Will, I’m a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ. Wonderful that you are prayerfully considering the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. God and Jesus have foreseen the placement of each person on earth as the scriptures indicate, and leaders have been foreordained to their calling. He has set forth by revelation that the senior apostle becomes prophet because He knows who that will be, who will age when, and what work each apostle and prophet will do. He has factored it all in and then by prayer and supplication in a holy time and place, each receives their own individual witness to sustain the new prophet, or it would not occur. I’ll forward you a copy of my own story and any of us would be happy to help answer any other questions you may have, but above all, do as you are doing, and ask God if this is true. Kindest, Karen

Will, congratulations on working towards such an important decision and for taking it so seriously. I’m a convert as well, and this was one of my questions. My own personal opinion is this: When most churches are trying to decide who God wants to run their church, they hold elections among certain leaders. Often they have to vote again and again, which suggests they aren’t sure of the actual answer. This puts God’s church at great risk, since they might choose for the wrong reasons, including simply a desire to finish the process. By having the senior apostle become the prophet, God is entirely in charge. He controls life and death and so there can be no question as to who is to be the prophet. As God places each person into the position of apostle, He knows when each one will die and can put them in place accordingly. The next person in line also knows he may be the prophet and can begin to prepare himself accordingly. There is no confusion, no campaigning, no personal preference, no drama–just an orderly procession of continual leadership, and God’s house is a house of order. As I said, this is my own opinion on the subject. Prayer can make you comfortable that whoever the next prophet is, and whatever the reason for the procedure, that person will be God’s choice, not man’s.

I simply want a complete understanding of how the church works before making such a huge commitment and the Bible and Book of Mormon say to question and seek answers so this is why I’m asking in addition to prayer.