In Mormonism, the President of the Church is the head of a Latter Day Saint denomination or church. Several other titles are often associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer and Revelator (sometimes "Prophet, Seer, Revelator and Translator"), and even occasionally Prophet, Priest and King (sometimes "King Priest and Ruler over Israel on Earth"). The movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., the first president of the church, was known by all of these titles in his lifetime.

A succession crisis followed Smith's assassination in 1844. Different successors organized church hierarchies, making use of some or all of these titles and functions. Today, the largest two denominations are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ — and the office of president of the church has evolved distinctly in both of these traditions as well as in many other, smaller Latter Day Saint traditions.

Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement is the church's supreme leader and the head of the First Presidency, the church's highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider him to be a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and refer to him particularly as "The Prophet," a title originally given to Joseph Smith, Jr..

Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be God's "mouthpiece" both for the church and for other religions. He is thought to have supreme priesthood authority, and the right to receive revelations. Modern presidents, however, have not generally continued Joseph Smith's practice of regularly publishing written doctrinal revelations and visions, although most have stated that they have received such.

Infallibility versus Opinion

According to the Doctrine and Covenants, which includes information on the offices and policies of the church, the president of the church is the only man empowered to receive revelation for the entire church and to change or clarify doctrine. The church teaches that the president will never be allowed to lead the Latter Day Saints astray and that God will "remove" any man who stands at the head of the church who intends to mislead its members. As such, when speaking as president, the words of the president of the church are "infallible," meaning they are correct and binding on those who live under his adminstration. By following the president's teachings, members of the church are told that they are justified in their actions.

This distinction is important: when he "speaks as the president of the church," his words are infallible. Often when the president speaks, it is not as the president of the church. At these times, the president may offer opinion and conjecture about non-spiritual topics which may or may not be correct. For example, one early church president opined there were people living on the moon. Though most members of the church regard this as an expression of an (uninspired) opinion, critics have cited this statement as proof of the fallibility of church presidents.

Succession of the Presidency

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when a president of the church dies, the First Presidency is dissolved. The senior living apostle, then becomes the de facto president of the church and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the de facto First Presidency of the church. The de facto president and presidency will then re-organize a First Presidency, including a new president of the church and new counselors. According to established precedent, the new president of the church has always been the senior living apostle.

List of Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Presidents of the Community of Christ

In the Community of Christ, the "president of the church" is often referred to as the Prophet-President. The prophet-president is the highest priesthood leader of this denomination of Latter Day Saints. The position is composed of several roles: (1) President of the Church, (2) President of the High Priesthood and (3) "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator" to the church.

As President of the Church, the prophet-president is the church's chief executive and is the leader of the First Presidency, the church's chief executive council. As President of the High Priesthood, the prophet-president is the church's leading priesthood official. (Since the initiation of the ordination of women in 1985, it is now possible for this position to be filled by a woman though all prophet-presidents to date have been men.) As Prophet, Seer and Revelator, the prophet-president is the Community of Christ's spiritual leader and adds "revelations" to the church's Doctrine and Covenants — an open canon of scripture, which stands next to the Bible and the Book of Mormon as a sacred text.

Succession of the Presidency

Generally, the prophet-president will ordain or name a successor prior to his death. Often these successors have been chosen according to the principle of lineal succession and, as such, the first six prophet-presidents were movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his direct descendents.

In 1995, Wallace B. Smith broke with the precedent of lineal succession by naming W. Grant McMurray as his successor. In 2004, McMurray resigned from the office of prophet-president without naming a successor. The First Presidency, composed of McMurray's two counselors, continued to function as the church's chief executive council and announced that the Council of Twelve Apostles, in conjunction with the other leadership councils of the church, would name a new successor which would be presented to a special World Conference of the church in 2005.

Presidents of the Community of Christ

*Please add additional information to Wikipedia

Presidents of other Latter Day Saint denominations

In the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), the President of the General Church is also a member of and the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The first six presidents of the church were: (1) Joseph Smith Jr. 1830–1844, (2) Sidney Rigdon 1844–1847, (3) William Bickerton 1862–1876, (4) William Cadman 1876–1907, (5) Alexander Cherry 1907–1921, (6) William H. Cadman 1921–?. Brother Dominic R. Thomas has been President of the General Church since 1974.