Mormon Transition

Gordon Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died yesterday at 97. He gave the Mormon church a relatively more moderate temporal agenda and was certainly very savvy in promoting the faith. Despite the fact that the Mormon church president carries more weight in his faith than the Pope does in his, the church presidency is a far more modest office than the papacy in Rome, so you won't hear much about Hinckley's death.

What's particularly fascinating is the issue of presidential succession. In keeping what is now a 164-year tradition, the longest-serving of the fourteen elders who sustain the president succeeds him automatically and will likely be officially ordained next Sunday. So the presidency goes to Thomas Monson, whom, Mormons believe, received the leadership of the one true church of Jesus Christ when Hinckley died. When Hinckley's heart beat its last, Monson, 80, received the keys to the kingdom of heaven upon the next beat of his own heart. In other words, the divine right of kings.

This is ironic, as Mormonism is based on a uniquely American interpretation of Christianity, and America is a nation of democratic principles. The LDS Church, however, goes by monarchical succession largely to avoid a power vacuum, which occurred at a time of crisis in the church when founder Joseph Smith was assassinated in 1844 before Brigham Young began to lead on the basis of seniority. But it does contrast perversely with the the American-style elective choice of the Pope, in which each cardinal has one vote.

Many people are relieved that the Mormon church is less likely to fall into the hands of Apostle Boyd Packer, who is behind Monson in the line of succession but is older than the new president. Unlike Pope Benedict XVI, Boyd Packer is viewed by many to be a real Nazi, so much that they spell his name with three K's. The notion of a Packer presidency has scared many Mormons due to his reactionary attitudes, attitudes that previous Mormon leaders have tried to purge.