Church Leadership Added to the Church History Biographical Database
The Church History Department is pleased to announce the addition of the General Church Leadership Dataset to the Biographical Database.
Brief History of the Dataset
The Church History Department is pleased to announce the addition of the General Church Leadership Dataset to the Church History Biographical Database. This new dataset includes information about historical and present-day leaders, beginning with first and second elders Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and continuing through to today. The Church History Department will include additional information biannually to coincide with the sustaining and releases of leadership positions (often referred to as callings within the Church) announced at general conferences and through other potential statements and releases.
This new addition to the Church History Biographical Database provides a comprehensive and easily searchable resource to learn about latter-day Church leadership. Each leader’s biographical information includes photographs, a timeline encapsulating their Church service as well as other touch points that are already defined in the database (Mormon Battalion, Pioneer migration, and missionary service), and source documents to aid your research.
Research Process for Collecting the Data
The Doctrine and Covenants, general conference reports, Church News, and Deseret News Church Almanac were used as the primary and secondary sources for compiling information of positions held and dates served by every general Church leader. Our goal is to track Church-wide leadership positions that individuals have held within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These positions include:
- President of the Church
- First Presidency
- Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (including Acting Presidents, Assistants, and Counselors)
- General Authority Seventy and Presidency of the Seventy (including First Council of the Seventy and First Seven Presidents)
- Church Patriarch
- Presiding Bishopric
- Primary General Presidency
- Relief Society General Presidency
- Sunday School General Presidency
- Young Women General Presidency
- Young Men General Presidency (including Assistants)
Church organization and position summaries have been reviewed for accuracy by Church History Department historians. These summaries include citations for the sources used to compile the information.
Where possible, we have traced the exact date an individual was called, set apart, or sustained. Pinpointing exact dates for general auxiliary callings of early Church leaders can prove challenging. If in the instance we were unable to do so, a circa date is used.
Historical positions and organization titles related to Church leadership, such as First Seven President, First Council of the Seventy, Assistant to the Twelve, and Church Patriarch, have also been noted and accounted for on corresponding organization and position pages within the database. Individuals are assigned to the organization or position as it is known today; for example, General Authority Seventies who were previously defined to be in either the first or second quorum are now all included in the General Authority Seventy organization, as the distinction between the two quorums stopped being publicly announced in 2015. Position and organization pages will also indicate previously known-as names and the dates those names applied.
Citations for this dataset are also provided for each unique position held, similar to footnotes. At the bottom of each individual’s profile page, you will find a complete list of all the sources used, similar to a bibliography.
We’re excited to share this new addition to the Biographical Database with you. We hope it greatly helps with Church history research and getting to know the dedicated men and women who served and now serve Christ and His Church. If you have any additional information you would like to share that can help improve the database, we invite and encourage you to click on the “Submit Additional Information” button at the bottom of every profile. Also, if you need any assistance with the database, our “Ask Us” service can connect you with one of our research consultants. Enjoy the updated database!
Collections Used to Compile the Data