Editing General authority (section)

== Common consent ==
In the church's biannual general conferences, held in April and October, all the general authorities and general officers of the church are presented to the [[Latter-day Saints]] for a sustaining vote, in accordance with the church's interpretation of the principle of [[common consent (Mormonism)|"common consent"]].<ref name=eom/> This is a voluntary indication made by each member (usually by raising the right hand) that the member assents to be led by the individuals presented as general authorities and general officers. Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are always named by name, as are any persons being added or released from a position or any general authority or general officer moving from one organization to another (e.g., a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy being called to the Presidency of the Seventy). Otherwise, the general authorities and general officers of the church are simply sustained "as presently constituted".

This biannual procedure is dictated by church theology, which states that the church shall be governed by the common consent of its membership.<ref>Doctrine and Covenants, {{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=Section 20|verse=65}}</ref> Dissenting votes are rare and have even more rarely prevented a person from holding the proposed position. General authorities and general officers are also assigned to deliver sermons during the two-day conferences.