Dallin H. Oaks, former Utah Supreme Court justice, is selected to lead Mormon church

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, was named Tuesday as the new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its more than 17 million members worldwide.

Oaks' selection to lead what is widely known as the Mormon church follows the recent death of his 101-year-old predecessor, Russell M. Nelson. His ascension is not a surprise; a longstanding church policy says the longest-tenured member of a top leadership body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the next president. The tradition is meant to ensure a seamless transition and prevent internal or public lobbying.

“I accept with humility the responsibility that God has place upon me and commit my whole heart and soul to the service to which I've been called,” Oaks said.

As president, he is considered a prophet and seer who will guide the church through divine revelation from God alongside two top counselors and members of the Quorum of the Twelve. He’ll set policy and oversee the church’s many business interests.

The church’s leadership transition comes as many of its members have been shaken by a deadly attack on a Michigan congregation, and are grappling with the high-profile assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, where the denomination is based.

At 93, Oaks will be one of the church’s oldest presidents. He will serve in the role until he dies. Tenures for past presidents have varied, with the longest reaching nearly 30 years and the shortest being just nine months.

Experts are doubtful Oaks will pivot sharply from Nelson’s approach to leadership because he was one of Nelson's closest advisers. But they say he might shift from Nelson’s focus on the faith’s global footprint to domestic issues.

In the first significant difference from Nelson’s presidency, Oaks announced during the faith’s recent general conference that the church will slow the announcement of new temples.

For his top counselors, Oaks selected Henry B. Eyring, 92, who also served in that role for Nelson, and former lawyer D. Todd Christofferson, 80, the church’s seventh most senior apostle.

Oaks’ choices demonstrate his “deliberate and methodical leadership style,” said Paul Reeve, Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah. While Christofferson was a somewhat unexpected choice, Reeve said it makes sense that the former Utah Supreme Court justice known for his jurist sensibilities would pick a former lawyer.

“I confess that this is not what I expected when I woke up this morning,” Christofferson said during Tuesday’s announcement. “But I am deeply honored by this calling and the trust that it carries.”

While serving on a lower leadership panel in the 1990s, Christofferson was involved in negotiations with Jewish leaders regarding the posthumous baptisms of Holocaust victims. In 1994, following intense criticism from the Jewish community, the church agreed to end those ceremonial baptisms. After it was revealed that they continued, church leaders again spoke out against the practice in 2012.

Jeffrey R. Holland, 84, the most senior apostle after Oaks — and thus next in line to be president — was not selected as a counselor but will lead the Quorum of the Twelve. “The concern there is declining health,” Reeve explained.

Oaks is also known for his traditionalist beliefs on marriage and religious freedom. He has been a driving force in the church against same-sex marriage and in upholding a teaching that homosexuality is a sin — a position that causes uneasiness among some LGBTQ+ members and their allies.

He said in 2022 that social and legal pressure would not influence the church to change its posture on same-sex marriage and matters of gender identity.

In recent years, Oaks has been part of some key church moves that suggest he might not make the topic a centerpiece of his administration, experts say. Oaks was Nelson’s closest adviser in 2019 when Nelson rescinded a policy that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion.

Christofferson, who has a gay brother, was the apostle who church leaders put forward to explain and justify that policy back in 2015. His brother, Tom, was baptized into the church for the second time a year prior after ending a lengthy relationship with his same-sex partner.

Oaks has also been a strong advocate for civil public discourse. Early on as an apostle, he was involved in a crackdown on far-right extremism that resulted in some excommunications. In 2020, he gave a speech about having faith in elections without resorting to radicalism or violence.