Area Authorities, Area Authority Seventies, and Area Seventies
In April 1995, Gordon Hinckley announced “the call of a new local officer to be known as an area authority. These will be high priests chosen from among past and present experienced Church leaders. They will continue with their current employment, reside in their own homes, and serve on a Church-service basis. The term of their call will be flexible, generally, for a period of approximately six years.”
Two years later, additional quorums of the Seventy were organized. It was proposed to the Church “that we sustain the 134 Area Authorities, who are present with us today, as Seventies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to act in the office of Area Authority Seventies.” Then the names of all 134 men were read.
The last time the Church sustained Area Authority Seventies in General Conference was October 2004. In April 2005, Area Seventies were sustained in the General Conference of the Church. There was no announcement that I am aware of concerning the change in name of the office. The change appears to have been only a change in name and not office. The release of several Area Seventies was announced; the released Area Seventies had been sustained by the Church as Area Authority Seventies, but never as Area Seventies.
Announcements and sustainings in General Conference: April 1995, April 1997, October 2004, April 2005.
Interesting. I never realized they were not originally called as members of the Seventy.
For a list of GA’s (including Area Authority Seventies), you can visit this link: http://www.deseretnews.com/confer/leaders/leaders.htm
Just because the name of a calling changes doesn’t mean we re-sustain the persons in that calling. The reason we had to sustain upon the change from Area Authority to Area Authority Seventy was because they were being ordained to a different priesthood office, one which the church now feels requires common consent. Merely changing the name from Area Authority Seventy to Area Seventy is semantics, pure and simple, and requires no sustaining vote.
Checking the sustainings of 1995 and 1996, I see that Area Authorities were never sustained in that calling.
I hadn’t noticed the deletion of “Authority” in the title. Since the term “Area Authority Seventy” was meant to contrast with “General Authority Seventy,” I wonder if the members of the First and Second Quorums are now called “General Seventies?”
I do remember about 1978 when the first general authorities were made emeritus. President Kimball emphasized that the brethren were not being released, but were excused from active service. I understood this to mean that they would not be given regular assignments, but still had authority to function if called upon. For years, their photographs were included in the conference Ensign GA centerfold. Then after about 10-12 years, the photographs disappeared, and they started referring to them as “former general authorities.” I couldn’t find any explanation of the change. They simply were no longer thought of as general authorities.