City of Solt Lake – Solt Lake City (AP)-The Church of Jesus Christ for my last days will be held on Saturday at its general conference twice annually in a pivotal moment in its history: just days after his death The largest president ever A deadly attack on a group in Michigan.
The death of President Russell M. Nelson leaves a vacuum, but the church has a The hierarchy of the well -defined driving This helps ensure smooth transmission. Dalin E. OxThe man who is scheduled to succeed Nelson, has already played a prominent role in leading the church as one of Nelson’s senior advisers. The expected rise of the expected climb of the presidency will be announced after the funeral of Nelson, to be held on Tuesday, after two days of the conference when about 100,000 members gather at the church headquarters in Utah.
Patrick Masson, a professor of religious studies and history at Utah State University, said that the 200 -year -old sect is widely known that the Mormon Church had not held a general conference without a president for at least a century, but there is no leadership vacuum.
A governing body called the tenth of the nisaab, headed by Oaks, leads the church and more than 17 million members all over the world in the absence of a president, such as the role of Brigham Young for more than two years after the death of the church founder Joseph Smith in 1844.
In the nineteenth century, it was common to pass a few years before a new president was naming. The quorum was once again led the church for long periods after Young’s death in 1877 and the death of John Taylor in 1887.
The last time the church president died before a conference in April 1951, with the death of George Albert Smith. His funeral was folded at the conference and a new president was officially announced during the gathering.
Today, it is not uncommon for a living president to be absent for health reasons, especially given their ages. In 93, Oaks will be among the oldest presidents. He served seven of the nine past in the 1990s, including five of the current Ox era. Nelson lived to be 101.
The absence of Nelson is expected to be perceived, while thousands gather in person this weekend and many languages ​​from all over the world. The two -day conference displays the speeches and works as a unified time for the global faith membership. Church officials often deal with the main issues at this moment while leaving a room for members to explain the religious faith themselves.
“I think Nelson’s shadow will be heavy on the conference,” said Matthew Bowman, an expert in religious history at Clairemont University.
The president – which the Prophet considers by members – speaks traditionally at the General Conference, and is the highlight of the event during which new initiatives and policies were announced. Nelson often used time to announce Building new templesOne of his main companies as president. It was attractive and emotional and was often reported by other conference speakers, which Buman expects he will continue this week because they honor his legacy.
In addition to the death of Nelson, the believers were leaving The attack on one of their gatherings in Michigan Last weekend. Four people were killed inside a church in the town of Grand Blanc after one of the gunmen shocked his small truck in the worship house, shot the two squares and set a fire that destroyed many of the building. Friends, the armed, who was killed by the police, described that he was suffering from a grudge against the church.
Experts do not expect this conference to appear different, but they will closely watch to find out what Ox says. Bowman said that at previous conferences, he was likely to address political issues.
Oaks, the Supreme Court judge in Utah, is famous for his legal sensitivity and Traditional condemnation of marriage Religious freedom. It was a driving force in the church against gay marriage, and in supporting the education that homosexuality is a sin, which creates anxiety among the LGBTQ+ members and their allies.
Oak was also frank Maintaining civil discourse And the condemnation of violence, which can be once again focus this weekend.
“Even before the last shooting, I was not surprised to see him dealing with either issues of religious freedom or chili.” “But now, given the new responsibilities that are close to it, I may expect him to take a longer point of view and speak to greater issues than Christianity, eternity, etc.”
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The Associated Press Holly Mayer’s book in Nashville, Tennessee, Mid Grover in Fort Collins, Colorado.