Presidents
& Prophets

The founding prophet of the Restoration and one of the most consequential figures in American religious history. Born in Vermont and raised in upstate New York during the revivalist ferment of the Second Great Awakening, Joseph Smith reported a series of divine visitations beginning around 1820 — including the First Vision, in which he said he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ as two distinct beings — followed by the visitation of the angel Moroni, who directed him to golden plates buried in a hillside near his home in Palmyra. He reported translating these plates using a seer stone and the Urim and Thummim into the Book of Mormon, published in 1830. The Church of Christ (later renamed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) was formally organized on April 6, 1830, with six founding members.

Under Smith's leadership the church expanded rapidly, moving from New York to Kirtland, Ohio (where the first LDS temple was built), then to Missouri (where violent conflict with non-Mormon settlers led to Governor Boggs's extermination order), and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois, which Smith built into one of the largest cities in the state. He introduced many of the distinctive LDS theological innovations: the pre-existence of souls, eternal progression, baptism for the dead, celestial marriage (plural marriage, introduced privately), the endowment ceremony, and the concept of a Heavenly Mother. He was also mayor of Nauvoo, lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion, and a candidate for the US presidency when he was murdered by a mob at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844.

The organizational genius who transformed a persecuted frontier movement into a functioning civilization. After Joseph Smith's murder, Brigham Young led the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in assuming church leadership — a succession contested by several claimants, including Smith's son Joseph Smith III (who founded the Reorganized Church). Young organized and led the extraordinary pioneer exodus of 1846–47, guiding approximately 70,000 Mormon settlers across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to the Salt Lake Valley — then part of Mexican territory — in what became one of the great migrations of American history.

As the first governor of Utah Territory and President of the Church for 30 years, Young established an integrated religious-civic society in the Great Basin, founding over 350 settlements across the American West, Nevada, Idaho, and California. He presided over the public announcement of plural marriage (1852), directed the Mountain Meadows Massacre investigation, oversaw the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, and led the church through the Utah War of 1857–58 when federal troops were dispatched to the territory. He had 55 wives and 56 children. His iron authority was both the source of the church's survival and the occasion of its most controversial episodes.

English-born convert who was present at the martyrdom of Joseph Smith — wounded by the same mob that killed the prophet — and spent his entire presidency in hiding from federal marshals enforcing the Edmunds Act against polygamy. Taylor refused any compromise on plural marriage, famously declaring he would see the church "go to the wall" before abandoning the practice. His underground presidency became a period of martyrdom-by-exile; he died in hiding in 1887, never surrendering to federal authorities. Known for his intellectual rigor and the motto he lived by: "The kingdom of God or nothing."

The president who issued the 1890 Manifesto — Official Declaration 1 — suspending the practice of plural marriage and fundamentally transforming the church's relationship with American society. Woodruff announced the end of polygamy as a binding divine instruction received after years of federal pressure that included the disincorporation of the church and the confiscation of church properties. The Manifesto enabled Utah statehood (1896) and opened a new era of civic integration. Woodruff was also a prolific diarist whose journals constitute an unparalleled record of early LDS history, and presided over the dedication of four temples. He is remembered as the prophet who "saved the church" through prophetic pragmatism.

A founder-generation figure who assumed the presidency at 84, Snow is best remembered for the theological aphorism that encapsulates LDS soteriology: "As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become." He resolved the church's severe financial crisis through a renewed emphasis on tithing, traveling to St. George, Utah, where he reportedly received a revelation emphasizing the law of tithing and raising the church from near-bankruptcy in just three years. His short presidency stabilized the church financially and set the stage for its 20th-century expansion.

Nephew of the founding prophet and the last president to have known Joseph Smith personally. His 17-year presidency navigated the aftermath of the Reed Smoot hearings (1904–06), in which the US Senate investigated whether a practicing polygamist — Apostle Reed Smoot of Utah — could serve in Congress, exposing the church to national scrutiny. Smith testified before the Senate and issued the Second Manifesto more firmly condemning plural marriage. Near the end of his life he received a vision of the spirit world (now Doctrine and Covenants Section 138), one of the last additions to the LDS canon of scripture.

The longest-serving president after Brigham Young, Grant presided over the church through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the beginning of World War II. A self-made businessman of extraordinary persistence — he forced himself to develop penmanship and singing abilities he initially lacked through sheer repetition — Grant oversaw the church's growing financial stability and strengthened its anti-alcohol stance, making the Word of Wisdom (dietary code prohibiting alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea) a strict requirement for temple worthiness. His administration saw the church grow to nearly a million members and establish a stronger presence outside Utah.

A gentle, ecumenically minded president who led the church in the immediate postwar years. Smith organized an extraordinary humanitarian relief effort to feed war-devastated Europe in 1945, sending thousands of tons of food and clothing through church channels before the Marshall Plan was implemented — an early demonstration of the institutional humanitarian capacity the church would later develop on a global scale. His presidency emphasized kindness, tolerance, and the church's civic integration into American life. He is remembered for the motto he called his personal creed: "I would not knowingly wound the feelings of any, not even one who had wronged me."

