President of the Church (LDS Church)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the President of the Church is the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the church. The President of the LDS Church is the church's leader and the head of the First Presidency, the church's highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator", and refer to him as "the Prophet", a title originally given to Smith. When the name of the president is used by adherents, it is usually prefaced by the title "President".

Latter-day Saints consider the church's president to be God's spokesman to the entire world and the highest priesthood authority on earth, with the exclusive right to receive revelations from God on behalf of the entire church or the entire world.

The President of the Church serves as the head of both the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes and the Council of the Church. The President of the Church also serves as the ex officio chairman of the Church Boards of Trustees/Education.

The concept that the Church of Christ would have a single presiding officer arose in late 1831. Initially, after the church's formation on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith referred to himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ, and elder of the church." However, there was another apostle—Oliver Cowdery—and several other elders of the church, making the formal hierarchy of the church unclear.

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