An Honorable Release?

The position of Apostle in the LDS church has traditionally been a life long calling, but what of the prospect for an emeritus statues for the most elderly of these Church leaders? John Nilsson opens this possibility to discussion on the blog Mormon matters (click here). While a sort of emeritus statues is the norm for former Bishops and Stake Presidents, and may officially be granted to former members of the Churches third ranking body, the Quorums of Seventy, I don’t foresee it transcending to the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency. It goes against to much tradition and precedent, and would present the difficult prospect of having to multiple ordained Church presidents alive at the same time. A similar debate has gone on in certain quarters within the Catholic Church for years as regards the office of the Pope.