SALT LAKE CITY | Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice known for his jurist sensibilities and traditionalist convictions on marriage and religious freedom, is expected to be the next president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its more than 17 million members worldwide.
The leadership transition follows the recent death of President Russell M. Nelson and comes as many of the church’s U.S. members are reeling from a deadly attack on a Michigan congregation and a high-profile assassination in Utah where the denomination known widely as the Mormon church is headquartered.
Mr. Oaks is the longest-tenured member of a top body of leaders called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. That makes him next in line to be president under a tradition established more than a century ago to ensure a smooth handover and prevent any lobbying internally or publicly. The formal announcement likely will come at some point after Mr. Nelson’s funeral on Oct. 7. He was 101 when he died Saturday.
At 93, Mr. Oaks will be among the oldest presidents. Seven of the past nine have served into their nineties, including five beyond Mr. Oaks’ current age.
For a faith that prioritizes being welcoming — especially at local churches on Sundays — last weekend’s attack on a worship service in Michigan was shocking.
Services in Grand Blanc Township had just started when a former Marine rammed his pickup truck into the church and started shooting. Four people died and eight were wounded in Sunday’s attack about 60 miles north of Detroit. The attacker lit a fire before being chased and killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.
“We all seek answers and understanding in the wake of trauma, shock, and grief. We are grateful to all who are reaching out with service, prayers, and words of support during this difficult time,” Mr. Oaks said in a statement that also paid tribute to Mr. Nelson.
Mr. Nelson’s “timeless teachings” help people find comfort amid suffering, Mr. Oaks said.
Utah is also still reeling from the Sept. 10 shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. His alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, grew up as a church member.
Violence could be a talking point this weekend at the church’s twice-annual general conference in Salt Lake City, said Matthew Bowman, a Claremont Graduate University professor specializing in U.S. religious history. Church leaders often address major issues of the moment while leaving some room for the nearly 100,000 in-person attendees and many more watching remotely to interpret religious doctrine for themselves.
Church policy allows only law enforcement officers to bring guns and other lethal weapons on church property. It’s unclear whether new measures are coming.
A longtime prominent voice in the church, Mr. Oaks joined the Quorum of the Twelve in 1984 around the same time as Mr. Nelson.
When Mr. Nelson became president, he elevated Mr. Oaks to the First Presidency, the top governing body.
“I suspect that Mr. Oaks has had a fairly strong hand in leadership through Nelson’s presidency,” Mr. Bowman said. “I think we’re not going to see a very tremendous pivot.”
Early on as an apostle, Mr. Oaks was involved in a crackdown on far-right extremism that resulted in some excommunications. In 2020, he gave a speech about having faith in elections without resorting to radicalism or violence.
Whereas Mr. Nelson focused on the faith’s global footprint, including picking apostles with international and immigrant backgrounds, Mr. Oaks may refocus on the U.S. and its politics, Mr. Bowman said.
With Mr. Nelson’s death, there is a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Mr. Oaks would fill as president — one way church presidents can leave their imprint.
Some wonder if he will tap the church’s commissioner of education, Clark Gilbert, who has led efforts at the church-owned Brigham Young University campuses to enforce church orthodoxy, Mr. Bowman said.
Mr. Oaks has been a driving force against same-sex marriage and in upholding a teaching that homosexuality is a sin, creating anxiety and concern among the faithful who are gay, lesbian and transgender.
He often delivered speeches reinforcing the faith’s stance, including one in which he said the intended meaning of “gender” in church doctrine is “biological sex at birth.” Church policies introduced in 2024 significantly restricted involvement of members who have transitioned physically or socially, such as changing their name or pronouns.
Some remember surveillance of and a crackdown on gay students Brigham Young University while Mr. Oaks was school president in the 1970s. A church spokesman acknowledged in 1979 that BYU security had staked out gay bars but said Mr. Oaks put a stop to the practice when he found out about it.
Yet in recent years Mr. Oaks has been part of a few key church moves that suggest he might not make the topic a centerpiece of his administration, experts say.