Published January 28, 2008
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will likely continue its emphasis
on the church's public image under the leadership of Thomas S. Monson, according to
a professor in the University of Wyoming Religious Studies Program.
Although no official decision has yet been made, Monson assuredly will replace Mormon
leader Gordon B. Hinckley, who died Sunday at age 97. Quincy Newell, a specialist
in religions of the western United States, said, "given Monson's extensive business
experience, including work with the Deseret News, I think we can expect continued
attention to the church's public image."
Monson has also been active in the internationalization of the church, particularly
in the former East Germany and the former Soviet Union, she said.
"I think we are likely to see the church under his leadership continue its efforts
to evangelize around the world, perhaps with a greater emphasis in areas such as Eastern
Europe and regions that have previously been closed to LDS missionaries," Newell said.
At Hinckley's death, the LDS Church claimed more than 13 million members worldwide,
more than half of whom lived outside the United States.
In part to make the rituals of the LDS Church more accessible to members in other
countries, Hinckley initiated an ambitious temple-building plan that more than doubled
the number of LDS temples worldwide, Newell said.
"As (Mormon historian) Jan Shipps remarked, 'he took the church from the margins to
the mainstream in American society.'"
Newell explained the procedure to choose Hinckley's successor. Two counselors who
assisted the president in the church's highest governing body, the First Presidency,
automatically re-join the Quorum of the Twelve (from which they were picked to be
counselors).
"This group of 14 men governs the church until they choose a new president by unanimous
vote in a process that Mormons believe is divinely guided," she said. "By tradition,
the man who has served in the Quorum of the Twelve the longest is selected as the
new president. For this reason, all commentators and observers expect Monson to become
the next president of the LDS Church."
