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genaut8 (Presiding Bishops ** )

Presiding Bishops


    “As a holder of the keys of presidency over the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church and thus over all other bishops, the Presiding Bishop is one of the General Authorities of the Church. He sits as a judge in Israel, is responsible for many of the temporal concerns of the kingdom, receives consecrations for the care of the
Lords’ poor, and is called to travel and preach as an aid to building up the kingdom.” — Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 592.


A. Presiding Bishops listed in chronologic order:                                                                             

                    Presiding Bishop         Called          Released        Length of service      Other offices held
                 1. Edward Partridge       04 Feb 1831      27 May 1840      09 years 04 months             --
                 2. Newel K Whitney        06 Apr 1847      23 Sep 1850      03 years 06 months             --
                 3. Edward Hunter          07 Apr 1851      16 Oct 1883      32 years 06 months             --
                 4. William B Preston      06 Apr 1884      04 Dec 1907      23 years 08 months             --
                 5. Charles W Nibley       04 Dec 1907      28 May 1925      17 years 06 months           1st Pres
                 6. Sylvester Q Cannon     04 Jun 1925      06 Apr 1938      12 years 10 months           Apostle
                 7. LeGrand Richards       06 Apr 1938      06 Apr 1952      14 years 00 months           Apostle
                 8. Joseph L Wirthlin      06 Apr 1952      30 Sep 1961      09 years 06 months             --
                 9. John H Vandenberg      30 Sep 1961      06 Apr 1972      10 years 06 months           Asst 12
                10. Victor L Brown         06 Apr 1972      08 Apr 1985      13 years 00 months           Seventy
                11. Robert D Hales         06 Apr 1985      02 Apr 1994      09 years 00 months           Apostle
                12. Merrill J Bateman      02 Apr 1994      02 Nov 1995      01 years 09 months           Seventy
                13. H David Burton         27 Dec 1995      31 Mar 2012      16 years 05 months           Seventy
                14. Gary E Stevenson       31 Mar 2012      03 Oct 2015      03 years 06 months           Apostle
                15. Gérald Caussé          09 Oct 2015        serving             serving                 Seventy
B. Presiding Bishops listed by length of service                                                                           
                  Presiding Bishop         Called          Released        Length of service      Other offices held
              1. Edward Hunter          07 Apr 1851      16 Oct 1883      32 years 06 months              --
              2. William B Preston      06 Apr 1884      04 Dec 1907      23 years 08 months              --
              3. Charles W Nibley       04 Dec 1907      28 May 1925      17 years 06 months            1st Pres
              4. H David Burton         27 Dec 1995      31 Mar 2012      16 years 05 months            Seventy
              5. LeGrand Richards       06 Apr 1938      06 Apr 1952      14 years 00 months            Apostle
              6. Victor L Brown         06 Apr 1972      08 Apr 1985      13 years 00 months            Seventy
              7. Sylvester Q Cannon     04 Jun 1925      06 Apr 1938      12 years 10 months            Apostle
              8. John H Vandenberg      30 Sep 1961      06 Apr 1972      10 years 06 months            Asst 12
              9. Joseph L Wirthlin      06 Apr 1952      30 Sep 1961      09 years 06 months              --
             10. Edward Partridge       04 Feb 1831      27 May 1840      09 years 04 months              --
             11. Robert D Hales         06 Apr 1985      02 Apr 1994      09 years 00 months            Apostle
             12. Newel K Whitney        06 Apr 1847      23 Sep 1850      03 years 06 months              --
             13. Gary E Stevenson       31 Mar 2012      03 Oct 2015      03 years 06 months            Apostle
             14. Merrill J Bateman      02 Apr 1994      02 Nov 1995      01 years 09 months            Seventy
             15. Gérald Caussé          09 Oct 2015        serving             serving                  Seventy   

Interesting notes:
1) Edward Hunter served the longest as Presiding Bishop, serving over 32 years. Merrill J. Bateman served the shortest period of time as Presiding Bishop,
serving just less than two years. Elder Bateman was released due to his assignment as president of Brigham Young University.
2) As noted above, 4 of the 15  brethren (27%) who served as Presiding Bishop went on to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (Sylvester Q Cannon, LeGrand  Richards, Robert D Hales, and Gary E Stevenson).
3) H. David Burton, the 13th Presiding Bishop in this dispensation, is the great-great-grandson of Robert Taylor Burton, who served as 2nd Counselor to
Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter and 1st Counselor to Presiding Bishop William B. Preston.
4) Only three of the 15 brethren that have served as Presiding Bishop have passed away while serving as Presiding Bishop. The three are Edward Partridge,
Newel K. Whitney, and Edward Hunter (the first three Presiding Bishops).
5) Bishop Gérald Caussé, the 15th Presiding Bishop, is the third bishop to have been born outside of the United States and the first bishop for whom English is a second language.  As of April 2023, Bishop Caussé has served 8½ years as Presiding Bishop.


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