Dallin H. Oaks, 93, who served since 2018 as the First Counselor of the First Presidency, has been named the 18th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He takes over for 17th President Russell M. Nelson who passed away at the age of 101.

“I accept with humility the responsibility that God has placed upon me and commit my whole heart and soul to the service to which I’ve been called,” Oaks said in a short broadcast on October 14.

Oaks once served on the Utah Supreme Court. Next in line to the presidency is Jeffrey R. Holland, 84, who serves as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After him is Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Oaks’s two counselors will be Henry B. Eyring, 92, and D. Todd Christofferson, 80. Eyring previously served as the second counselor of the First Presidency; this will be Christofferson’s first stint as one of the top three leaders.

Oaks added, “I’m grateful to President Eyring and to President Christofferson for accepting their responsibilities, and I’m grateful to the Quorum of the Twelve, whom I esteem and love, also as apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, for their commitment to follow the Lord’s will.”

While this is the third term as a counselor in the First Presidency for Eyring, Christofferson was a surprise choice, as even he claims that he was shocked.

“I confess that this is not what I expected when I woke up this morning, but I am deeply honored by this calling and the trust that it carries,” Christofferson, who also served as a lawyer in his career, said.

During the general conference held during the first week of October 2025, Oaks declined to name any new future temples, a drastic difference from his predecssor Russell M. Nelson. In fact, Nelson averaged more than 13 new temple announcements in his 15 general conferences. Oaks said he decided that the church had many new temple projects it should focus on rather than introducing new cities for temples.

Oaks is known for being a political moderate and is not in favor of right-wing rhetoric. Still, progressive blogger Jana Riess observed,

“His conservatism is most conspicuously evident in his continued pronouncements about the dangers of homosexuality, transgender rights and what he sees as the decline of the ‘right’ kind of family. I expect we will see more of that in his presidency, and perhaps even the canonization of the 1995 family proclamation.”

We at MRM are not expecting big changes in doctrine or leadership from Oaks and his two counselors. Yet I guess only time will tell.