 Photo credit: cofchrist.org/independence-temple-and-auditorium/ Historians Corner Vol. 2 | No. 2a At the next World Conference of Community of Christ, scheduled for Friday, May 30 through Friday, June 6, 2025, a significant chapter in the history of the church will be written with the approval and ordination of the next Prophet-President of the denomination. On January 17, 2024, the Council of Twelve Apostles of the church announced the completion of their discernment process concerning identifying the next church leader and identified Stassi D. Cramm, currently a Counselor in the current First Presidency, as the person to succeed current Prophet-President Stephen M. Veazey. New chapters in church history are started whenever a new Prophet-President is ordained. Assuming no unforeseen circumstances get in the way, this new Prophet-President will be the first woman ordained to this office. I thought it would be timely, and hopefully interesting to readers, to review the processes by which each of the Prophet-Presidents have come to hold that office. I will split this description into two parts. In today’s Part 1 I will describe the processes by which the last four people have been named to the church’s most senior leadership position. In Part 2 (currently scheduled to be published in two weeks, rather than next month) I will describe the processes for the first five people to arrive into this position. Interestingly, although there are similarities in the processes, none are exactly like any other. Stassi D. Cramm (Prophet-President-Designate) : The discernment process that has led to the naming of Stassi Cramm is recent and may already be familiar to you. However, there was at least one major “twist” in the process. In a letter to the church on March 6, 2023, President Stephen M. Veazey gave notice of his intention to retire as of the 2025 World Conference AND provided an outline of a church-wide discernment process to arrive at the name of the person to succed him which was to start immediately and conclude by February 2024. As it was described, the process would provide input to President Veazey and allow him to then decide on and name the individual. The “twist” in the process occurred with President Veazey encountering a significant health issue, announced to the church on July 27, 2023, which required him to withdraw from his leadership duties, including leading the discernment process. On August 30, 2023, the two Counselors to the First Presidency, Scott Murphy and Stassi Cramm, announced to the church in a letter that had asked the Council of Twelve Apostles to assume leadership of the discernment process. The letter stated, “The council will follow the current timeline and process previously announced to the church.” The significant change is that instead of President Veazey essentially taking on the responsibility of naming his successor, the Council of Twelve collectively took on that responsibility. Inevitably that meant variations in the original process that included meetings of the Twelve and purpose-specific retreat at a church campground as a last step in the process before the announcement on January 17. Stephen M. Veazey (Prophet-President, 2005 to, presumably, 2025): On November 29, 2004, President W. Grant McMurray delivered a letter of resignation, effective immediately, to his two Counselors. It fell to them, Peter A. Judd and Kenneth N. Robinson, to inform the Council of Twelve and then the church at large. This was uncharted territory for the church as this was the first time that an incumbent Prophet-President had not named a successor. Fortunately, such a potential situation had been foreseen by President Joseph Smith III, who drafted “A Letter of Instruction,” published in the Saints’ Herald on March 13, 1912. Several sections of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants were also cited to give support and guidance to the process. The Council of Twelve Apostles was tasked with leading a discernment process to determine the name of the person to be presented to the church for consideration. The Council requested the participation of the First Presidency, the Presiding Bishopric, the Presidents of Seventy, and the President of the High Priest Quorum to support and advise them. In addition they invited the prayerful and active participation of the church membership at large to support them in this process. On March 2, 2005, unanimously confirmed their decision to name Stephen M. Veazey as their recommended candidate. Veazey at the time was the President of the Council of Twelve Apostles and had served the church in a variety of ministerial roles for several decades. A special World Conference was convened from June 2 to 5, 2005, for the express purpose of approving this nomination, then implementing the ordination of Stephen Veazey to the office of Prophet-President, and then approving other changes in church personnel that flowed from that process. W. Grant McMurray (Prophet-President, 1996 to 2004): On September 19, 1995, President Wallace B. Smith met with the church headquarters staff to announce his pending retirement as of the upcoming World Conference in 1996 and to identify his successor as W. Grant McMurray. McMurray had been a member of the First Presidency since 1992 and had previously served the church as Church Secretary and in the Church Historian’s Office. Although there were many things to “juggle” in this nomination by Wallace B. Smith, perhaps the most difficult and emotional issue was passing church leadership outside of the Smith family for the first time. He cited the “Letter of Instruction” drafted by Joseph Smith III (his grandfather) as providing principles for succession and he stated his own three criteria that followed from that. They were: the person must be called by revelation through the present prophet/president; the call must be approved by a vote of the people in conference assembled; and the person must be properly ordained by those having the authority to do so. At the 1996 World Conference President Smith presented his final inspired document to the church naming W. Grant McMurray as his successor. This was approved a vote of the conference. And McMurray was then “properly ordained” to the office by those having authority. Wallace B. Smith assumed the title of “Prophet Emeritus” and left the job of leading the church entirely to his successor. Wallace B. Smith (Prophet-President, 1978 to 1996): In the spring of 1975, President W. Wallace Smith called his son, Wallace B. Smith, and asked if he could come over for a visit. In that visit the father asked the son to consider succeeding him as Prophet-President. He gave him a year to decide as he wished to announce his intended retirement date at the 1976 World Conference. (reference: Scherer, Journey of a People, Vol. 3, p. 400) Wallace consented after many months of consideration. At the 1976 World Conference, his call was presented in a document to the church giving a two-year timeline of preparation for the position, after which he would be ordained at the World Conference of 1978. The challenge of history and tradition that had to be overcome was the fact that every other prophet-president had died in office. W. Wallace did not want to do that and the conference (both 1976 and 1978) finally accepted this. Wallace B. had not previously held church employment, although he had certainly been active in his local congregations all his life. After a hectic two years of preparation, the 1978 World Conference accepted the call and he was ordained to the office. **In two weeks: I will complete this description with the first five presidents of the church.** Sources:
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