A Page of General Authority ‘averages’
1. The average tenure in office of our Church Presidents is 11 years and 02 months (this calculation includes all presidents through President Monson).
2. The average tenure of service of our Apostles is 26 years and 08 months (this calculation includes the 93 apostles who have passed away). If the 4 apostles who died prematurely and the 15 apostles who were released from the apostleship are not included in the calculation (see #5 below for their names), the average tenure of service is 30 years 04 months.
3. The average number of apostles called and set-apart per decade is 5.8, or approximately 6 per decade (1829 through 2016). This
is equivalent to one new apostle every 1.72 years, or every 1 year 9 months.
4. The average age at death of our Church Presidents is 84 years and 00 months. If Joseph Smith (who was martyred at a young age) is not included, the average is 87 years and 02 months.
5. The average age of death of our apostles is 76 years and 07 months. (This calculation does not include the four apostles whose
lives were taken prematurely [Joseph Smith, David W. Patten, Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt] nor does it include the 15 apostles who were permanently released from the Quorum of the Twelve before their death [Thomas B. Marsh, William M’Lellin, Luke Johnson, William Smith, John Boynton, Lyman Johnson, John E. Page, Lyman Wight, John W. Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, John W. Taylor, Matthias Cowley, Richard R. Lyman]). I also did not include Oliver Cowdery, who was an ordained apostle but not a member of the Twelve, and who lost his apostleship due to apostasy.
6. The average age at the time of being called to the apostleship is 45 years and 6 months. Interestingly, the average for apostles called in the 19th century (47 apostles) is 33 years and 02 months, the average for apostles called in the twentieth century (53 apostles) is 54 years and 0 months, and the average in the 21st century is 61 years 03 months (8 apostles).
7. The average age of the apostles called during the tenure of each President of the Church is as follows:
Average age at time Number of President of apostolic calls apostles called
Joseph Smith 29 years 02 months 22 Brigham Young 34 years 00 months 13 John Taylor 35 years 05 months 6 Wilford Woodruff 39 years 05 months 5 Lorenzo Snow 39 years 11 months 2 Joseph F Smith 44 years 03 months 11 Heber J Grant 54 years 03 months 12 George Albt Smith 53 years 03 months 3 David O McKay 59 years 08 months 11 Joseph Fldg Smith 51 years 01 month 2 Harold B Lee 57 years 02 months 1 Spencer W Kimball 57 years 06 months 7 Ezra Taft Benson 63 years 07 months 3 Howard W Hunter 53 years 07 months 1 Gordon B Hinckley 61 years 03 months 4 Thomas S Monson 61 years 08 months 5 Russell M Nelson 62 years 00 months 3 (Elders Gong, Soares, Kearon)
Total = 111
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