| Response |
As I read Acts 1:21-22, I do not see any "ground rules" that Peter has set for who can be an apostle. What I see is that
he had men that were with him throughout his ministry (verse 21) and that those who were
appointed would be ordained by him to be a witness of the resurrection (verse 22). It must be that what you mean by ground
rules is that those who can be called his "apostles" must be ordained as witnesses of the
resurrection of Christ. This is a very important and distinct point
about the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ which we read in that same first chapter (see verses 23-26). The
eleven remaining apostles (after Judas's departure from them) considered a
choice between Barabbas and Matthias to fill the vacancy in the quorum of twelve apostles. As they met together and prayed
to learn the will of God on the matter, they learned by inspiration and revelation that the one to be chosen was Matthias.
The scriptures are unclear as to how often the apostles were called and appointed after they went out in the then-known
world to preach the gospel, but we know that by 68 AD, all but the apostle John had been killed by violent means. Whether
they got together on any occasion after the selection of Matthias is unknown since the scriptures do not identify that for
us. The procedure is clear and the lack of being able to continually reorganize the quorum as needed, is one of the reasons
that the Church in ancient days fell into a state of apostasy, which caused countless factions to break off. Christianity
as Christ organized it was considerably changed as philosophies of men replaced
pure doctrine.
Regarding the question, "What are the qualifications that a person in
Mormonism must meet in order to serve in that position?" There is no "set list" of qualifications since these callings are
not things that
men would aspire to, not any more than Peter, James, and John aspired to be called, but rather heeded the call when it
came. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since its inception, good and righteous men who are not only pure
in heart, but honest in heart, have been called from time to time over the last 171 years to fill a vacancy
found in the Quorum of the Twelve apostles when one of them died. Each of those men has had many years of various service
in the Church and have usually presided over local congregations, and then regional congregations, and perhaps been
presidents of missions. There is never any politicking or "running for office." All of these men are called by
revelation from God by the leadership of the Church.
To answer the question about what the apostles do and how that differs from the President of the Church would take much more
room than we have in this email. But, in brief, first and foremost, they are called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ
and to bear testimony of His reality to the world. Each of the Twelve is assigned by the President of the
Church to a particular area of the world over which he has priesthood leadership. In that area, he visits with local church
leaders, holds meetings where thousands of church members come to be lifted and inspired. He trains church leadership in
the local areas he visits and is always available otherwise to help solve certain problems that arise
in the administrative business of the church for that area. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve meet together weekly
to receive assignments and to be counseled and taught by the President of the Church.
The President of the Church travels throughout the world and has numerous responsibilities during those travels including
the dedication of our holy temples and presiding at certain large meetings of Church members throughout the world. He also
has day to day
responsibilities when he is in Salt Lake City dealing with administrative matters that come before him. As you might
guess, the things which the President of the Church and his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve do day to day and week
to week far and away exceeds this brief summary.
You asked for the names of these Twelve. They are:
Boyd K. Packer
L. Tom Perry
David B. Haight
Neal A. Maxwell
M. Russell Ballard
Russell M. Nelson
Dallin H. Oaks
Joseph B. Wirthlin
Robert Hales
Richard G. Scott
Henry B. Eyring
Jeffrey R. Holland
I hope this is helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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