch (Latter Day Saints)

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In Mormonism, the Presiding Patriarch (also called Presiding Evangelist, Patriarch over the Church, Patriarch of the Church, or Patriarch to the Church) is a church-wide leadership office within the Latter Day Saint Priesthood. Among the duties of the Presiding Patriarch are to preside in council meetings, ordain other patriarchs, and administer Patriarchal Blessings.

Originally, the office of Presiding Patriarch was one of the highest positions in the church. The role was equated with Biblical Patriarchs from Adam to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it was expected that the office would descend through lineal succession through his children. Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's brother, became the second patriarch, as Smith's older brother Alvin had died. When the office was given to the senior Smith, he was given "keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints". Thus, some have argued that the Presiding Patriarch is an office of the Patriarchal Priesthood. However, the existence of the Patriachal Priesthood is controversial.

In the major denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, the role of the Presiding Patriarch diminished substantially after the death of the office's second holder, Hyrum Smith. Today, the Community of Christ ordains a Presiding Evangelist who plays an important role in the church, but is not a descendant of Joseph Smith's family. That tradition was discontinued in 1958 when President W. Wallace Smith presented Roy Cheville as a successor to Elbert A. Smith. Unlike Elbert A. Smith, Cheville was not a descendant of Joseph Smith, Jr. The Community of Christ changed the name of the office from Presiding Patriarch to Presiding Evangelist, aling with the change in the office of Patriarch-Evangelist to simply Evangelist in 1984, when women were first called to the priesthood. when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has effectively discontinued the office as of 1979.

1 Duties
2 History
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Duties

The role and duties of the office have varied. The Presiding Patriarch sometimes appointed local patriarchs in the stakes of the church and presided over them as a loose "Quorum of Patriarchs." Like the local Patriarchs, the Presiding Patriarch is also empowered to give Patriachal Blessings.

[edit] History

The first Presiding Patriarch was Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The elder Smith was ordained to the office by his son on December 18, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio. When the senior Smith was on his deathbed, he ordained his eldest son, Hyrum, to succeed him in the office by right of lineal succession. When Hyrum was assassinated together with his brother Joseph, their only surviving brother, William asserted his lineal right to the Patriarchate. William was duly ordained to the office by Brigham Young. William was shortly thereafter excommunicated from Young's organization for apostasy. After joining himself with, and supporting a rival faction of the church led by James J. Strang, William was sustained as Presiding Patriarch for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite). He later apostasized from Strang's organization and asserted his own claim to be successor by right of lineal succession to the Presidency of the Church (after joining himself with other factions for short periods of times).

In the meantime, Young called John Smith, a brother of Joseph Smith Sr. known as "Uncle John", to be Presiding Patriarch of the largest Latter Day Saint church faction, which is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John Smith was succeeded by Hyrum's son, John Smith, in 1855. This John Smith was followed by his grandson, Hyrum G. Smith in 1912. After Hyrum G. Smith's death, in 1932, church President Heber J. Grant diminished the responsibilities of the office and also eliminated the precedent of direct lineal succession, by ordaining Joseph Fielding Smith to the office in 1942. Joseph Fielding Smith resigned the office in 1946 and in 1947 and Hyrum G. Smith's son, Eldred G. Smith was ordained Presiding Patriarch. In 1979, the First Presidency announced that Eldred G. Smith had received "emeritus" status and effectively discontinued the office.