The president who transformed the LDS Church into a recognizably modern global institution. Handsome, charismatic, and internationally traveled even before his presidency, McKay was the first LDS leader to achieve mainstream celebrity in America — appearing on magazine covers, befriending US presidents, and presenting Mormonism as a patriotic, family-centered, all-American faith. He oversaw the construction of temples outside the United States for the first time (Switzerland, 1955; New Zealand, 1958), launched the unified correlation program to standardize church curriculum worldwide, and presided over explosive membership growth from 1 to 3 million. His often-repeated phrase — "No other success can compensate for failure in the home" — became the defining motto of mid-century LDS family theology.

Son of the 6th president and grandson of the founding prophet's brother, Joseph Fielding Smith was one of the most theologically conservative presidents in modern LDS history — a prolific doctrinal writer who served as church historian and apostle for over 60 years before his brief presidency. He was a strict creationist who rejected organic evolution and wrote extensively against it. His presidency, though only 26 months due to his advanced age, was significant for the lowering of the missionary age and continued global temple construction.

Though he served only 18 months before his sudden death, Lee is considered one of the most organizationally consequential presidents of the 20th century. As an apostle under McKay, he designed and implemented the Correlation Program — the standardization of all church curriculum, publications, and programs under apostolic supervision — which remains the structural backbone of the global church. He also developed the church welfare system during the Great Depression. His brief presidency was a validation of his lifetime of institutional innovation.

One of the most consequential presidents in church history, Kimball presided over two transformative developments: the 1978 revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members regardless of race (Official Declaration 2), and a dramatic doubling of the missionary force under his rallying cry of "lengthen your stride." The priesthood ban — which had excluded men of Black African descent from full temple participation and priesthood ordination since the Brigham Young era — had been a source of increasing controversy; on June 8, 1978, Kimball announced he had received a revelation lifting the restriction, opening full participation to all members. It was the most theologically significant revelation since the Manifesto of 1890.

Kimball also oversaw the introduction of a standardized two-year mission call for young men, the expansion of the missionary program to dozens of new countries, the publication of the standard works in dozens of new languages, and the construction of a wave of new temples. Despite serious health challenges — including throat cancer that left him with a raspy voice — his personal spirituality and institutional vision made his 12-year presidency a defining era of modern Mormonism.

Former US Secretary of Agriculture under Eisenhower and a staunch anti-Communist, Benson was one of the most politically outspoken apostles of the 20th century — his identification of the civil rights movement with communism drew significant controversy. As president, however, his most lasting contribution was the elevation of the Book of Mormon to the center of LDS devotional life; his 1986 address "Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon" transformed how the church used and taught its foundational scripture, and daily Book of Mormon reading became a standard expectation. He suffered increasing incapacitation in his final years, raising unresolved questions about succession during a prophet's declining capacity.

Hunter served only nine months as president — the shortest tenure in modern church history — but made a lasting impression through his gentle, Christ-centered leadership and his invitation to all members to make the temple "the great symbol of your membership." A skilled musician and lawyer who joined the church as an adult, he was known for his personal humility and accessibility. His brief presidency is remembered as a moment of spiritual refreshment between the more programmatic presidencies that preceded and followed it.

The most publicly visible president in church history and one of the great institutional builders of the 20th century. Hinckley had functioned as the de facto public face of the church for decades before his presidency — he essentially ran communications and public relations for multiple prior presidents — and as president he continued with remarkable energy into his 90s. His most visible achievement was an explosion of temple construction: he dedicated or rededicated 85 temples during his presidency, more than all previous presidents combined, fulfilling his stated goal of placing a temple within reach of every member worldwide.

Hinckley appeared on 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, and in major newspapers worldwide, presenting the church with warmth, wit, and accessibility. He led the church during the Mountain Meadows Massacre sesquicentennial, the DNA challenges to Book of Mormon historicity, and the Mark Hofmann document forgery crisis. He presided over the church's growth to 13 million members, the construction of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and the opening of the church's online presence. His phrase "Be a little better" encapsulated his pastoral style.

A Salt Lake City native known throughout his apostolic career for his personal ministry to widows, the sick, and the forgotten — his hundreds of individual pastoral visits became the stuff of LDS legend and the material of countless general conference talks. As president, Monson navigated the church through the Proposition 8 controversy in California (2008), in which the church's visible financial and organizational support for the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage drew intense national criticism. He also lowered missionary ages in 2012 — to 18 for young men and 19 for young women — triggering a surge in missionary applications. His presidency saw significant growth in transparency through the Gospel Topics Essays, which addressed controversial historical topics including the translation of the Book of Mormon, plural marriage, and the priesthood ban.

A pioneering cardiac surgeon who performed some of the first open-heart operations in Utah history, Nelson assumed the presidency at 93 — the oldest man ever called to the office. Despite his age, he has presided over one of the most active reforming presidencies in modern church history. His most symbolic early act was an emphatic insistence on the church's full name — "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" — discouraging the use of "Mormon" or "LDS" as shorthand and recentering the church's identity on its Christological claims.

Nelson presided over the COVID-19 pandemic response, the church's announcement of a two-hour Sunday meeting block, significant updates to temple ceremonies, the introduction of "Come, Follow Me" home-centered curriculum, and a continued temple construction acceleration that is on track to double the number of operating temples during his presidency. He has framed his presidency in terms of the gathering of Israel and spiritual preparation for the Second Coming of Christ, and has encouraged members to seek personal revelation through daily scripture study and temple worship. As of 2025, Nelson remains in active service at age 100 — a presidency without historical precedent in length or longevity.