Editing First Presidency (section)

{{Short description|Highest governing body of the Latter Day Saint movement}}
{{other uses|Presidency (disambiguation)}}

Among many churches in the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], the '''First Presidency''' (also known as the '''Quorum of the Presidency of the Church''') is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency include [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), the [[Community of Christ]], [[Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]], and the [[Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]].

When the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]] was organized on April 6, 1830, [[Joseph Smith]] and [[Oliver Cowdery]] led the church in their capacity as [[elder (Latter Day Saints)|elders]].<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-6-april-1830-dc-21 Revelation, April 6, 1830] in Doctrine and Covenants 46:1–3, 1835 ed. [D&C 21:1, 4, 10–12], The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed April 18, 2012)</ref> Smith established the inaugural First Presidency on March 8, 1832, with the ordinations of [[Jesse Gause]] and [[Sidney Rigdon]] as his counselors.<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-2#20  Kirtland Revelation Book, pp. 10–11], The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed April 18, 2012)</ref> The term "first presidency," though used at least as early as 1834, did not become standard until 1838.<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#105 Minutes, February 17, 1834], in Doctrine and Covenants 5:11, 14, 1835 ed. and [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/minute-book-2#117 Minute Book 2, 6 Apr. 1838], The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed April 18, 2012)</ref> The presidency was to exercise authority over the entire church, whereas the jurisdictions of the [[Quorum of Twelve Apostles|Twelve Apostles]] and the [[Seventy (Latter Day Saints)|Seventy]] were the outlying areas outside of the gathering places where the church had been organized on a more permanent basis.<ref>[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#223 Revelation, March 8, 1833], in Doctrine and Covenants 84:5, 1835 ed.; [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#90 Instruction on priesthood], ca. April  1835, in Doctrine and Covenants 3:11–17, 1835 ed.; and [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/record-of-the-twelve-14-february%e2%80%9328-august-1835#11 Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Record, 2 May 1835] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215210118/http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/record-of-the-twelve-14-february%E2%80%9328-august-1835#11 |date=15 December 2012 }}. All at The Joseph Smith Papers (accessed April 18, 2012).</ref>

After the [[death of Joseph Smith|death of Smith]] in 1844, First Presidencies were reorganized by [[Brigham Young]] for the LDS Church, by Rigdon for the [[Rigdonite]]s (now defunct), by [[Joseph Smith III]] for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now [[Community of Christ]]), by [[James J. Strang]] for the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)]], and by [[William Bickerton]] for [[Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)|The Church of Jesus Christ]], although the latter two organizations have not had a First Presidency for much of their history.